New York Knicks: 50-1

Whatever debate there was about Phil Jackson’s capacity to institute a culture shift is over. He did it and could have possibly foreseen.
J.R. Smith has seen the light.
“Trying to think about the rest of the group over myself or my scoring is something that I never really had to do before,” Smith told ESPNNewYork.com’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “I’ve always been in a position to dent, [now I’m] able to take my time and let the game come and let my teammates triumph over myself, I believe that is the ultimate triumph.”
As the year progresses, transformations in the preseason have a way of reversing themselves, but for now, it appears Jackson has performed magic.
Getting Smith to purchase in the equal-opportunity tenets of the triangle offense is huge, and everything after that–figuring out how to coax defense out of a frontcourt rotation involving Andrea Bargnani and Amar’e Stoudemire, convincing James Dolan to keep kazoos out of the locker room–must be cake.
The Knicks are far removed from a 54-win year in 2012-13. Jackson’s influence alone ought to help them get closer to this total compared to 37 wins they accumulated last year.
Still, don’t expect a championship chase–Carmelo Anthony understands some real assistance and not until the contracts on the novels slough off in 2015.

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