Let’s start off by saying that this New York Knicks squad will improve chemistry – it’s incredibly early to make grand proclamations at 3-4. Furthermore, they will not struggle to score the basketball with one of the best starting lineups in the league. Yet with all that in mind, it’s impossible not to notice the elephant in the room upon watching them this past week. This team is undersized with little semblance of rim protection. The bench is weak, and the offense is iso-heavy. Mikal Bridges, whom the Knicks gave up their future for, appears lost in the shuffle. Consequently, the Knicks roster flaws are being exposed.
Despite Jalen Brunson‘s noticeable playmaking issues feeding Karl-Anthony Towns in the post leading to the slowest offense in the league, they should figure it out. So far, Towns looks tremendous offensively to start the year, averaging 23 points per game. Brunson is playing too much hero ball, but it’s a safe bet that they’ll figure their partnership out and dominate offensively.
Towns’ play on the offensive end is the only genuine positive of the season so far. However, there’s a myriad of other issues. The Knicks roster flaws are being exposed, quite alarmingly.
Knicks Roster Flaws Are Being Exposed
Ugly Paint Numbers
Cover your eyes Knicks fans, they rank 28th in the NBA in blocks per game, and tied for 26th in team rebounds. They are ranked 22nd in offensive rebounds, a stat they excelled at last season. They’re also allowing opponents to shoot a ridiculous 71% at the rim.
Against the Atlanta Hawks, they allowed a whopping 58 points in the paint. Furthermore, in their loss to the Rockets, the Knicks gave up an even worse 62 points in the paint. It’s a shocking differential being outscored 58-36 and 62-38 in the paint.
Being outrebounded 50-39 against Houston, plus getting dominated 16-7 on the offensive glass against the Hawks, also cannot happen. These numbers indicate a personnel issue that’s being exploited. The Knicks must address this before the season spirals. Make no mistake these flaws are pronounced.
Rookie Zaccharie Risacher of the Hawks cooked the Knicks for 33 points on Wednesday. Clint Capela also dropped the easiest 18 he’ll likely encounter this season. Before that, Alperen Sengun dropped 25 points for the Rockets. Until the Knicks start addressing their problems in the paint, expect many more nights where bigs dominate the Knicks in the paint.
So what’s causing this?
Towns Not Ideal for Thibs Defensive Scheme
Thibodeau’s teams are built on physicality, dominating the boards, and protecting the paint. He likes a mini-zone scheme to camp multiple defenders in the paint. Much of that is predicated on a traditional center communicating assignments. This is not Towns’ strong suit. It isn’t immediately clear whether the Knicks front office did their homework. OG Anunoby and Josh Hart are now having to cover multiple assignments themselves.
Towns is the only big in the rotation with preferred size, but he’s only a so-so rim-protector. This is leading to several breakdowns in the paint. The Knicks can’t afford to leave him on an island defensively, or he’ll get himself in foul trouble.
In Minnesota, Towns played beside Rudy Gobert, the best defensive center and rim protector in the NBA. That’s how to get the most out of him. Outside of Towns, Jericho Sims‘ minutes are brutal to watch, It’s hard to look more lost on either end. The return of Precious Achiuwa will certainly help address the rim protection issue, but he’s also undersized. Nevertheless, he’d make the Knicks less of a soft team in the paint.
Knicks Miss Hartenstein and Robinson
Losing Isaiah Hartenstein in free agency is a far bigger issue than many wish to admit. Not only are they losing rim protection and rebounding, but it hurt them offensively.
The loss of Hartenstein has affected Brunson. This is clear to see. They had one of the most efficient pick-and-roll partnerships in the league last year. Hartenstein set physical screens, clearing defenders off Brunson, allowing him to foray into the paint. No one on the Knicks roster provides this, affecting Brunson’s shot quality.
It’s hard to understand why the Knicks didn’t address Hartenstein’s departure during free agency. Leon Rose and his team likely misjudged Mitchell Robinson‘s return timetable, choosing to trust in an imminent return. This was a mistake considering his injury history. Robinson will not be seen until likely 2025.
The Knicks would be wise to check on Jonas Valanciunas and Nick Richards at the deadline to help Towns. Although, this is a more difficult feat after giving up so many assets in the offseason.
Still No Secondary Ball-Handler
It’s fair to question what the Knicks front office envisaged by these massive trades in the offseason. Mikal Bridges is being used as a third/fourth option scorer at the expense of a staggering five first round picks. Now that Towns is one of the focal points of the offense, the Bridges trade looks like a large overpay thus far.
In Brooklyn, he was developing as a shot-creator, but that isn’t noticeable thus far in the early part of the season. He’s spending far too much time camped in the corner and offering no secondary shot creation. Why did they trade Donte DiVincenzo? A player perfect in that role, a better defender, and infinitely cheaper.
Trading Julius Randle for Towns meant sacrificing a willing passer and some shot creation. It wasn’t the most efficient aspect of Randle’s game, but he had it in his locker.
The point of these trades was to help ease the strain on Brunson, but it’s made it worse in the first seven games. The Knicks offensive pace is way down, and there is too much hero ball.
The Knicks Bench
Right now, Miles McBride is the only real contributor playing major minutes off the bench for the Knicks. It just isn’t sustainable having one trusted player off the bench.
The Knicks have Tyler Kolek, and he looks every bit like a draft steal. Kolek is capable of running the offense at a high level, but Thibodeau needs to start trusting him, even though he’s traditionally loathed to use rookies. With Landry Shamet‘s injury, the Knicks have no wing scoring off the bench.
As mentioned earlier, Sims is unable to provide solid minutes at the five. He’s doing his best deck-chair impression on defense.
Against the Hawks, Thibodeau played essentially a six-man rotation with McBride playing 28 minutes. Kolek and Sims played under 10 minutes each. This is unsustainable and will run the starting lineup into the ground. This is a real concern, as a loss of anyone in the starting unit through injury, and the Knicks would be in dire straits.
The Knicks roster flaws are being exposed quite alarmingly, and need to be addressed urgently by the front office. In election terms, the early polling is down for the Knicks roster construction.
