The New York Knicks and Miami Heat are tied 1-1 in the Eastern Conference Semis. Tom Thibodeau and his team must adjust if they want to win.
“You already know the answer to that.”
This was New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau’s response when asked whether he is preparing for Jimmy Butler to play in Game 3. On the one hand, you can understand the attention paid to a player (Butler) who has had a significant impact during these playoffs. Through the postseason, Butler is averaging 35.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. And while he usually does his damage in the mid-range, the six-time All-Star is shooting 42.9 percent from three-point range on 4.7 attempts per game.
On the other hand, Knicks fans, who have watched their team’s offense ride the struggle bus for much of this postseason, know that their issues cast a net much wider than the outstretched arms of Butler. Defensively, the Knicks have a ways to go from their Game 2 performance, which featured a lackluster approach to guarding the three-point line.
But I still have faith in Thibs. Even though the first two games demonstrated that Erik Spoelstra possesses a tactical edge over his grizzled counterpart, Thibs has met and passed most of his postseason challenges thus far. If we rewind the tape to Cleveland Cavaliers series, Thibs utilized multiple guards to set screens for Jalen Brunson in an effort to make it more difficult for the Cavs, who were blitzing and hedging on pick-and-rolls to make Brunson’s job more difficult. He’ll have to be as creative against the Heat to attack their zone defense and limit their three-point shooting.
The Knicks must attack the Heat’s zone defense
For much of the regular season, zone defense was the Knicks’ kryptonite. For an NBA team with plenty of intelligent players, it was astounding to watch the New York react to the zone like it was one of Matt Damon’s math equations from Good Will Hunting. Nevertheless, some positive signs from game two suggested that the Knicks found a formula for success.
As J_Frm_EastNy points out, the Knicks created a passing line by using RJ Barrett as a decoy. As Barrett runs through the heart of the zone, he draws his defender away from the weakside, where Josh Hart finds an open Julius Randle, who drains the three. Of course, teams typically attack the zone by sending one of their bigs into the middle as a facilitator — the issue for the Knicks is that Mitchell Robinson is not a gifted passer, and using Randle in that role takes one of their best shooters away from the perimeter.
The 50 second mark of the video above highlights another important facet of attacking zone defenses — driving the ball and moving defenders. Josh Hart struggled with his three-point shot early, but his rebounding and defense still impacted the game. Besides that, Hart’s ability to pump-fake, drive, and draw multiple defenders opened up Jalen Brunson for a wide-open three.
The Knicks need more Quentin Grimes
Thibs closed out game two with Quentin Grimes on the floor in favor of RJ Barrett. Although Barrett received a lot of criticism during the regular season, he’s answered plenty of detractors (including me) with his stellar play during this postseason — averaging 19.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and a 45.7 percent field goal percentage per game. That said, Barrett’s performance during game 2 was a tale of two halves. The Knicks would not have been able to stage a comeback without Broadway’s Barrett’s efficient scoring during the first half. However, in the second half, Barrett reverted to some of his old ways — driving to the hoop with blinders on and committing costly turnovers.
Grimes proved to be an excellent point-of-attack defender who could limit Kyle Lowry and others from duplicating their production from game one. Per NBA Matchups data, Grimes guarded Lowry for longer than anyone on the Knicks, and he limited the 17-year vet to just two points on two shots. This was a far cry from Lowry’s production in game one, where he dropped 18 points and shot three-for-six from behind the arc.
Grimes’ postseason shooting numbers have been abysmal so far. The second-year Houston product is shooting 23.5 percent from the field, and 14.3 percent from the three-point line. We know Grimes has been carrying a shoulder injury, and he’s averaging ten fewer minutes per game in the playoffs compared to the regular season. Still, this prototypical three-and-D player will likely show up and show out on both sides of the court when Butler returns to the lineup for the Heat.
Manufacturing more open three-point shots
During the regular season, the Knicks hoisted the eighth most three-point shots in the league (35.7 per game). However, during the playoffs, the Knicks have dipped to 31.9 three-point attempts per game, and their efficiency has decreased as well — dropping from 35.4 percent in the regular season to 29.1 percent in the postseason.
What is part of the reason for the dip? Wide-open versus closely defended three-point shots. During the regular season, 18.1 percent of the Knicks’ three-pointers were taken where the defender was four-to-six feet away. During the postseason, that number has shrunk down to 16 percent.
Conversely, 18.4 percent of the Heat’s three-point shots have been open during this series. Because of this, the Heat, who ranked 27th in three-point percentage during the regular season, have shot up to first in the playoffs. All thanks to Gabe Vincent, Max Strus, and Kevin Love having far too much room to operate on the perimeter.
The Knicks, under Mike Woodson, used to get Steve Novak open using a variety of tactics. One way was using staggered screens along the sideline to get Novak more open looks. Especially for shooters like Grimes and Immanuel Quickley, who have been struggling with their shots, the staggered screens could serve as a catalyst to get them going in this series.
As KnicksFanTv’s own Alex Trataros discussed in one of his most recent articles, better three-point shooting is desperately need to improve the spacing in the Knicks offense. More volume and open shots are the keys to solving the Knicks offensive problems.
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out Knicks vs. Heat Game 3 Preview, where Alex and Nekias Duncan, host of The Dunker’s Spot, discuss the upcoming matchup.
