The Knicks are a top offense in the league, averaging 120.5 points per 100 possessions (excluding garbage time). The problem? They also give up 116.5 points per 100 possessions, which is below the league average of 115.8. Simply put, the Knicks rely on outscoring their opponents rather than stopping them from scoring in the first place. In playoff basketball, this is a fatal flaw that can only be overcome by out-of-this-world shooting. Unless coach Mike Brown and his staff can make improvements, the Knicks will find a playoff series against the Pistons or Celtics extremely tough to win.
New York Knicks Defense Continues to Underperform
In Comparison to Conference Leaders
The Thunder score 120.2 points per 100 possessions and give up 105.9 (the best in the league), while the Pistons give up 108.4 points per possession (second best in the league) and score 117 per 100 possessions. Both of these teams sit comfortably atop their conferences; the Thunder lead the Spurs by 6.5 games, and the Pistons lead the Celtics by 5.5 games.
Where Can the Defense Improve?
It isn’t hard for a professional basketball player to score if no one is there to contest the shot. Indeed, the Knicks are 25th in the league in opponent effective field goal percentage at 55.2%. Who leads the league in this stat? The Pistons and Thunder do, at 51% and 51.4%, respectively. Are you noticing a pattern yet?
While the Knicks limit points in the paint, they still allow more than the Thunder, Celtics, and Pistons. Perhaps the most glaring stat is that their opponents make 14.6 three-pointers per game. The only two teams that allow more in the league are the Jazz and Pelicans.
Making It Out of the East
It is unlikely that the Knicks will advance to the NBA Finals without first having to go through the Pistons and/or the Celtics. Despite Jayson Tatum‘s absence, Joe Mazzulla has kept the Celtics competitive, showing what a well-coached team can achieve through adversity. While Cade Cunningham has been playing at an MVP level, the Pistons’ elite defense is what has kept them comfortably at the top of the East.
The Knicks’ offense relies heavily on Karl-Anthony Towns, and he has an offensive usage rate of 25%, which is only surpassed by Jalen Brunson‘s 33%. In the face of physical teams, Towns commonly finds himself in foul trouble, making him a non-factor. A coach like Mazzulla knows how to exploit weakness, after all; he employed a “Hack-a-Mitch” strategy on weak free-throw shooter Mitchell Robinson in their matchup on December 2nd. It’s not a stretch to say his Celtics team will target Towns early and often, hoping to put him in foul trouble before they see the second half.
The Pistons play great team basketball. Their record shows this. If the onus is on Brunson and offensive firecrackers like Jordan Clarkson to play out of their mind, can they really expect to do it four times before the Pistons grab their own four wins? Indeed, if that is the best strategy coach Brown and his staff can muster, the hill to climb will be steep.
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