The good and bad of the Triangle: Fewer pick-and-rolls, no Rajon Rondo

The legendary, controversial Triangle offense was in the news Friday night for a couple of reasons. Kristaps Porzingis had a scalding-hot 10-point fourth quarter. After the game, he credited his success to the team running more pick-and-roll:

KP, on the increase in pick-and-roll late in games: "I think we need to do that a little more." Says its helped free him up at times, bc tms

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) February 6, 2016

are blanketing him out on the perimeter when team is running its normal sets. Says he needs to be able to change things up at times.

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) February 6, 2016

Apparently the increase in pick-and-rolls was an adjustment in strategy agreed upon between Porzingis, point guard Jose Calderon and coach Derek Fisher:

Calderon said he and Fish talked about pick-and-roll, too, at times; noticing that Memphis was slow in recovering on defensively on back end

— Chris Herring (@HerringWSJ) February 6, 2016

Nice adjustment! So just run pick-and-roll all the time then, am I right? It's not that simple. The Knicks don't run the fewest pick-and-rolls in the league (they're ranked 23rd, per NBA Stats), but they are dead last in pick-and-roll efficiency, at 0.93 points per possession. Porzingis (1.08 points per possession) and Carmelo Anthony (1.16 points per possession) are efficient roll men, but pretty much every other player on the roster is abysmal ... not to mention the fact that the roster isn't exactly awash in pick-and-roll point guards.

The offense needs some fine-tuning, it's true, but at least the Triangle has at least one fringe benefit:

Rajon Rondo on potentially signing with the Knicks in free agency: "The triangle's not really a good look for me." - https://t.co/YSQDN3m3ID

— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) February 6, 2016

Terrific! So let's just figure out a way to get Kristaps better shots, while keeping Rondo the hell out of MSG. Then we'll be golden.