The New York Knicks have their home opener on Saturday, October 29, against the Memphis Grizzlies. What adjustments should they make?
This team is still getting used to playing together and for a new coach, so there isn’t any cause for panic. But with Saturday’s home opener against the playoff hopeful Memphis Grizzlies looming, the Knicks clearly have adjustments to make.
The Knicks will catch a break as new Grizzly Chandler Parsons is out, but they will have their hands full going up against the pick-and-roll combo of Mike Conley and Marc Gasol.
Here are five examples of adjustments based on New York’s game in Cleveland and Memphis’ opener against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Get Kristaps Porzingis Involved Early and Often
Duh.
KP had a solid sophomore debut against the Cavs, notching 16 points, and 7 rebounds on 5 of 13 shooting (.385), but he could’ve been involved more.
Carmelo Anthony dominated the ball in the first quarter as he had the hot hand, scoring 11 points. Porzingis only put up 3 shots. Derrick Rose took over in the second quarter as he was 5 of 7 for 10 points and the Knicks cut the lead to three at the half.
They were blown out in the third when both Anthony (2-6) and Rose (0-4) went cold. Porzingis (3-4) shot the ball well in the fatal period, but it meant nothing.
KP ranked just fifth in touches against Cleveland and his usage percentage from that night (22.8%) was significantly lower than the average from his rookie season (24.6%), per Synergy.
The obvious answer is that Rose isn’t ready to be a third option quite yet.
Better Ball Movement
Rose was honest in his assessment of his new team’s ball movement against the Cavs, “I think everyone knows it was terrible.”
You can’t put it much better than that. The Knicks had only 17 assists on their 32 made field goals and turned the ball over 18 times.
Rose had just 1 assist to 4 turnovers.
Play Physical Defense
The Knicks gave up 117 points to the Cavs. They were pummeled in the paint, giving up 52 points in the restricted area. LeBron James had his way with the Knicks, as he was responsible for 18 of those points.
Joakim Noah didn’t look like himself yet on the defensive end. He contested only three shots, and the Knicks allowed 109.1 points per 100 possessions with him on the floor (per Synergy).
To match up with All-Star center Marc Gasol, they will need Noah at his best.
Better Shot Selection
To be fair, it wasn’t just Brandon Jennings who took bad shots. He is the perfect example, though.
Jennings was 1 of 7 in the opener which is a concerning because not only is he notorious for his inefficiency, but (per Synergy) Jennings was uncontested on each attempt.
The bench is still gelling, and it’s a very inexperienced unit.
Shoot the Three!
Lance Thomas was invisible against Cleveland but he’ll need to step it up if the Knicks are to have a chance against Memphis.
Thomas, the team’s best three-point shooter, didn’t attempt a shot from beyond the arc in the opener and the Knicks shot just 28.6% as a team.
The Grizzlies were 29th in three-point percentage last season, and 22nd in opponent’s three-point percentage. A good night from Thomas from downtown could lead to a win.
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