Sports

Golden State reaps rewards of Jackson’s N.Y. approach

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TORONTO — It is brunch time at one of downtown Toronto’s best hotels. Mark Jackson enters the restaurant and asks for a bagel. There are no bagels. Someone suggests a croissant.

“A croissant? Nah, I’m a simple guy,” Jackson responds.

You’re not in New York anymore, Mr. Jackson.

Yet Jackson has brought New York with him 3,000 miles to the Golden State Warriors, an NBA franchise with a run of futility that would make the lean years of the Nets and Knicks seem dynastic.

The Warriors, who were 30-20 entering last night’s game against the Mavericks, have been in the playoffs only once in the previous 18 seasons. Nevertheless, Jackson, 47, armed with a roster containing seven rookies or second-year players, has forged a formidable force in his second season. The Warriors in the cutthroat Western Conference have been in playoff position all season.

In molding a team among the top 10 in scoring and field goal defense, Jackson has stars. Stephen Curry, snubbed by coaches for the All-Star Game, and All-Star David Lee, the former Knick, have been the studs. And there’s Jackson, a leading candidate for Coach of the Year.

“I love what Mark has done. When he got there, they were a pretty good offensive team, but they were horrible defensively and not very tough,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers says. “He goes in and proves you can still be a great offensive team, a great defensive team and exhibit toughness.”

It’s a toughness Jackson said came from the New York experience. The coaching? You don’t play 17 NBA years under the likes of Pat Riley, Larry Brown, Rick Pitino, Jeff Van Gundy without learning something. Still, New York was the finest teacher.

“In New York, every single day you experience it. I was going to school getting on two busses, two trains, then coming back at night. No cell phone. No way my parents could check,” Jackson recalls. “It prepared me to be afraid of nothing. I just have a confidence and a toughness that personifies New York City and gives you an edge.”

Jackson was NBA Rookie of the Year for the Knicks in 1987-88 when he began a 17-season NBA odyssey that ended with him third all-time in assists with 10,334, despite the criticisms that his defense stunk and he was too slow.

“That’s most of us in this league. People focused on what we couldn’t do over what we could,” says Jarrett Jack, a reserve point guard with his fifth team. “They keep driving home the negatives. It was the same for Coach.”

It is a typically frigid Canadian Sunday in Toronto, the perfect day to stay inside, ignore the elements and maybe figure out what the heck they’re saying on French-language TV. The Warriors, losers of two straight, have an “optional” afternoon practice.

Attendance is near unanimous — that includes center Andrew Bogut, who works out in preparation for his return the next night in what would be a win over the Raptors. Even the All-Star, Lee, is working. Doesn’t he know All-Stars don’t go to optional workouts?

“All-Stars who missed five mid-range jump shots in a row do,” Lee says, as ice packs adorn most joints. “With all the young guys, you must lead by example.”

The leadership, not to mention averages of 19 points and 11 rebounds, has made Lee Golden State’s first All-Star since Latrell Sprewell in 1997.

For years, Lee heard the claim that someone must produce numbers on a bad team. So even accomplishments like 10 straight double-doubles for the Knicks in 2008-09 were panned. Leading the criticisms was TV analyst Mark Jackson.

“That was his job,” Lee says with a laugh, admitting apprehension when Jackson got the job. “The Mark Jackson I knew was the one I heard on TV. I didn’t know what to expect. I was really worried about him having a huge ego and that it would be all about him. It’s been completely the opposite. It’s never about him.”

Lee has been exactly as advertised after leaving New York as a free agent during the Knicks’ rebuilding and failed play for LeBron James. In Oakland, Lee just missed double-double averages his first two seasons. Now, he’s an All-Star.

Players buy into Jackson’s program. He is no snake-oil salesman promising miracle cures. Oh, he will preach — Jackson is an ordained minister of the True Love Worship Center International in Van Nuys, Calif., with about 500 worshippers. But his messages are simple.

Work hard. Show respect, get respect. He treats players like men, and it seems to fuel their motivation.

Something else drives Lee. Maybe it was hearing all that stuff about producing for a bad team. Maybe it’s a fear of failure. Lee is driven to prove himself. It is something he learned in New York.

“Everyone has things that motivate them, and I consider myself one of the most motivated players in the league,” Lee said. “I got it from playing in New York. In New York, you’re only as good as your last game.”

Actually, your last play.

“You could play 10 good games in a row and then you have one bad game and that’s what people remember,” Lee explains. “The most difficult thing is consistency.”

Doing it for a playoff-bound team — barring collapse, which seems unlikely for a Warriors team that won 16 of its past 22 home games — makes it sweeter. Lee never has been to the playoffs, and he knows losing. He was a Knick, don’t forget. He left one rebuilding project, went to another and quickly became a core piece, one who leads and produces.

“High basketball IQ, knows how to play the game,” center Andrew Bogut says. “Has improved vastly since his rookie year. He hasn’t had anything given to him in this league.”

Sort of like his coach.

ONE of the ironies of Jackson as a head coach  is his unwavering demand for defense, something that wasn’t exactly his calling card during his playing days.

“Mark wasn’t a good defender,” Rivers says with a laugh, “because he was slow as hell. He tried. He just couldn’t do it. But he understood defense.”

Jackson stresses team defense. Not everyone is a Dennis Rodman, but everyone can play a part.

“I knew for us to win, we had to change the culture and develop a defensive mentality,” Jackson says. “Jeff Van Gundy still cannot believe I was the ‘Defensive Player of the Year’ in the Big East my senior year. Honestly, I don’t believe it either.

“I believe I’m the slowest point guard who ever played. But it was a blessing as a kid not being as athletic, not being as fast, not being able to jump as high. It slowed the game down and forced me to be a real student of the game.”

Combine a thinking man’s approach with talent and toughness and you have these Warriors. It wasn’t easy. In Jackson’s first season, the Warriors were a 23-43 physical wreck. He had the same approach. The results were a different matter.

“We had to go through that. We won 23 games, and we shouldn’t have won 23 games,” Jackson says.

It was hard. Jackson was embroiled in an extortion scandal resulting from an affair — he eventually reported the incident and the team supported him.

There were injuries. There was the constant pain from the death the previous year of his brother, Troy, found dead of heart failure in a hotel room five minutes from Jackson’s church.

Jackson found strength in the tragedy. He drew upon his mother Marie, his biggest fan and a constant source of inspiration. He gained support from his wife, his kids, his congregation. Now Jackson imparts that strength to his team.

He is a disciplinarian with common sense. When Carl Landry arrived late for a shootaround, Jackson didn’t rant. He brought the vet onto the court in street clothes. Business as usual.

“I’ve never been late. He gave me a pass and I apologized,” Landry said. “He’s the definition of a players’ coach. Mark didn’t play too long ago. He understands the new-age player. He’s a friend, a mentor, a leader, a pastor, a father.”

When Brandon Rush blew out his ACL in November, Jackson packed the team on a bus after practice to go console their injured teammate.

“We all played pool at his house and had some drinks. I haven’t seen that in my career for a coach to do that,” Bogut says. “He’s a great human being. He lets us police ourselves and be professional.”

Players know he has their backs. When Curry did not make the All-Star team, Jackson went on a Twitter campaign protesting the slight. This past week, as the Rockets were trying to set a record for the most 3-pointers in a single game, Jackson had his guys intentionally fouled during the blowout loss to prevent it.

“We’re not going to lay down. I’m an old-school basketball player and an old-school coach,” Jackson told reporters after the game.

Ex-Net Richard Jefferson says this Warrior team has camaraderie similar to the New Jersey Finals teams, and it starts with Jackson.

“He cares about the game, about how people approach the game,” Jefferson says. “He treats you like men. It’s funny because we have so many young guys.”

Most of whom never have smelled the playoffs. The entire roster totals 146 games of playoff experience — with 119 from Jefferson (94) and Landry (25).

The Warriors feel they have the means to overcome inexperience. They need Curry and Bogut to have healthy ankles. They need the shooting and scoring of Lee and Klay Thompson. With it, the Warriors are a team no one wants to face.

“We have 12, 13 guys that can be effective,” Curry said. “We hang our hat on being a tough hard-working team for 48 minutes. Whether we go up 10, down 10, we’re going to keep attacking. The fact we try to play 48 minutes of complete basketball is what separates us.

“And that comes from Coach.”

And that coach’s approach comes from NYC.

fred.kerber@nypost.com