Can Carmelo Anthony fit into Knicks' triangle offense?

The criticism and derision of the triangle offense rankles Phil Jackson. It bothers him when he hears critics say it requires a Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant to win with it.

So by installing his preferred offense with the New York Knicks, who will be taught by first-year coach Derek Fisher, Jackson is not on a vanity project.

Jackson, starting his first full season as president of the Knicks, is on a mission to prove the offense works without a Jordan or Bryant.

And he is putting his faith and trust in All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony, who is entering his 12th NBA season, with a career scoring average of 25.3 points. It also might be his most challenging season as Jackson and Fisher demand that Anthony play a style of basketball unfamiliar to him.

It doesn't mean Anthony can't thrive in the triangle. It means he has never done it. But Jackson is a believer, even if it means a different offensive mentality for one of the league's most gifted scorers.

"There's a period of time in which it takes a scorer with mainly a scoring mentality to play with the idea that you can't score every time you touch the ball," Jackson says. "A lot of the scorers, it's a natural instinct. 'I get the ball, I look to score.'

"Looking to score is one thing; holding the ball is another. That is one of the things that players learn — that tempo and rhythm — and I don't think it is going to be that difficult of a situation."

Where will Anthony play in the triangle? In the beginning, it's easy to envision him in several spots — on the wing, in the corner, in the low post or in the high post on the weak side, which Jackson calls the pinch post. It should create easier scoring opportunities not only for Anthony but for everyone. That's why Jackson made a point of saying, "Looking to score is one thing. Holding the ball is another."

It's not all on Anthony to make it work; his teammates need to perform, too. But the focus of the Knicks' use of the triangle will be on Anthony and how he adapts to playing a style of basketball predicated on reads, ball movement and player movement.

The Knicks are banking on Anthony's performance. After all, Jackson and the Knicks signed him to a five-year, $124million contract during July's busy free agency period.

For his part, Anthony is not shying from the challenge. He began making regular visits to the Knicks practice facility after Labor Day to learn as much as he could about the triangle before training camp opened.

"I got a good glimpse of what the system will be, and it's fun from what I've been able to see and sit back and learn and watch from Coach Fish and the other guys on the coaching staff," Anthony said.

"I've been here ... early in the gym working with the guys, talking to the guys and asking questions. And not just going out there thinking that I know it all, and being receptive to the information that I wanted to receive and the answers I was looking for. It's been great for me."

The key takeaway is Anthony's buy-in, which will accelerate the process for him and his teammates.

"I want to embrace what Phil and Derek are doing. I want them to know that I'm in," he said. "I know from being a student of the game and watching and knowing the history, it will work. It takes time. Nothing happens overnight, but it will work. As long as I'm patient with that, then everything else is irrelevant."

'READ-AND-REACT' IS KEY

Anthony is right on one front. Expect some struggles as the Knicks learn the triangle. Jackson calls the offense simple, but before the offense is simple it must be mastered.

The triangle is a read-and-react offense, and ball movement, player movement, spacing and quick decisions are keys.

The difficult part to master is the read and react. After each pass, a player's next move is based on what the defense is doing or what the defense is giving. There are several options for each player after each pass, and all five players, in general, must be on the same page and read the defense the same way.

Read-and-react offenses are not uncommon. Longtime NBA coach Rick Adelman's corner offense uses read-and-react principles.

The Miami Heat used it often during the last four seasons with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. And this season the Cleveland Cavaliers will run a read-and-react offense led by James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. The San Antonio Spurs also run certain portions of the triangle.

Jackson loves system basketball and said he wasn't demanding the new Knicks coach run the triangle. But based on the top two candidates for the job — Steve Kerr, who ran the triangle when he played for Jackson's Chicago Bulls, and Fisher, who ran it when he played for Jackson's Lakers — it's obvious Jackson preferred the triangle in New York.

He has a deep appreciation for the offense and Tex Winter, the godfather of the triangle who is credited with showing Jackson how effective it can be. Winter worked on Jackson's staff for several years.

"I would educate anybody who wants to know the nuances of the triangle," Jackson said at his introductory news conference in March. "I coached it for 20 years. It's one of the things that people do come to me and talk to me about. We've been relegated in the triangle world to the women's games now and the NCAA teams who use it."

But Jackson is the only coach to consistently and successfully use the triangle offense. Kurt Rambis tried it with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it did not work. Critics said the Timberwolves didn't have the personnel (i.e., one of the league's best players) to run it effectively.

Jackson bristles at that notion. "It's a simple offense, but it's still pretty logical and pretty practical in many ways," he said.

Anthony needs to be quick with his decisions in this offense, as opposed to the isolation game he often played in New York. But give Anthony credit for his willingness to pass. He averaged 6.2 assist opportunities in 2013-14, and there were only about a dozen forwards and centers who had a better average than Anthony, according to NBA.com/stats.

"I think this new system is going to enhance my game, my teammates' game and as a whole we're going to be successful," Anthony said.

Fisher said Anthony has the benefit of seeing how Jordan and Bryant excelled in the triangle and can take those lessons and apply it to his game.

"Michael broke the mold in a sense of how to be that great within a system," Fisher said. "So I think Carmelo will have an advantage, so to speak, of having these examples of some of the greatest players to ever play still have these Hall of Fame careers within a system and playing with their teammates."