The New York Knicks will need to come up with some New Year’s resolutions if they want to make a deep playoff run.
Ah, New Years. Every year at this time, people around the world come up with resolutions to improve their lives. NBA franchises are no different, from the front offices, the coaches, and even the players, this time of year represents a sense of change for the better.The New York Knicks made a number of changes to their roster this offseason. The goal is for them to reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
Early on this season, New York has been quite inconsistent. One minute they are on a five-game winning streak and the next they are losers of four straight. In order for the Knicks to make a deep championship run, let alone make the postseason, they will need to come up with some resolutions.
Here are three New Year’s resolutions for the New York Knicks to make 2017 a successful year:
Staying Healthy
In order for New York to make the post season and a deep run, once they are in the playoffs, they will need to be healthy.
Derrick Rose is arguably the most important piece to the Knicks running like a well-oiled machine. Unfortunately, he has also been injury prone. So far this season he has missed four games due to back spasms. During those games, the Knicks have a record of 1-3. In his last five seasons, Rose has missed 244 games out of a possible 410.
Now I know you cannot prevent injuries 100 percent. There are ways though to try and ensure the team’s health.
One way would be to closely manage the minutes of their aging stars. Another way would be to implement rest days for the veterans. The third way would be up to the players themselves. They can work on their weight and conditioning. New York should be able to secure home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs as long as they can stay healthy.
First Round of the Playoffs come through New York
The goal of any team heading into the playoffs is to get as many games on their home court as possible. The New York Knicks are no different. They have been playing some of their best basketball of the season under the bright lights of the “World’s Most Famous Arena.”
The top four teams in each conference receives home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. New York currently sits in the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Toronto Raptors will most likely lock up the top two seeds. That leaves the third and fourth seeds up for grabs.
New York has played 16 of their 31 games at Madison Square Garden this season. In those games, they have a record of 11-5. They are averaging 106.9 points during home games. The Knicks are shooting better at home as well. Their field goal percentage is 45.9 percent and their three-point percentage is 37.4 percent.
In 15 road games, their record is 5-10. They are only averaging 104.1 points in those games. Both their field goal and three-point percentages are lower on the road as well. Of course, they will not even make the playoffs if they do not improve their defense.
Improve their Swiss cheese defense
The one area that the New York Knicks need to address the most is their defense. Joakim Noah and Courtney Lee were brought in during the offseason to try and improve the team’s defense. That has not been the case so far this season. New York currently ranks in the bottom of the league in at least eight different defensive categories.
The Knicks are giving up 107.9 points per game. That is good for 25th in the entire NBA. They need to learn how to defend without fouling. Their opponents are getting to the foul line an average of 26.2 times per game. That is the fourth most in the league.
As good as New York has been at grabbing offensive rebounds, they have been that bad on the defensive end. They are allowing 11.9 offensive rebounds per game which is good for dead last in the league. Those rebounds have led to 14.8-second chance points per game. That is the second most of any team in the league.
They also rank in the bottom ten teams in opponent’s fast break points and points allowed in the paint. If defense wins championships, then New York will need to improve theirs just to make the playoffs.
The New York Knicks are on the doorstep of becoming a contending team. A couple resolutions going forward and they can challenge for a place in the Eastern Conference Finals. What better time to start that then New Years.