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How Knicks’ OG Anunoby’s hot start, new approach impacts winning – SNY
Knicks keep rolling, bash Brooklyn in battle of the boroughs – Posting & Toasting
Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson: Questionable vs. Memphis – CBS Sports
Knicks’ offense is becoming productive, but they think it can be much better – Newsday
Defense Into Offense: This Year’s Knicks Have a New Identity – Posting & Toasting
Knicks use great shooting night to throttle Nets, 134-98, in battle of boroughs – SNY
Knicks vs Grizzlies Post Game Show Part 2 w/ Stephon Marbury – Knicks Fan TV
Knicks vs Magic Preview w/ Jonathan Osborne of the Sixth Man Show | PREGAME POD | Knicks Film School – Knicks Film School
KNICKS at GRIZZLIES | FULL GAME HIGHLIGHTS | November 11, 2025 – NBA
Pod Strickland Episode 541: Rejuvenation – The Strickland
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133 replies on “Knicks Morning News (2025.11.12)”
So now that we’re 10 games in, here are some trends I’m seeing:
1) we are dictating how the game is played. We shoot lots of 3’s and relatively few 2’s, and so do our opponents. It’s a bit unsettling that opponents are shooting .391 while we shoot .385, with a similar deficit on 2’s.
2) On the other hand, we are taking 4.5 more 3’s and 4.9 more 2’s per game. We are just annihilating teams on the boards, and we are also generating more turnovers.
3) We neither get to the line nor send teams to the line very much.
So while the results have largely been splendid, I’m a bit worried about this being a different version of the “moneyball” approach, one that is very dependent on rebounding. We’re 24th in 2PT% and don’t get to the line much, so it seems like if we run into a team that knows how to box out and protect the paint, we are highly vulnerable to 3PT variance, since we aren’t defending the 3 or the 2 particularly well.
But we’re piling up points and wins, and our SRS is high, so that’s good. However, I think this next stretch of 5 games will tell us a lot more than the last 10.
Where is Clyde?
And on a completely different track, where is Indiana?
Our offensive rebounding % in the playoffs is basically the same as it is in the regular season every single year.
I haven’t looked at the numbers on it, but eye test-wise, they’ve been dialing back Clyde’s total number of games the last few years. He’s getting older (he turned 80 this year!) and closer to retirement. In addition to wanting to give him rest, MSG is also auditioning potential successors.
As discussed previously, I think Monica McNutt would be the best option, but it sounds like she wants to get a national gig. I haven’t watched the games Novak has done so far; any thoughts from those who have? Of the other Clydes-in-waiting, Alan Hahn has seemed the best — not that he’s been great, but simply not being Wally is hugely welcome.
East of Illinois. West of Ohio.
Thanks, Alan. I miss Clyde.
I’ve only watched some game replays, a quarter here and there and, while Novak seems raw, I think he’s probably the best of the auditioned options, other than McNutt.
That’s valuable information, EB. But at 1:10 I probably won’t be traveling there at this point. Pretty incredible that they were a Hali injury in game 7 from a chance at a championship, and now a complete collapse / tank job.
Hahn is only ok, which is not bad, of course Wally is a disaster, although it’d be kind of ironic if the team can keep being good and the broadcast would go in reverse.
I thought Novak was good when i listened to him, not yesterday because i didn’t catch the game, Milwaukee i think. All in all, we know Clyde is the GOAT of broadcasters, so we would be getting a downgrade even if it was Monica, who i think is the best option too.
The thing I like about Monica is that she’s entertaining but also really good on X’s and O’s, which is an area where Clyde waxes and wanes. He more than makes up for it with his innate Clydeness. But I do think the one way his inevitable retirement is going to hurt less is if the successor is really strong at analyzing what’s happening in the game.
Good Edwards article on how Brown is utilizing Brunson in the offense this year:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6800061/2025/11/12/knicks-win-grizzlies-jalen-brunson-unguardable/
While Edwards talks about how it puts less wear and tear onto our guy, he leaves out the extra benefit of that: in the playoffs, when it will be harder to play The Beautiful Game against teams that are gameplanning for us, Brunson will be even fresher for the inevitable moments where he has to go full Brunson and paper cut opponents to death.
Edwards has had a run of nice articles the last week or two
I mentioned last night that as bad as our defense looks I can’t even complain about it anymore. Not only will we eventually outscore the other team but defense in general around the league is so bad that the Knicks went into last night 10th in defensive rating and after what was to me a pretty poor defensive performance they actually improved to 8th in defensive rating!
I’ve liked Novak so far. He’s been a bit of a homer, but that’s what you’d expect from someone literally auditioning. Even though he’s nominally the color guy I think he makes some interesting Xs and Os related comments, and while no one is Clyde, and no one ever will be, he’s pretty funny.
I’d love to see a booth with both him and Monica at some point.
Utah! The Utah Jazz scored 152 points last night
I’ll grant you leniency for exuberance, Noble, but this was a pretty wild statement last night.
If he’s physically rejuvenated it’s not showing up in the stats, all of which are in line with his last three seasons (with one notable exception: his TS% looks great bc he’s shooting a ridiculous 75% on short range 2PAs). His OBPM was negative til last night, and today sits lower than 2 of his last 3 years.
I’d say looks exactly like a vet minimum player. Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul, and Cole Anthony are all vet min backup PGs, and he’s squarely in that group.
Where I give you a lot of credit is pointing out the drive statistics, which I wasn’t looking at. He’s a vet min player who fits very well. I thought Shamet would have been a better use of the vet min bc I prefer his skillset in the playoffs. Luckily we figured out a way to get both so it is moot.
But $10M AAV is crazy. Ty Jerome didn’t even get $10M (he got $9.3) coming off a 4.3 bpm season that saw him finish 3rd in 6MOTY. Luke Kornet got $10M coming off back-to-back seasons of great two-way basketball. Derrick Jones Jr got $10M after showing he could guard Harden, SGA, and Ant in the playoffs.
He looks like a good fit. He’s fun when he’s on. And I see him at my gym sometimes, which is cool. I’m pleasantly surprised he’s not a sieve on defense. He wasn’t worth the ink we spilled over him but he’s not worth more than the vet min, either. He’s perfectly fine at the price we paid.
and who did utah score 152 points against why the pacers of course
maybe hes finally gonna be in trouble but probably not
is 22.2 minutes per game enough for deuce in this offense maybe maybe not he can always play more in the fourth quarter with og (and mitch if available) if we ever have a tight game
I like both Novak and Hahn, but I suspect Novak will be a bit better on the “X’s” and “O’s” if that’s what you are looking for. He’ll also probably improve as the season goes on. I always liked Hahn, but I think initially he was more of a hockey guy. He’s gotten beter every year.
The issue with Clarkson for me was never about whether he’s a bargain. This version was/is. However, imo we are past the point of bargain hunting. We are trying to find players that will help us win a championship. The issues with Clarkson are whether he gives up more on defense and with occasional bad decision making than he adds on offense and whether we trust his shot selection and decision making in big playoff games. He’s Payne on steroids. When his shot is falling he’s terrific, but when it’s not he’s liable to lose you a game by forcing bad shots and making bad decisions.
So far he has been way better than I feared, but we haven’t seen him under fire yet. That’s when we’ll see if he can play under control under pressure.
kat shooting 91 percent from the line and mikal shooting 47 percent from 3 is pretty cool
That’s quite the notable exception, though, considering he was brought here to do one thing.
I don’t for one second think he’ll maintain a 60% TS while scoring 21 PTS/36, which would make $10M AAV unrealistically low, but I also don’t think his current numbers are all smoke and mirrors. The 75% from the 3-10 range stands out, but he’s only taken 16% of his shots from there.
Looking at his shot distribution more broadly, per CTG he’s at 68% at the rim, 47% in the short midrange, 50% in the long midrange, and 38% from 3. Again, I anticipate all of these to go down a few ticks as if they didn’t he’d be one of the better scorers in the NBA, but they’re also all in the ballpark of figures he’s attained in the past and the 3PT% jump checks out when you consider he’s being assisted on a career high 93% of them (never higher than 75% with Utah).
A TS+ around 100 doesn’t seem out of the question, and that would render him incredibly valuable as a bench usage soaker considering how much offense he creates on his own.
He’s a veteran’s minimum signing. There’s no obligation to play him in crunch time in a playoff game, and if he is playing in those scenarios he either had a 100th percentile outcome season or we’re screwed anyway. The idea is that he can keep Brunson fresher for crunch time by fighting non-Brunson minutes earlier in the game to a draw.
nice name drop on saying that hes at your gym hubie you are the perfect person then to tell us what kind of shape hes really in!
Our defensive rating was actually good enough for 2nd in the league last night.
I thought this bit from Macri this morning nicely captures how the Knicks are ‘playing with pace’ while still being near the bottom of measured pace in the league (which measures how fast you get a shot off, a la SSOL):
“9.40 / 306.1…as in, 9.40 miles run on offense per game, and 306.1 passes made per game. Both numbers rank in the top five of the NBA. The Knicks were in the bottom half of the league in both stats last season.”
In other words, the Knicks are playing incredibly fast, but taking their time to find the best possible shot. A different way to think of pace.
He was only there in the summer, Doogie. This may seem sacrilegious but he looks as cool as a modern-day Clyde in person.
“Nico Harrison Ranked Jrue Holiday In Same Tier As Nikola Jokic”
https://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/282732/Nico-Harrison-Ranked-Jrue-Holiday-In-Same-Tier-As-Nikola-Jokic
Thank you to the model that brought you Jalen Brunson.
My over bet on the Pacers win total isn’t looking too good right now (-:
They’re actually playing it perfectly, get a high lottery pick, get Hali back next season and make another run at the title
Boston should probably be doing the same thing, but sadly for them, they’re just good enough to be a play in team.
This is where I give Noble credit bc he said he was not that and he was right. When his shot is not falling he can still get to the basket, and that’s good enough to afford Jalen Brunson some rest.
All in all I’ll take the L on suggesting he was too risky for the vet min. I do think you guys underestimated the risk, though. The vet min market is robust. We chose him over some really good players.
Again, imo the value is mostly irrelevant at this point. No one anywhere ever complained about the price.
The only objective now is to get the best player possible to fit our needs that also fits the budget.
We needed a scorer off the bench and that could preferably also play some PG (which he’s not really ideally suited to do). If he’s too volatile or too much of defensive liability to play in crunchtime in the playoffs, he’s not the answer.
That’s why I was higher on Brogdon. He was more of a PG that could run the offense and score. He’s a steadier veteran personality that has held up in the playoffs etc.. But it wasn’t to be.
So far Clarkson has been way better than I feared as a scorer. I’m just not sold on him being the answer under fire and defensively. If he’s not that will be a problem because we don’t have a good alternative.
I’m 100% on the same page with TNFH regarding Clarkson. I did quite a bit of research on him after we acquired him and nothing he is doing right now is surprising, not in the least bit. The narrative that he was a dumb, selfish, no-D chucker was pretty lame. Anyone who did the research would know that he’s actually a highly skilled and intelligent offensive player, including as a secondary playmaker. He’s also a really good guy. He’s exactly the kind of guy you want on a vet’s minimum deal in a properly limited back up role, and as a fill-in starter in case of injury. I’m sure he totally gets what is expected of him in this situation. This team is very serious about winning, and New York fans and media are very intelligent and will call him out if he drifts into chucker mode for more than a possession here in a possession there. Hopefully everyone has seen that he is continually looking to make the right play, even with a heat check mixed in here and there, which is true for virtually every guy on the team, including Brunson and KAT, and his D is no worse than theirs.
Have you actually watch this guy play for his entire career or are you making this judgement based on a handful of Knicks games?
Everyone knows he has very serious scoring skills. That’s why he’s been a 6th man of the year.
Think Payne on steroids.
He has more scoring skills than Payne but is prone to even bigger brain farts/bad shots and defensive lapses. That’s the kind of guy I worry about when it comes to important games.
Clarkson is a 33.7% career 3pt shooter. He’s currently at 38.5%.
Maybe he’s finally getting better looks as he slides pretty far down the threat chart, but I’m not expecting that number to hold.
I like his defensive effort on some plays, but has historically been an atrocious defender.
He fits a need and he’ll be useful so long as he does.
This is just not a reasonable expectation for a contender to have when they’re shopping with the veteran’s minimum, and Brogdon was so far from meeting it he retired.
If he can eat regular season innings, and maybe even eat some innings in the playoffs, thus keeping Brunson fresh for nut crunching time, he’s an outstanding signing with the minimum.
I mean, which other minimum signing better fits your criteria? Even Chris Paul looks like a shell of himself (and was almost definitely not available to us anyway).
https://x.com/TommyBeer/status/1988640252588703936?s=19
Interesting early season comparison between this season and last season.
Clarkson’s been perfectly cromulent so far. The real do-over question is who could we have used the mini mid-level on instead of Yabu? I’m not ruling out that he gets in shape and becomes useful. Just wondering what other bigs out there were available at that price point and would have been much more reliable than he’s been so far?
My guess is he’s been both watching the games and has looked at Clarkson’s career drive numbers, both of which indicate he is better than Payne when it comes to the specific skill of getting into the paint.
I mentioned when we signed him that we were making a calculated gamble that his creation skills would outweigh Payne’s superior spot up shooting, and that we were clearly looking for guys who had the ability to, as a kind of step one, just get into the damn paint.
It’s an area where Clarkson clearly bests Payne, and continuing to suggest that they’re similar players, as opposed to very different ones with skillsets that necessitate making a decision re: prioritization, stands up to neither the eye test nor the numbers.
You obviously haven’t watched as many of his games as I have.
Clarkson has been a negative defender every year of his career (some bad) and net negative player in almost every year of his career with the possible exception 2-3 peak years in his late 20s. Even then he was barely a positive player.
Not that on/off means anything after 10 games, but the team is -7.5 with him on the court so far despite him outperforming his norms on offense. There’s more to basketballl than putting the ball in the basket.
“I’m just not sold on him being the answer under fire and defensively. If he’s not that will be a problem because we don’t have a good alternative.”
Deuce’s mom would like to have a word with you.
No one anywhere said he wasn’t a better scorer than Payne.
I’m making the comparison to Payne because he replaced Payne in the rotation in the same way I compare Yabu to Precious even though they are opposites in skills. It’s just that Yabu replaced Precious.
Clarkson’s superior scoring is partly why I say he’s Payne on steroids. He can do more on offense than Payne, but he can have bigger lapses on defense.
I never liked the Payne signing, but the team did well when he was on the court last year. He grew on me – until the playoffs where he became unplayable.
I love Deuce. He plays defense, handles pressure, hustles, hits 3s etc.. He’s a positive player. But he’s not a PG and not really the 6th man scorer that we needed off the bench.
Strat, what are you talking about? They are +3.7 points when he is on the court. Of course good teams are going to be better with him off the court because he is a bench player! If that’s not true, then your starting lineup sucks, which ours doesn’t, far from it! He was a significant net positive when on the court in all three of his years in Utah when they were actually trying to win. And was a positive again even when they dumped Spida and Gobert and Will Hardy took over. Then he had two bad seasons when his role was inflated, his team sucked, and he was banged up.
You are off, but only by 11.2 PTS/100.
It really is exhausting when you are so condescending yet so wrong.
The Knicks are +3.7 against their opponents when he plays.
His on-off is -7.5.
This isn’t that hard guys. Strat clearly said on-off.
Payne’s on-off was +7.4, fwiw
That’s a massive difference though! It’s the difference between him being worse than Jalen Brunson (like 99%+ of NBA players) and him being outright bad, if you’re using the number to try to make a point.
You realize on-off is different than +/- on court per 100. They’re two different stats that track different things.
You can see them in adjacent columns on BK-Ref.
This is kind of hilarious. The guy who made an intelligent, advanced-statistics based argument that Clarkson would be worth the vet min was correct and is being humble. And the guy who made wild, baseless predictions like “this is going to be Derrick Rose 2.0” and “no better player could have been signed with the vet min” was blatantly wrong but is drafting off the other person being right to heap praise on himself and mock other folks for not doing their research.
I’m not worried about his offense yet. It’s not like he’s old, has been injured or there are any potential off the court issues that would cause a decline. I think it’s mostly defining a role for him and some random noise.
Someone on one of the telecasts mentioned his weight and said they saw him with his shirt off and he’s definitely not out of shape. He’s all muscle. I’m wondering whether he tried to get “bigger” on the assumption of playing a lot of C and it backfired. Whatever the reality, I don’t think he’s a backup C defensively (other than break the glass in an emergency). So we are highly dependent on Mitch staying healthy and hopefully Huk developing.
I’m pretty sure if Clarkson got to start games and play more often with the Big 4 his on off numbers would be better. Although seems like Brown does a pretty good job of always having a couple of the Big 4 in the game at all times.
Yes, and here is what Strat said: “the team is -7.5 with him on the court.”
That is a straightforward (very wrong) description of his individual net rating, not his on/off.
I don’t want to overstate the value of a big being able to set screens, but… my man Yabu sets some monstrous screens. He’s so massive it just takes a second to run around the perimeter of the man. Last night it was particularly noticeable. I bet we have very high efficiency on plays where Yabu’s badonkadonk ass is setting a screen.
Total BS.
There was never a point ever where I said Clarkson wasn’t a good value at the minimum or a not good vetsatile scorer. Everyone on earth already knew he was/is a good versatile scorer.
That’s why he was a former 6th man of the year. How much more obvious can that part of it be.
I repeatedly said we need a backup PG that scores (he’s not a PG), he’s a bad defender coming to team with issues on defense (he still is and we still are) and that his shot selection/decsion making will leave a lot to be desired. So far, the latter has been better than I feared. I’ll take the L on that so far. His shot selection has been tolerable.
What I am saying over and over is that I don’t care what skills he brings to the table as a scorer and what kind of bargian he is (imo they are both irrelevant to winning it all). IMO he was not the right player to fill what we needed. He wasn’t when we signed him and he’s still not.
Offensive talent was not our problem last year. The problem was defense and an unimaginative offense that was too Brunson centric with too much dribbing and ISO. Brown was brought in to fix the
offense. So far so good.
But we added two non defenders. IMO both Yabu and Clarkson are both worse defensively than Precious and Payne respectively.
Do you understand why I keep bringng this up?
I don’t care how much Clarkson scores how how he can penetrate etc.. We can score plenty without him playing like this. But we won’t win a title not playing defense.
Our defense has been more tolerable so far at times in part because we have Mitch back. That’s something I’ve said was THE key to the season for us. But we still have no backup PG and overall we have worse defenders other than Mitch being added.
JK are you saying Phil would’ve liked having Yabu’s big ass in the triangle?
November basketball simply can’t compete with November baseball now that I’ve tasted it. IST just isn’t gonna cut it.
Helps if you read the whole sentence:
Strat I’ve mentioned this already but you have to come to grips with the fact that evaluating defense isn’t the same as it used to be. The current Knicks have a Top 3 offense and a Top 8 defense, if their defensive hold forms its more than good enough to win a championship with their high powered offense.
Yeah, with you on the Yabu screen. It’s like a small space shuttle trying to get around a planet.
He’s actually Masonesque, just without the muscle definition, and the insanely copious amounts of sweat.
I am a bit more tepid on Novak after last night. He kind of sounds like the announcer you would hear on NBATV on some random road game in the Midwest. And last night he had some comment about how he didn’t think KAT had fouled a guy, while they rolled the tape of KAT connecting with the guy’s elbow.
I think I might like Hahn more at the moment actually, after Monica. Hahn can dunk apparently! Saw some clip of him on Twitter yesterday, although I couldn’t tell if it was a prank of some kind.
Correct, except I’m getting the drive numbers from you bc I don’t know where the hell you get them from.
But what I’m seeing in these 10 games has validated your thesis about the value of the different skill set. Clarkson doesn’t just help Brunson, he complements Deuce very well, too.
I don’t think Strat is wrong about important games. I’m not particularly excited about the prospect of Clarkson facing OKC pressure in the NBA finals, either, even it it’s only for 4 minutes. But we didn’t choose Clarkson over Scottie Pippen Jr here. It was either him, Westbrook, or Anthony.
“I bet we have very high efficiency on plays where Yabu’s badonkadonk ass is setting a screen.”
Sounds like we don’t want him to lose weight or perhaps even eat more.
Strat, I wasn’t speaking about you in that post 😉
FWIW I think everyone agrees with the principle behind what you’re saying.
At the same time your argument is kinda like saying we should have drafted Alex Sarr instead of Pacome Dadiet.
It was either Westbrook, Anthony, Clarkson, Wright, or Payne. If I’m missing someone, let me know. Who from that group does what you want?
Did you want us to trade Mitch and a pick for a better backup PG? Trade Deuce? Bc that’s probably what it would take to get the guy you want.
Hahn played Division II basketball, and is really tall. Monica, of course, played at Georgetown.
Did not know that, LIU-Post!
Am I the only one here nervous about tonight’s game? We’re flying high at home and Orlando has beena super tough matchup. Or do we think squeezing by Detroit in the playoffs has helped us be more prepared for Orlando? Our offense is playing great, but I don’t think KAT can play against Banchero the way he has played thus far this season. I wonder what adjustment he’ll make..
I’m actually more worried about Franz. He’s like a bigger, stronger version of OG (well, bigger and stronger, not at all similar games). Glad Mo is out so there’s a bit less chance of KAT or Mitch getting badly wounded.
We actually dominated Orlando last year. We blew them out the first 3 times we played them, then they threw the kitchen sink at us in the 4th game to save their pride.
Hahn is pretty tall (for a reporter) and told me he played college ball (I think D2 or D3).
Only reason I’m worried about tonight is cause of the back to back. Orlando has regressed defensively this season and they still aren’t good on offense. But still should be a tough game, Knicks haven’t played a relatively close game since their losing road trip.
Hahn’s college stats:
https://static.post.liuathletics.com/custompages/mbball/1991.htm
This is nuts. It’s kinda like that first moment you realized everyone else in baseball has a low batting average, too, not just your team.
AIO stats can’t measure the impact of coaching, system, role, lineups, how players fit together etc… on a player’s stats or impact on winning.
But if we are required to talk about player impact a moving average of RAPM and on/off are probably a good place to start.
I posted this a couple of times already, but here’s Clarkson’s RAPM numbers.
https://www.nbarapm.com/player/Jordan_Clarkson
His current 2, 3, 4, and 5 year moving average Defensive RAPMs are all very negative and his net RAPM is also negative.
His Defensive Regularized Adjusted Plus Minus Including playoffs for his entire career are all very negative every year whether you use 2, 3, 4 or 5 year moving average. His net RAPM is was positive a couple of times at his peak offensive production a few years ago.
On/Off for his career is very similar.
EPM currently shows him as -1.4 defensively and -1.5 overall (less relevant if you think last year was an injury related down year)
Bottom line is what I am saying. It has nothing to do with value or the scoring skills he possesses.
He’s not a backup PG.
He’s a bad defender.
He’s a Net Negative player.
His decsion making is suspect.
He’s not what this team needed at guard even if he was playing for free.
is
https://www.nbarapm.com/player/Jordan_Clarkson
You’re not gonna get a two way player at the guard position with a vet minimum signing. We actually have a perfectly good rotation of backup guards in Deuce, Clarkson, and Shamet, all of whom bring a little something to the table, and who give you some different looks. Collectively they cost almost nothing. Backup guard is the absolute least of our worries. Clarkson’s wheels look good. The “he’s washed” worry seems to have passed.
We’re one “Yabu rounding into form (no pun intended)” from having a really well balanced bench that is only missing one piece: a playable defensive big. I’d be willing to move some of the young guys who are at the back of the bench and not in the rotation to acquire that player.
I thought we should have had a top 1-2 offense last year and we did for awhile, but then it fell apart. If we keep playing the right way we’ll have a top 3 offense this year. We certainly have the talent for it.
I think our defense without Mitch will be below average and with Mitch will be better but I’m hard pressed to guess where because we haven’t seen enough of it. That’s why I had a small panic attack when we were told he was on Load Management before the season even started. Other than Mitch, our defense got worse player wise and I’m not expecting Brown to improve our defensive strategies relative to Thibs.
But Mitch has barely played this season and the Knicks have improved defensively relative to the rest of the league. I mentioned earlier I thought we played pretty poor defense last night but I think it was EB who mentioned that our defensive rating last night was akin to the current 2nd best defense in the NBA.
Im not saying defense isn’t important anymore, shit I usually complain more than anybody during game threads about the defense. But I realize that we have to evaluate defense a bit differently in terms of our expectations of what a good defense is in today’s NBA.
It’s interesting that you bring this up, because there’s one area in which the Knicks seem to be playing a different defensive style, and it is bringing dividends: we’re creating way more turnovers.
Thibs coached here for five seasons. His first three seasons, the Knicks were in the bottom third of the league in defensive TOV%. His last two years they were around league average.
This year, the Knicks are 4th in defensive TOV%. Combine this with the Knicks’ low turnover numbers on the offensive end, plus their strong rebounding on both ends, and they’re just bludgeoning opponents in terms of sheer possessions. They’re doing the Thibs Moneyball thing, but to even more stark effect because they have upped their turnovers created without any cost in FT/FGA.
The Knicks have taken 49 more 2PA and 45 more 3PA than their opponents in ten games, and are about even in FTA. They have shot almost 100 more FG attempts than their opponents in ten games. You shoot the ball ten more times per game than your opponent, that’s a pretty huge leg up.
Is this sustainable? I don’t know. But it sure is effective, and it does seem like they’re looking to create turnovers more now than they ever did under Thibs.
Hahn had 10 offensive rebs in just 86 minutes, which is ~4.2/36min. Certainly had some ups.
Who did you want instead?
You can’t say you don’t know. The whole argument here is that all our options were imperfect. You have to identify one guys
Yeah JK the forced turnovers have to definitely be the biggest reason the Knicks defense has improved. I look at their opposition shooting stats and I’m like how the hell do we have a Top 10 defense but the turnovers and defensive rebounding is a huge strength of the Knicks.
And the attempt to force more turnovers appears to be the main culprit for our allowing so many 3s. OG and Mikal can get away with chasing steals and still get back to their man in time. Jalen and some of our other rotation guys can’t.
So far, the trade-off has been worth it. We’ll see over the long term.
As usual, I am with JK47. We really are generating a lot more turnovers, which is strange.
Hahn appears to have been LIU-Yabu.
I can see the line to defend Clarkson and all I can say is that I am across the street and turning the corner to get away from it. I get he’s cheap and has been fine so far but I do not believe in him.
I liked Larry Nance Jr, but with the caveat that he might not hold up physically. Better player, though. Also thought LaRavia was worth a flyer, especially because of his age.
Whereas I saw no better alternative to Clarkson, unlike Strat. Right, Strat? Because your guy was _______________.
He also shot 55% from the line
He must love Mitch lol
Alan I feel like Hart is one of the biggest culprits of chasing steals and not being able to recover to the 3pt line or even finding his man who cuts to the rim for an easy layup.
stray strat strut yes i know you fixed it
100%. Was obvious at the game last night. The thing I don’t get is why Deuce isn’t playing more…Brown isn’t a believer? Maybe it will just take time.
As for the TOs, I’m surprised on both ends. I really thought our own rate would jump considerably with the system Brown put in place. But it’s been a very pleasant surprise on both ends. As said in my post last night, watching live, seeing the full court, it’s apparent that almost everyone is an excellent passer except OG. Makes for some really beautiful ball. Ironically, the TOs seem to come more from basic dumb passes (crosscourt above the arc, forcing the ball to the center at his knees under the hoop) and less from high degree of difficulty stuff to cutters.
I think there were two distinct pro-Clarkson arguments:
One argument was “looking at data from the last three years, this looks like a smart use of the vet min bc Clarkson fills a need, fits well, and will keep Brunson fresh.”
The other argument was “throw out the data from last three years, in a different role and a different city Clarkson is going to turn back the clock like Derrick Rose did and be rejuvenated.”
The first one I’m conceding. The second one I’m with you.
The irony is I agree with Strat’s “Cam Payne on steroids” argument. I just think Cam Payne on steroids is going to be a pretty useful player all the way up until the conference finals, at which point Brunson’s probably going Superman anyway.
Hard to complain with results when we’re the 8th best defense despite giving up a billion 3s at a high % despite Mitch only playing half our games.
I’m hoping the players continue to adjust and recognize (1) when to help, (2) when not to help, and (3) how far they can sink into the paint and still recover.
“Clarkson doesn’t just help Brunson, he complements Deuce very well, too.
100%. Was obvious at the game last night. The thing I don’t get is why Deuce isn’t playing more…Brown isn’t a believer? Maybe it will just take time.”
yeah i brought this up this morning deuce is averaging 22.2 minutes per game which if its too few isnt too few by much if we increased his minutes who would we be decreasing minutes for
I mean, I can understand Clarkson in context.
He’s just the kind of player I have always disliked. Takes lots of shots and doesn’t play d.
But it’s fine.
Is that really the case? Yes, defenses tend to get better in the playoffs, but offenses still work. Indiana kept putting the Knicks on the blender these past two years. Boston probably lost the series because they hit an unsustainably low percentage for deep (and took some bad shots), not because their offense stopped working. I think the offense can still work – though I take your point that having Brunson as a safety valve when they get stuck is a pretty great plan.
I agree with all of this, but I wonder whether the tradeoff here is giving up easier shots (from deep and at the rim). The Knicks are 4th worst in eFG% allowed (they were 22nd last season, so only marginally better). Anecdotally, there are a few too many plays in which their aggressive defense has led to some really open shots (one example is the way they help on the nail, leading to open 3s one pass away). I think this is stuff that they can improve on, but I do think the over aggressive offense has a cost (and perhaps it’s one they’ll live with given how it improves them elsewhere – they somehow have the 8th best defensive rating despite giving up such a high eFG%).
Shams:
Just a cursed career at this point — like getting that last contract from Washington was a wish on a monkey’s paw.
WTF?
The big 4 are all averaging 32-34 mpg.
Hart is at 24, Deuce is at 22.
Clarkson and Landry are averaging 16 & 18.
The 9th guy (Yabu) is at 10.
Should Deuce be playing more? I suppose he could get more of Clarkson & Landry’s minutes, but I think this is just what a sane NBA rotation looks like.
FYI, we were babbling a bit about Jokic’s place in history — there’s this small sample size nugget going on right now:
“Denver is averaging 20.4 fast-break points per 100 possessions with Jokic on the court. That’s good for first in the league. It averages just 7.5 (!) when he’s on the bench. That’s good for last in the league.”
Also fun Jokic lunacy:
“Also, it’s probably worth noting that he currently has the highest assist rate since Russell Westbrook’s MVP-winning 2016-17 season (right now it’s 50.7 percent, with John Stockton’s record 57.5 within reach) and is dishing out the most assists (11.9) anyone ever has while averaging 34 or fewer minutes per game.”
As I continue to desperately procrastinate, another little quote:
‘Jalen Brunson (NYK) was a plus-73 in three games last week.’
I am also procrastinating! I could have been done writing about the next episode of Pluribus at least an hour ago, rather than reading more Nico Harrison stories.
I feel ya raven, al…got a load of clothes in the dryer done, ‘nother load in the washer waiting to go in, got more washing after that…
I wanna procrastinate too…maybe just do somethin’ else instead…
I don’t know, maybe create another meaningless post on some obscure digital interface…yeah, think I’ll do that…
no game for me tonight…even though the lure of the knicks on some other color TV, in some other spot is a bit tempting…I got work to do…right here, right now…and, I’m going to start doing it, really soon…
Hubby is putting me to work. Procrstinational. Braised Goat shoulder with Berbere and Beer. Been a bit since I was up on the beer game… Samuel Smith Chocolate Stout don’t fucking fail me. He’s very curious about the Knicks scoring this year. Said they’re more like Bruce Lee than Chuck Norris this year.
sounds like a perfect evening clarence enjoy!
I’m hoping, Doogie. Doing my laps so a back2back doesn’t lead to a back to back.
For the benefit of the blog, I won’t respond to the resident asshole.
Confirmed Lineup
PG Jalen Brunson
SG Mikal Bridges
SF OG Anunoby
PF K. Towns
C M. Robinson
MAY NOT PLAY
None
The two worst things about the Knicks being good:
1) So much less to bitch about (Huk Huk!).
2) Finding the damn game on some stupid streaming place or other.
who is the resident asshole i havent seen anyone say anything remotely assholish maybe just a little bit earlier today when there was a small argument about stats and clarkson but nothing really at all assholish
So I found the game on ESPN but there are no announcers! This may be a very good thing…
That’s the high camera angle one, though, right? Gets dizzying after a while.
You’re right, Hubie, got suspicious and found the ‘right’ one. Oh well. Mitch-Mitch!
Ironically it’s the guy who thinks someone else is the resident asshole.
Ugh. Rock fight.
Not sure why Brunson is bringing up the ball and why they are not moving as much.
Why is Brunson reverting to last season’s offense.
Guess this is game thread?
yeah that high camera angle with no announcers is what they use on tnt ot borderline unwatchable
What’s the excuse this time? Cappuccino? Alcohol? Getting beaten up? Wasn’t it just a couple of days ago that you had to apologize to someone for being an asshole?
Don’t see enough to overturn the call on the floor
“For the benefit of the blog, I won’t respond”
Let’s stick to your word. This is the game thread now.
lol hubie very interestingly put
Yeah not feeling this game tonight…
“For the sake of the blog, I’m going to kick off the game thread by calling someone an asshole.”
I don’t understand this game. We sure as hell aren’t getting 27 assists this way.
yeah were on track for 10 assists
Brunson can’t do it by himself. Magic play some good defense and so the Knicks have to adjust after playing the Grizzlies.
This is some God awful basketball by both teams.
I think Brunson plans to foul out the entire Orlando team, after which the Knicks can coast to victory.
6 turnovers… no bueno
I know Orlando is an awful 3pt shooting team but JFC you still have to at least try to defend the 3pt line.
Is Josh Hart drunk?
Goga hugged his teammate after making that basket. That was endearing.
Orlando is a Thibs style team and, ironically, I feel like this is the type of team that might be our kryptonite.
Well we’re ‘only’ down seven, which is sort of okay since it feels like we should be down by 15.
Magic’s stout defense presents a unique challenge compared to the other teams played this season, especially recently. Be interesting to see how Knicks adapt to it.
New game thread up
So there all you Yabusele haters!