New Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek had his trusty defensive coordinator at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday night for the season opener. Except Mike Longabardi no longer works for Hornacek, instead commanding the Cavaliers’ defense.
Longabardi, fired by Phoenix brass as a sacrificial lamb in December, received his championship ring after which Hornacek’s Knicks defense played like it did all preseason — awfully.
Longabardi, whom the Cavaliers hired in January, did well with Hornacek in Phoenix. The Suns were 13th in defensive efficiency their first year together in 2013-14, and 17th in 2014-15.
According to a source, Hornacek wanted to bring Longabardi, a native New Yorker, with him to the Knicks, but the Cavaliers wouldn’t let him out of his contract.