Two Things The New York Knicks Need To Improve Upon For Next Season

Before the season started the New York Knicks were projected to win 39 games. That number would have led to them failing to make the playoffs for the 2nd consecutive season. It is likely that Tom Thibodeau would have been fired and that the front office would be put on thin ice.

Instead, they pulled through with 47 wins and a first round playoff victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers. By nearly every metric the season was categorized as a success and for good reason. They outproduced their projected win total, showed insane offensive growth and displayed an identity that made the city of New York proud. It was an easy team to root for, and it was the season where the expectations allowed for it to be an unabashedly fun one even with the 2nd round exit against the Miami Heat.

Next year will be different. The personnel will change, which should shift how the team is looked at. The organization can take a step back and identify where they need to improve and these two areas would be a good start.

The Defense

The successful Knicks season that got them back on the map was in 2020-21 when the team captured the 4th best mark in the NBA. That number reflected a team that suffocated opponents at the point of attack along with the combined rim protection of both Mitchell Robinson and Nerlens Noel. They grinded out wins with their effort level and intensity. A lot of it trickled down from the demand of a rigorous coach.

That wasn’t the case this year. They ranked 19th in the NBA on defense, which was the 2nd worst mark for a team that made the playoffs.

The team showed a bit more resolve over the final 60 games of the season. They were an average defense that was being dragged down by a poor stretch toward the beginning of the season, according to the optimists. Regardless, stats count the same across the entirety of a season and it’s easy to just cherry pick numbers that help support an argument.

It’s important to identify the issue. Robinson made his mark as a beast on the offensive glass this year; declaring, rather boisterously, that he may be the best in the game at it. On the other end he had plenty of moments of success. He showcased absolute brilliance on defense by swatting potential threats at the basket and intimidating those that dared to near the basket.

He ranked above Evan Mobley in defensive field goal percentage, which is a stat that shows how well teams shoot against certain players. In this case Robinson ranked well in deterring good looks at the basket against opponents. Numbers at the rim can be a bit funky but there is enough confirmation with the names above Robinson that it’s fair to give credence to the numbers.

Isaiah Hartenstein and Robinson combined to rank in the top-12 in defensive RAPTOR for centers, which in theory should have given the Knicks a strong defensive presence at all times on the court. On top of that, Robinson graded out as the 7th best center in defensive estimated plus-minus (for those that qualified).

Center is the most impactful position in the NBA and the Knicks were good in terms of what they got defensively from the position. So, why were they still so mediocre on that side of the ball?

Three-point shooting and turnovers have a lot to do with it. They allowed the 5th most 3-pointers per game in the NBA during the regular season, which is generally a strategy to be avoided. It has been a fixture of Thibodeau led teams to have defenses that give up a large proportion of 3-point shots. It’s one of the reasons analysts guessed that they would suffer a drop off during the 2021-22 season. They also checked in as the 6th worst team in creating turnovers.

The playoffs showed that they were able to play much better defense. They ranked 2nd in the NBA in defensive rating, which could be a positive sign for them moving forward. It could also be a mirage that occurs when teams try to draw grand conclusions from 11-game sample sizes.

Pull-Up Shooting

One of the main skill sets that the Knicks are looking to develop is 3-point shooting. Putting shooting into categories is essential in order to really get a sense of the variety that the play type can bring to a group.

The team as a whole was pretty below average in the statistic. They flirted with placing bottom-10 in the NBA in effective field goal percentage on pull-up shooting, which is something you want to avoid if you consider it a crucial part of your team building. That’s shown by the fact that the team put up 10.7 of those attempts per game, which ranked among the 10 best in the NBA. Taking a bunch of shots while making them at a below average efficiency is usually a recipe for trouble, even if that team was one of the best offenses in the league. But it was apparent throughout the playoffs how much this came to bite them. The Knicks had an effective field goal percentage that ranked second to last among playoff teams.

The Knicks have looked for players who excel at being able to pull up, but they are entrenched with a host of players who struggle in the category:

3-Point Pull-Up Shooting Numbers

A team can live with the production and efficiency of the first three players on this list. Jalen Brunson was undoubtedly one of the better players in the league at pulling up from three last season. His effective field goal percentage on the shot placed him in the top-10 in the NBA on the shot type for players that attempted more than 2.5 per game. With how efficient he has been the only complaint could be that he didn’t take enough of those.

Randle is unique in his ability to pull up because he is only one of five forwards in the NBA that attempted more than three per game last season. His efficiency on the shot is still not ideal, but it’s a powerful tool for a forward to be able to post a respectable percentage on so many attempts.

Grimes will need to improve next year on hitting 3-pointers, but especially on his pull-up attempts. The Knicks rely on him to be a difference-maker on that end because of his gravity and his ability to shoot with a hand in his face. Barrett still struggles in this area and it’s one of the reasons for why his game doesn’t perfectly mesh with Randle.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Knicks add a player that helps them improve their shooting next season.