4 things Knicks must fix to reach their potential

10/29/2024 08:22 PM

The New York Knicks are off to an interesting start in the 2024-25 season. After an embarrassing 23-point loss to the Boston Celtics on opening night, New York looked significantly more comfortable with one another in a 25-point win over the Indiana Pacers.

However, Game 3 resulted in more confusion, much of which was the result of poor execution and a lack of familiarity with one another. The Knicks lost 110-104 to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And after a second defeat, there are even more questions to answer. So, how can New York regain last season’s form?

Karl-Anthony Towns needs more touches

The most important thing is that the Knicks must look to feature Towns, who has not been featured much through the first three games. Towns shot five-for-nine in his first game, five-for-11 in his second game, and four-for-eight in his third game. So, through three games, he’s shot the ball just 28 times.

Comparatively, Jalen Brunson has taken 57 times shots, Mikal Bridges has attempted 40 shots, OG Anunoby has attempted 32 shots, and Josh Hart has shot 31 times. Obviously, Brunson’s attempts are fine. But ideally, Towns should have the second most attempts. Instead, he’s shooting a career-low 9.3 times per game.

Towns’ lack of attempts is likely rooted in a lack of cohesion, and the fact that dumping the ball to the post requires timing and an understanding of a player’s preferences. But he must also demand the ball. Sure, Brunson admitted he has to look for Towns.

In his postgame comments, Brunson mused, “‘I’ve got to be better with it comes to that, I’ve got to adjust and I’ve got to see him.”

Towns has proven to be more versatile, and frankly tougher than we were led to believe. His shot is smooth and his range is limitless. But he must call for the ball. He must demand it. Scream for it, even. How would Patrick Ewing react if he only took 9.3 shot attempts per game? He would be vocal about it, and he would immediately address it on the court. Towns needs to do more of that, and he should start as soon as possible.

Jalen Brunson must play like last season’s Jalen Brunson

Brunson’s play will inevitably come around. But he’s held the Knicks back so far this season.

Brunson played well enough in the first game of this season, but he didn’t get as many looks as he usually does (nine-for-14). He played well in the second game, scoring 26 points on 10-for-19 shooting. But the third game against Cleveland was a great example of how the Knicks can only go as far as Brunson leads them.

Brunson shot just a measly eight-for-24 against the Cavaliers. A lot of his misses were “gimmes”. There were plenty of good looks that simply didn’t fall, and that’s fine. But Brunson has to understand that when his shot isn’t falling, he should lean on his talented supporting cast instead of forcing the issue.

This is not the 2024 Playoffs. He now has Towns. And Bridges. And a healthy Anunoby. He has to rely on them.

Shoot more three-pointers

New York hasn’t exactly led the NBA in three-point attempts in recent seasons. Still, they were 13th in overall attempts in 2023-24. Comparatively, they are dead last in three-point attempts so far this season.

Specifically, New York has shot only 85 threes through three games, or 28.3 per game. That compares poorly to the league-leading Celtics, who have shot 202, or an astonishing 50.3 per game. And this is all after the Knicks added the best shooting big man in the league (Towns).

So, this one is on coach Thibodeau. He must encourage more three-point attempts. And he has to run plays that generate better looks. This is even more obvious when considering the fact that New York is shooting the eight-best three-point percentage in the league (37.6%).

Cam Payne’s impact has to be bigger

Cam Payne was never going to be a major differentiator. Still, Payne must know his impact and, more importantly his role. He played just 10 minutes against the Cavaliers, but that had a lot to do with what he did while on the floor.

Simply put, Payne gave himself a green light, taking a number of unwise shot attempts. Payne ended the evening going just two-for-seven.

Ultimately, Payne can be an important piece for the Knicks. But Thibodeau needs Payne to play responsibly and look to set up New York’s scorers. He does not need Payne to look to score himself, which Payne did time and again in his limited minutes.

But Payne has said all the right things so far in this short time with the Knicks. So, it’s fair to assume that he’ll adjust to what Thibodeau needs from him. And it’s impossible to think that Thibodeau won’t be extremely clear about what went wrong. So, look for Payne to bounce back.

Big picture, the Knicks need time to gel. But there are a number of things upon which they can look to improve before they’ve fully integrated with one another. If they can feature Towns and shoot more threes with Brunson and Payne being more cognizant of their impact, the Knicks should weather the onboarding storm. If they don’t, they could hurt their chances at a top-four seed in the East. Either way, the Knicks should be fine come the playoffs. So, fear not, Knicks fans, there are sunny skies ahead.

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