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The last time he was at Staples Center, Phil Jackson sat about 10 rows behind the Knicks bench, next to GM Steve Mills. At one point, he was shown on the giant video screen above the court, accompanied by the theme from Welcome Back, Kotter. The fans on hand gave Jackson a long, loud ovation.The Knicks president smiled and waved, presenting a picture of tranquility.If Jackson attends Sunday nights Knicks-Lakers game in Los Angeles, a similar scene may play out: Jackson smiling and waving to an adoring crowd.One wonders, though, if Jackson would get the same reaction these days in New York.Judged purely on wins and losses, Jackson deserves a round of applause for the moves he made in the offseason. The Knicks are off to a promising 13-10 start, with some of Jacksons offseason acquisitions playing pivotal roles.Start with Jeff Hornacek. The first-year coach has successfully blended an offensive approach that includes plenty of high pick-and-roll with players spread on the perimeter, along with a dose of the triangle offense.The approach has allowed Derrick Rose and Kristaps Porzingis to play mostly to their strengths and has produced the NBAs 12th-best offense. For the most part, Hornacek has mixed and matched his lineups and personnel brilliantly.One example: He hasnt felt obligated to play Joakim Noah big minutes to justify the four-year, $72 million contract the Knicks gave Noah in the offseason.Hornacek wasnt Jacksons first choice as head coach, according to sources. But the team president certainly deserves credit for hiring the right guy.Other Jackson acquisitions have played above expectations as well: His recent back ailment aside, Rose has otherwise been healthy and productive, as evidenced by his 16.5 player efficiency rating. Courtney Lee has improved the Knicks shaky perimeter defense and complemented Rose, Carmelo Anthony and Porzingis well on offense. Brandon Jennings has shifted his approach to fit the roster, taking a pass-first approach that has led to the highest assist ratio of his career.Justin Holiday, who was acquired in the Rose trade, has given the Knicks productive minutes off the bench, as have Kyle OQuinn, Willy Hernangomez and Mindaugas Kuzminskas. And Porzingis development in his second season has been promising, to say the least. All those players were brought in by Jackson.Of course, Jacksons biggest acquisition, Noah, hasnt performed to expectations. He has admittedly been inconsistent in his first two-plus months in New York. Some scouts around the league say its too early to count Noah out. But, at the very least, Noahs first 23 games as a Knick give the team reason to be concerned about the length and amount of his contract.But the team that Jackson put together appears to have enough talent to make the playoffs for the first time since he took over as team president in March 2014.Perhaps more than anything, though, a few off-court issues have complicated things for Jackson and the Knicks --?and the genesis for those issues was Jackson himself.Lets start with LeBron James. No matter where you stand on the use or connotation of the word posse, fallout from Jacksons using the term to describe James friends isnt good for New York in a bottom-line sense.One of LeBrons close friends is Rich Paul, an agent and the founder of Klutch Sports, which represents several top NBA players (including James). As long as Jackson is president, its hard to imagine the Knicks landing a Klutch client in free agency if that player is choosing from a group of suitors.And then theres Jacksons recent comments about Anthony, which were made during an appearance on the CBS Sports Network earlier this week.On the show, Jackson was responding to a question from panelist Lisa Leslie, who asked if there is a conflict of interest having a player like Anthony in an offense that requires frequent ball movement.This was Jacksons response: He can play that role that Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played. Its a perfect spot for him to be in that isolated position on the weak side because its an overload offense, and theres a weakside man that always has an advantage if the ball is swung. Carmelo a lot of times wants to hold the ball longer than -- we have a rule: If you hold a pass two seconds, you benefit the defense. So he has a little bit of a tendency to hold it for three, four, five seconds, and then everybody comes to a stop. That is one of the things we work with. But hes adjusted to [the triangle], he knows what he can do, and hes willing to see its success.Jacksons critique of Anthonys tendency to hold on to the ball too long isnt unique. Plenty of NBA analysts have given similar takes over the years.But its different when a team president delivers this criticism of his star player publicly, rather than behind closed doors. That was Anthonys message when talking about the issue on Friday. He also said he wants to keep any negativity away from the Knicks at a time when theyre playing well. Others in the organization felt the same way, with one questioning what Jacksons public comments are doing to help the Knicks win games.So what does all of this add up to?In the worst-case scenario, Jackson has upset his star player and one of the top agents in the NBA. Anthony said on Friday the issue is over as far as hes concerned. But no one around the team would describe Anthony and Jackson as best friends, and its unlikely that Jacksons critique did anything to bolster their relationship. But even if this all blows over and the Knicks continue to progress, Jacksons comments still have created a sideshow and taken the focus away from what the story should be right now: For the first time in a long time, the Knicks are playing solid basketball, and Jacksons moves -- not his words -- have been a driving force. Air Max 97 Factory Outlet . PETERSBURG, Fla. 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Liverpool won at Selhurst Park on Saturday, 4-2 over Crystal Palace to extend their unbeaten run over all competitions to 11 games.Emre Can, Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip and Roberto Firmino all scored for Liverpool (7-2-1), who are 9-2-0 since losing 2-0 at Burnley on Aug. 20.Palace (3-2-5) twice dragged themselves back into the game via a James McArthur brace, having fallen behind at 1-0 and 2-1. In the end, the Eagles dropped their third straight match.Liverpool had the edge on the game and took the lead on 16 minutes when good teamwork and link-up play culminated in a deflected finish from Can.The lead didnt last long, though, as two minutes later a terrible error from Lovren allowed McArthur in to nod past Loris Karius. Liverpool restored their lead three mminutes later as Lovren redeemed himself to power a header underneath Steve Mandanda.ddddddddddddMcArthur bagged his second of the game just after the half-hour mark when he connected with Wilfried Zahas pinpoint cross to head home into the top corner.Liverpool took a third lead just before the break when Matip registered his first Liverpool goal with another header.The second half came and Liverpool slowly tired down the hosts to end the game as a contest by increasing their lead on 72 minutes. Jordan Henderson exposed a huge gap in the Palace back line and fed through Firmino, who finished excellently by dinking over Mandanda. ' ' '