The Knicks were surprisingly an “anti-Thibodeau” team last season as they were the #2 best offense in the league (after being #24 and #21 in the two previous seasons) but they stopped being the good defensive unit that they used to be as they were only ranked #19. Curiously, all of this happened without major changes on their roster as Point Guard Jalen Brunson joining the team was the biggest difference.
The New York team did not shoot the ball well last season but they did everything else extremely well on offense, especially avoiding turnovers, grabbing rebounds and getting a lot of FT opportunities. Will they be able to replicate this very same formula this season?
On the other hand, the Knicks maintained the same structure on defense: protect the paint and allow 3pts attempts to their opponents. However, unlike the two previous seasons, where they were #1 and #4 in the league in 3pts% allowed, the NY team allowed 36.1% 3pts to their opponents last season in a clear defensive downgrade for them.
2023/24 OUTLOOK:
The Knicks kept most of their players on the roster for this upcoming season. The starting lineup will be the same and Josh Hart will be the most important player of the second unit. They also signed Donte DiVincenzo during the offseason in order to try to improve the team’s perimeter shooting. We can expect the Knicks to play the same way that they did last season, but I doubt they will be able to be once again the offensive juggernaut that they were last season as it’s tough to be elite offensively without being a good 3pts shooting team.
