Though the New York Knicks are off to a solid 9-5 start to the new season, they have one glaring flaw that could hurt them over the course of the season and into the playoffs.
The Knicks’ defense has been flat this season
While their offense has taken a step forward, their defense has taken a step back. They have been one of the worst teams in the league at defending the three-point line, and the amount of threes they are giving up has hurt them in some games.
As of now, they rank 26th in opponent three-point percentage at 39.1%. Allowing opponents to shoot close to 40% from long range is not a good recipe for success on the court.
Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks should have been a loss for New York. They allowed the Mavericks to make 16 threes, despite entering the game as the third-worst three-point shooting team in the league, and they shot poorly on the offensive side, shooting just 28% from long range.
Somehow, the Knicks were able to come out on top on Wednesday, but it was hurting them significantly in the games prior. Wednesday’s game was their first road victory of the season, going 0-4 in the previous contests away from Madison Square Garden.
The Knicks need a different defensive scheme
In Mike Brown’s scheme, New York has been focusing more on cutting off driving lanes to the basket. The strategy works well in shutting down paint points, but the drawback is that it leaves shooters wide open, especially from the corners.
Knicks players also tend to over-help in the low block, which in turn causes the defense to scramble to ensure nobody is left open out on the perimeter. In today’s NBA, where most players are capable shooters from outside, that game plan needs to change.
It’s going to be even tougher for them in the coming weeks, as they won’t have their best perimeter defender in OG Anunoby for a few weeks while he recovers from a hamstring strain. They will have to rely more on the team as a collective to provide them with good results defensively.
In order for that to happen, the scheme needs to be different.