The Knicks 2022-23 season by the numbers: Where did it go wrong or right?

The Knicks season is over following their 96-92 loss to the Miami Heat in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

As we take stock of the 2022-23 season and attempt to determine just how much of a success it was for a Knicks team that was projected by many to have just 36 wins, I figured it was fitting to dive into the numbers. By looking at various stats, we can begin to determine which areas helped to fuel the success of the Knicks’ season and which areas offer the most glaring paths for improvement.

Below are some of the key storylines for the Knicks season, using stats to put the pieces together.

Jalen Brunson Emerged as a True Star

The one clear fact about the Knicks’ season is that Jalen Brunson is worth every single penny the team spent on him. He emerged as a bonafide star this year and taken the mantle as the clear leader for the Knicks going forward.

14th in offensive rating among players averaging over 20 mins per game
27th in points per game
33rd in player impact estimate among players averaging over 20 mins per game
38th in usage among players averaging over 20 mins per game
4th in points per game in clutch situations (five-point game in the final five minutes)

He stepped it up even more in the playoffs, where he was:

9th in points per game
8th in free-throws made per game (shooting 91%)
7th in player impact estimate

The Rotation Change Was a Huge Success

One of the biggest storylines of New York’s season was the rotation change after the December 3rd loss to the Mavericks. Thibodeau moved Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose out of the rotation entirely, moved Miles McBride into a bench role, and Quentin Grimes into the starting lineup. It was clearly a season-defining moment for the Knicks and made this run in the playoffs possible.

Prior to the December 4th rotation change

Ranked 21st with a .458 winning percentage
Ranked 21st with a -1.3 plus/minus
Ranked 15th in offensive rating, 23rd in defensive rating, and 22nd in net rating

After the December 4th rotation change

Ranked 6th with a .627 winning percentage
Ranked 4th with a +4.8 plus/minus
Ranked 3rd in offensive rating, 17th in defensive rating, and 5th in net rating

Physicality and Rebounding Were a Team Strength

Ranked 3rd in the NBA with 46.7 rebounds per game
Ranked 3rd in the NBA with 12.6 offensive rebounds a game
Ranked 3rd in defensive rebounding rate
Ranked 2nd in the NBA in offensive rebounding rate
Allowed the 3rd-lowest opponent’s offensive rebounding rate
Allowed the 4th-fewest second chance points
Drew the 8th-most fouls per game at 20.4
Recovered the 3rd-most loose balls per game
Allowed the fewest points in the paint in the NBA

The Knicks Don’t Have Enough Shooting

One of the biggest issues for the Knicks was that they didn’t have enough shooting on the court with various lineups. Many of the Knicks players who play big minutes (Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Obi Toppin) are inconsistent or poor shooters.

Ranked 19th in 3pt field goal percentage
Ranked dead last in field goal percentage on shots 25 feet or further
Ranked 24th in field goal percentage on shots between 20-24 feet from the basket
Ranked dead last in 3pt field goal percentage in the playoffs

The Knicks Offense is Too Isolation-Centric

Another major issue with the New York office was that it was way too isolation centric. While Miami displayed incredible ball movement in their series win over the Knicks, New York seemed to have little to no ball movement on many possessions. That was the case during the season as well.

Ranked 1st in rate of field goals that were unassisted (that’s not good)
Had the 3rd-most isolation possessions of any team in the NBA
Had the 4th-most shot attempts come out of isolation
Ranked 28th in assists per game
Ranked 26th in points that came off of screen assists
Ranked 18th in catch-and-shoot field goal attempts (meaning many shot attempts came off of dribbles)

The Knicks Have a Defensive Problem With their Big Three

One of New York’s biggest issues going forward will be trying to close games with Brunson, Rande, and Barrett all on the court since they all ranked poorly in defensive metrics.

Randle ranked 237th amongst all NBA starters in defense rating
Barrett ranked 270th
Brunson ranked 279th
Randle ranked 66th of 84th qualified power forwards in the RAPTOR defensive metric
Barrett ranked 94th of 101 qualified small forwards in the RAPTOR defensive metric
Brunson ranked 45th of 72 qualified point guards in the RAPTOR defensive metric

Thibodeau’s Defensive Philosophy Needs to Change

While Tom Thibodeau has built a reputation as a defensive-minded coach, the results were simply not there for the Knicks this year. Thibodeau claims that he uses his own metrics and stats to evaluate his defense, but his strategy is not conducive to the modern NBA. The Knicks would aggressively help off of shooters to fill the lane and take away penetration. That would then cause them to have to rotate to close out to the nearest shooter, which then caused a scrambling chaos of Knicks players flying out at the nearest shooter to prevent three-point shots.

Many teams used this chaos against the Knicks during the season, and Miami exposed it again during the playoffs, using ball movement and pump fakes to get Knicks defenders flying past them and hoist up open looks from three. While teams may not have shot a high percentage from deep against the Knicks, that’s less because of New York’s defense and more because of the law of averages when teams shoot as often as they did against New York from long range.

Opponents attempted 36.5 threes per game against the Knicks, the 5th-most in the NBA
Opponents made 13 threes per game against New York, the 4th-most in the NBA
Allowed the 7th-most catch-and-shoot threes (threes with no dribble)
Allowed the 6th-most open threes (no defender within four to six feet)
Ranked 22nd in deflections (they don’t get in the passing lanes)
Ranked 29th in the NBA with 6.2 steals per game

Obviously, we’ll have a lot more to come in the weeks ahead about this Knicks’ season. It was mostly a clear success, but there is certainly room for growth heading into next year.