Tom Thibodeau has been a head coach in the NBA since 2010. His teams are notorious for defense, tenacity, and starters that play the majority of the 48 minutes every night. However, this year’s Knicks team seems to be a bit of a departure from that stereotype. This is a team powered by offense and pace.
Currently sitting at 9-7, the Knicks are averaging over 117 points per game in victories and less than 100 points in their defeats. The inconsistency on the offensive end can be attributed to a number of things as we are a fifth of the way through the season.
The main culprit of the inconsistency of the Knicks’ offense is whether or not they get off to a fast start. With how they intend to control the tempo of the game, it is paramount they establish their tone early. New York averages 21.6 points in the first quarter of losses and 30.0 points in the first quarter of wins.
Compared to their win/loss defensive splits which are 108 in losses and 104.3 in wins, it is clear the approach to this Thibodeau-coached team is different than we have seen. With the offense being under a microscopic lens, the Knicks’ best offensive lineups continue to go through Julius Randle. Randle is in four-fifths of the Knicks’ most-used lineups, meaning the success of the offense largely lies on his shoulders. New York has paid and treated Randle like a superstar cornerstone, despite his hot and cold offensive streaks.
In wins this year, Randle is averaging 21.6 points per game on 45/37/70 shooting splits. In losses, that number drops to only 18.3 PPG, but the shooting splits drop drastically to 31/17/68. In fact, Randle takes more field goal attempts in losses (18.3) than wins (16.8). While it’s clear your team is unlikely to
win when one of the best players does not play well, these splits speak to the Knicks’ general approach as a team.
Randle is a volume scorer who must have the ball in his hands to produce. The Knicks offense comes to a screeching halt when his numbers are lacking. Randle has led the team in scoring in three games this year and New York is 3-0 in those contests. When Randle is cooking, all’s right with the Knicks system and it is able to operate effectively. However, that is not the issue. The issue comes when Randle is struggling and New York continues to feed him the ball to no avail.
A unit that has offered a glimmer of hope and has produced without Randle is a lineup of Isaiah Hartenstein, Josh Hart, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barret, and Donte DiVincenzo. The per 48 numbers are encouraging, projecting to over 116 points per game. This pace is better offensively than the four lineups Randle is featured the most in.
With New York having an embarrassment of riches at the guard position, it’s important to remember the role they play in spacing the floor and providing Randle with the touches and space he demands to create. In order to keep teams honest, the Knicks must be a threat on the wings too.
As the Knicks season continues and they seek to find balance on the floor, the offensive development will be paramount to their success. There must be a balance established between getting Randle touches while not compromising the overall success of the team. If that equilibrium can be found, the Knicks will make some serious noise in the East.
