Biggest Knicks takeaways through the first 10 games

There’s a lot to like, a lot to dislike… but most importantly progress in the right direction.

Just 10 games into the regular season, the New York Knicks have been an amalgamation of many things ranging from great to ugly, bad, good, hopeful, hopeless, and everything in between.

Here are some of the things that have stuck out the most through those 10 games.

1. KAT has been even better than expected

When the Knicks acquired Karl-Anthony Towns, many believed he’d have a great offensive season playing primarily as a center next to Brunson. And so far he’s done that and much more.

Through his first ten games as a Knick, Towns is averaging 24.5PPG (16th in the league), and 2.7APG (seventh among centers) while shooting 52.4% from the field, and 51.1% from three (10th among qualifying players).

His outside shooting has been as deadly as advertised, his touch around the rim is impeccable, his passing has turned a lot of heads, and while his offensive rebounding numbers aren’t as dominant as Mitchell Robinson’s, he’s also much more of a threat to score when he does get his 3.2 offensive rebounds per game.

The outside shooting percentage is going to eventually come down but if the team can continue to gel, and fix up a few glaring weaknesses, there’s no reason to believe that he or his stats will slow down any time soon.

2. The offense has been great and has room for improvement

When the Knicks traded for Mikal Bridges and the aforementioned Towns, everyone expected the offense to be great. And somehow, this team has already exceeded some of those expectations, at least statistically.

While they rank just 14th in points per game, they rank third in the league in effective field goal percentage, fourth in the league in offensive rating, fourth in the league in true shooting percentage, and 12th in the league in assists per game. And that’s without them fully clicking.

Jalen Brunson has had some good games but as a whole, his season thus far has been somewhat underwhelming and inconsistent. The aforementioned Bridges hasn’t looked confident or comfortable on a consistent basis. And there’s likely another level or two that this starting lineup can get to in terms of getting the most out of each other. If and when they reach their offensive ceiling, they have the potential to be one of, if not the, best offenses in the league.

To do that, though, they need to do two things…

3. Shoot. More. Threes.

One of those things that the Knicks can, and will likely need to do, is shoot more threes. To their credit, the Knicks are seventh in the league in three-point percentage with Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Deuce McBride all shooting better than 38% from three, and Towns shooting a ridiculous 51.1% from downtown.

The Knicks have the makings of being a good, even great, three-point shooting team. But the one thing that’s keeping them from being considered one of the best three-point shooting teams is sheer volume. New York currently ranks 23rd in the league in three-point attempts per game with 34 attempts per game. To put that into perspective, Boston, who ranks first, averages 50.4 attempts per game, while Charlotte, Chicago, Golden State, and Minnesota round out the top five with more than 40 attempts per game each.

For context, in only four of their ten games have the Knicks attempted more threes than their opponents. And in three of the five games in which the other team attempted more threes (the Knicks attempted the same amount as Miami in one game hence the math), the opponent took 10 more threes than them three times. One of those three times was the Celtics game in which they took 31 (!) more threes than the Knicks.

All this to say, the Knicks need to take more threes even at the cost of sacrificing some of their efficiency, because at a certain point, the math just doesn’t work out in their favor. Let a team shoot 10, 20, or 30 more threes than you, and chances are, the other team is going to win more times than not.

Now, the question then becomes, “how do they go about doing that?” Some of it is just Tom Thibodeau and the players placing a greater emphasis on seeking out those opportunities and being more aggressive in taking them. Some of it personnel. And some of it is schematic. But a lot of it comes down to how can they create more advantages to draw help defenders and free up more shooters for more opportunities. And that’s a harder question to answer with the current roster makeup.

4. Slow pace

The key to everything might be increasing the pace of play.

The Knicks are currently dead last in the league in pace at 96.45. If they can find a way to increase that, it should help them A) reach their offensive potential, B) help them attack defenses, C) create more advantages, and D) find opportunities to take more threes.

Personnel wise, they can do it. Towns has been a part of some Minnesota teams in recent years that ranked in the top 10 in pace, ranking third in the 2020 season, fifth in the 2021 season, and first in the 2022 season. And players like Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart all excel in transition with their athleticism and finishing ability.

Ultimately, it comes down to three major keys.

Thibodeau, as the leader of this team on the sidelines, has tended to coach slower-paced teams that prioritize patience and precision over pace. While those things are pivotal, he needs to find a happy medium and find ways to increase the tempo.

Brunson, as the floor general, must also find ways speed up the offense and find shots earlier in the shot clock as the Knicks currently rank fourth in the league in field goal attempts per game with 0-4 seconds left on the shot clock.

And last but not least, the defense has to take another step or two, as getting more stops would help them get out in transition and get in a few more possessions per game.

5. The defense hasn’t been good

Unfortunately, the defense has been pretty bad as they rank 19th in defensive rating. And sadly, they may never get to a level that excites us.

New York can certainly improve on where their defense is at now, but let’s be honest, that’s not a particularly high bar. That being said, there is some hope.

If Towns can improve just a little bit, along with the highly-anticipated returns of Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiuwa, should help the Knicks defense become good enough to compliment what has been and should continue to be a great offense.

While the optics don’t always support the numbers, the stats suggest that they actually aren’t as bad as some people suggest.

They are seventh in the league in points given up per game, fifth in free throw attempts given up per game, 14th opponents’ three-point percentage, and if you take out the Celtics game on opening night, and look at every team’s last nine games, they actually rank 10th in defensive rating.

I have a hard time believing they can reach a top five level defense with their personnel, if they can clean up some of their mistakes, improve their paint defense with their returning big men, and be a bit less tired in the fourth by utilizing the bench more, there’s a clear pathway for this defense to be good enough to be carried by their offense.

6. OG Anunoby may be the Knicks’ best player so far

Regardless of all the love I gave Towns earlier, and regardless of how much I (like every other Knicks fan) likes Brunson, I have to acknowledge Anunoby has likely been the Knicks’ best player so far this season.

Statistically, sure, both Towns and Brunson blow him out of the water. But watch the games, and it’s clear that Anunoby has had the most positive impact on this team.

Offensively, he’s taken another step, and defensively, he’s been on another level. He’s somehow been even better than usual while almost single-handedly keeping this defense from being atrocious, and is making a strong case for an All-Defensive Team nomination.

If New York wants to get to where they want to, this will likely have to change and Brunson and or Towns will have to get back to being the engine that makes this team go. But right now, it’s hard to imagine where this Knicks team would be without Anunoby.

7. Josh Hart has been a positive even amidst his continued shooting woes

Another player who won’t get as much credit as Towns or Brunson, but has been pivotal in their wins, is Hart. The third year Knick has once again been dreadful from three, shooting just 29.4% from deep, and that’s led many fans to ask for a change to the starting lineup.

I’m not totally against playing around with that idea, but there’s also no denying that Hart, especially in their wins, has been irreplaceable.

Even when his outside shot isn’t falling, he’s once again been an amazing rebounder, and been a solid defender (we won’t talk about the Hawks game), while playing the much needed but thankless role of being a connector on offense.

His cutting, secondary playmaking, and hustle has helped fill in some glaring weaknesses early on, and he’s once again making the winning plays when they matter the most.