The New York Knicks began one of their most anticipated seasons in memory Tuesday night against the World Champion Boston Celtics. The season’s first four games are as difficult as it gets for Tom Thibodeau’s men. After getting massacred by Boston’s historic shooting, it’s their conquerors, the Pacers up next. Following that, it’s Donovan Mitchell‘s Cavs, then their fierce rivals, the Miami Heat. They’ll need to quickly recover from getting shelled by Boston. This will be a test of their stretched roster and their concerning lack of depth. Nevertheless, the Knicks are all-in to compete for their first title since 1973. Here are three Knicks hot-takes for the season ahead.
3 Bold Predictions for the Knicks Season
1: Towns and Brunson Will Have Career Highs In Scoring Efficiency
Brunson Can Occupy his favorite spaces:
It’s hard not to feel good about this prediction since the main purpose of this deal is to improve the court spacing for Jalen Brunson. Karl-Anthony Towns will occupy the other team’s big men and drag them out of position. This would theoretically leave the paint for Brunson to work his magic. Brunson’s array of moves makes him most dangerous in the painted area. His fakes, unbelievable footwork, and deceptive strength for his small size made him nigh-on impossible to stop last year.
Finishing at the rim, Brunson had an excellent EFG% (effective field goal percentage) of 56.5. From five to nine feet from the basket, he had a very solid 54.7 EFG. This is where they want Brunson to do his damage, along with the three-point line. He shot 40 percent from three last season with an EFG of 58.9 on above-the-break threes. His lowest EFG is the mid-range, where it drops to .420, Towns addition will help him avoid spending too long in the mid-range, where he’s least efficient.
Julius Randle will be a significant loss. However, the prevailing thought was likely that he’s at his best bullying in the paint, occupying spaces similar to Brunson’s. Furthermore, the addition of Cameron Payne and the drafting of Tyler Kolek should ease the playmaking responsibility on Brunson. Look for Brunson to have his most efficient season.
Towns Will Have His Most Efficient Season
Whether taking on his massive contract is the correct use of resources remains a huge question. However, I fully expect Karl-Anthony Towns to fit like a glove on offense, if not on defense. First of all, he’s a New Jersey native. Secondly, he’s a heck of a player. He should have plenty of joy dragging defenses to the three-point line, where he does his most damage.
He could be used similarly to Kristaps Porzingis last year for Boston, knocking down threes from the top of the perimeter. Expect his career shooting of 52% and 57% EFG to go up as a Knick this year. Furthermore, there will be times when he will be the tertiary scorer behind Mikal Bridges and Brunson. This will suit him, as he’ll have plenty of space to knock down shots from his favorite spots on the court. Last season, his EFG% was 59.2 at the rim and 53.8 on above-the-break threes. He should ball in these areas of the court this year.
2. Knicks Bench Will Be Among League Worst- Trading DiVincenzo A Mistake
The price for going big game hunting for Bridges and Towns in one offseason is that they have almost no depth off the bench. Especially with the loss of Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency and Mitchell Robinson missing the upcoming season through injury, they look extremely short and unprepared.
Precious Achiuwa‘s injury for the next two to four weeks will be a considerable loss. It’s hard to picture who will back up Towns and OG Anunoby in the frontcourt, as Jericho Sims is defensively challenged. Ariel Hukporti is a project player who showed flashes of his high upside in the preseason. Towns is at his best beside a rim-protecting big like Rudy Gobert. Leon Rose made a costly error by not replacing Hartenstein in free agency.
This bench will be a worry because this could be a slippery slope. Thibodeau will likely overuse his starters early this season to make up for the weak bench; potentially, this is a problem waiting to happen. Last year, the Knicks ranked 27th in bench scoring they could rank even lower this season.
It’s possible Josh Hart could soon start off the bench to boost the second unit. However, it’s unclear who would start in that case. Draftee Pacome Dadiet had a strong preseason, scoring 16 points against the Hornets. Although, he’s still a project.
Miles McBride makes sense as a starter; he’ll take a big step forward as a 3&D off-guard. He improves the frontcourt defense, and they could then make Hart run the second unit. McBride scored 22 points in the Knicks season opener, possibly opening the door for him to start in place of Hart. The downside is having two undersized guards together will lead to size mismatches they’d struggle to overcome. There are no automatic answers with this bench.
Other bench options are Tyler Kolek and Cam Payne. olek could develop into one of the steals of the draft if he breaks the rotation. The major concern is, that this Knicks team is built to go all the way, but they don’t have the depth to do so. They have a starting five that’s as good as any but as weak a bench as it gets.
Trading DiVincenzo Too Costly
This is where they will miss Donte DiVincenzo. Breaking the franchise three-point record in his first season, he put the team on his back in the playoffs with his smooth stroke. He defended with tenacity and represented the heart of the team. He busted through screens and ran in transition. Also, Incidentally, all things they didn’t do against Boston. Plus, (and this is a huge thing), he never gets hurt. Considering the fragile injury record of OG Anunoby, it’s worth noting. It feels absurd that the Knicks caved and entered his name into talks for Towns so late. They’ll certainly regret not finding another avenue to acquire Towns.
3. OG Anunoby Will Make All-NBA First-Team Defense
As long as OG makes the 65-game threshold, it feels like a solid bet he’ll get All-NBA defense. OG will have a huge role this year. He’ll be asked to defend every team’s best player and essentially be the de facto captain on the defensive end. He’s one of the best defenders in the league at intercepting the passing lanes, forcing steals, and deflecting passes. He’s also one of the best at covering multiple assignments at once; Towns is an average defender at best, so Anunoby will have a huge role to compensate for this weakness.
With OG on the court last season the Knicks had a 100.9 defensive rating which was the best in the league. Furthermore, he’s in the 90th Percentile in the NBA in versatility, 95th in Crafted Defensive Plus-Minus; and the 98th Percentile in forcing turnovers via Crafted NBA. The question with OG is never about his play on the court. If he stays on the court he’ll make All-NBA first-team defense. The Knicks should have plenty of offense with a high ceiling if they address their bench. These are my Knicks hot-takes for the season ahead, what are yours?
