The New York Knicks are on a four-game winning streak, and their defense has been the main reason for their success. Is their defense legit?
The New York Knicks are on a four-game winning streak. Is it because Julius Randle has been playing at an All-Star level? Yes. Has it been because RJ Barrett seems to be coming out of his slump? Yes. Is it because Jalen Brunson is the goods? Also, yes.
But the main reason for New York’s turnaround is that the Knicks have returned to their defensive roots.
Before New York’s recent success, they were a team looking for an identity. And for a Tom Thibodeau-coached team to be looking for an identity outside of defense, that’s pretty strange. It was as odd as Bugs Bunny being outsmarted by Elmer Fudd.
Until this recent defensive shift, the Knicks were 10-13, and New York relied on their scoring to earn their wins. During that 23-game stretch, the Knicks were ranked 12th in the NBA regarding points averaged per game – the Knicks averaged 114.6 points while, for reference, the Boston Celtics led the league with 121.4 points per game.
But while the Knicks were working as an offensive team under Tom Thibodeau (offense and Thibs are two words that typically don’t go together), the team still felt discombobulated. Sure, New York was able to score – mainly on the heels of Brunson, Barrett, and Randle – but their defense looked lost. Whether that was players missing defensive assignments, allowing backdoor cuts, matching up incorrectly in transition defense, or not making their rotations, this team did not have the marking of Tom Thibodeau’s influence.
And the numbers affirmed the eye test because the Knicks had a 114.2 defensive rating, which ranked 26th in the NBA (Milwaukee Bucks ranked first during that time with a 107.0 defensive rating).
After the heartbreaking loss to the Dallas Mavericks, New York’s defense did a 180 (in hindsight, that game was the straw that broke the camel’s back). Since that game against Dallas, the Knicks possess a 94.4 defensive rating, which is currently the best in the NBA (the Memphis Grizzlies are second with 100.2).
What has caused the Knicks’ defense to improve?
Well, having a healthy Mitchell Robinson as the defensive anchor helps (he has been a dominant force since his return from injury).
But the main reason for such a turnaround is Tom Thibodeau switching up the rotations. Instead of having a ten-man rotation, Thibs cut it to nine. On top of that, Miles “Deuce” McBride is part of the rotation, while Derrick Rose and Cam Reddish are glued to the bench with Evan Fournier.
Inserting McBride into the rotation and having a healthy Quentin Grimes has drastically changed the perimeter defense of this team. Before both guys were in the rotation, Immanuel Quickley was the only reliable perimeter defender on this team, which wasn’t enough to slow teams down, especially from three-point range.
Before Grimes was getting substantial minutes and Immanuel Quickley and Cam Reddish were the best perimeter defenders available, the Knicks allowed league-high attempts and made threes (40.4 and 14.3, respectively). From the Phoenix Suns match to the epic collapse against the Dallas Mavericks – when Grimes was truly back in the rotation with Quickley and Cam – New York was then allowing the sixth most attempts from three, with the fourth most makes. Now during this four-game winning streak with McBride in the rotation, the Knicks are allowing the thirteenth most attempts from three, BUT have the league’s lowest opposing made threes with 7.5 during that stretch (the Timberwolves are allowing the league most during that time with 16.5 made threes).
That is such a drastic drop from where the Knicks were.
For some context, the Knicks’ current winning streak was against four teams that weren’t at their full strength:
- The Cleveland Cavaliers were missing Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade (although Darius Garland missed the first matchup between these two teams, and the Knicks allowed the Cavs to make 23 out of 50 attempts from them, which equates to a blistering 46 percent).
- The Atlanta Hawks were without Dejounte Murry, John Collins, and De’Andre Hunter.
- The Charlotte Hornets didn’t have LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward, and Dennis Smith Jr.
- The Sacramento Kings were missing De’Aaron Fox.
But as I say, you can only play who is in front of you. And regardless that these four teams dealt with injuries, the Knicks still were impressive with their perimeter defense.
I should also note that the Knicks’ defense has improved because of their ability to guard in transition and rotate more effectively. As I mentioned earlier, the Knicks failed to do both correctly because of a lack of communication and effort to get back on defense. As of now, it seems that they have corrected both issues.
Can the Knicks sustatin this level of defense?
Yes and No.
You’re probably saying: Alex, what do you mean by that?
Yes, the defensive intensity is sustainable. But these record lows for defensive rating and three points made are not.
For reference, when the Knicks were the fourth-ranked best defense in 2020-21, their defensive rating was 107.8, with the Los Angeles Lakers leading the NBA with 106.8. The last time a team managed to average a defensive rating under 100 was back during the 2015-16 season, and that was the San Antonio Spurs (they had a 98.2 defensive rating, and that was Tim Duncan’s last season with the team).
As for the three-point shooting, the 2018-19 season was the last time a team held opponents to under 10 made threes per game, and the Detroit Pistons did that – they held teams to 9.6 made threes per game. Furthermore, with recent NBA rule changes to promote more offense and players becoming better three-point shooters, we should expect clubs to typically make at least 10 threes per game.
With all of that said, New York’s level of defense is encouraging because the Knicks seem to figure things out.
Tonight will be a good test for the Knicks to see if their defense is legit. Even though the Chicago Bulls are 2-2 in their last four games, their offense appears to be getting back into a groove because they’re the third-highest-scoring team since December 4th. Additionally, Zach Lavine seems to be recovering from his knee injury – he just had a 40-point performance against the Kings. On top of that, DeRozan is still the midrange assassin. If the Knicks can keep Chicago’s offense at bay, then we need to consider if they have found their identity, are starting to find their groove, and are ready to make some noise.
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in remembrance of Anthony Mason on his birthday, check out CP’s interview with Chris Herring, author of Blood in the Garden: The Flagrant History of the 1990’s New York Knicks, and their discussion of Mason!
