New York must maximize its talent for a championship-worthy attack—or find a coach who can.
The Knicks have a choice. They can lean into what they do best—scoring—or they can keep clinging to a defensive identity that isn’t maximizing their potential. Right now, they’re stuck in the middle, ineffectively trying to improve defense and rebounding at the expense of what should be an elite offense.
It is untrue that a team need’s elite defense to contend. The baseline level of defense required to win is lower than people think, and the better your offense, the lower that threshold becomes. A top-3 offense and a top-15 defense? That should get you within sniffing distance of the Larry O’Brien trophy.
The Knicks’ starters struggle against elite teams. Offensively, they lack direction. Defensively, they lack answers. The net ratings are ugly, and the group often looks like it doesn’t know what it wants to do—or how to do it. The Knicks are not in the same stratosphere as the Celtics, Cavaliers, or Thunder. The average margin of defeat against these teams makes that painfully clear. Star power wins in the NBA, and the Knicks don’t have enough of it.
The Knicks didn’t trade for Karl-Anthony Towns to grind out overtime wins against Chicago-type teams. Pairing him with Jalen Brunson is supposed to result in an offensive juggernaut. Especially when you already have OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, and Deuce McBride—guys who can hold their own defensively.
If the Knicks truly believe the only path to a championship is through a suffocating defense, then they made a mistake trading for KAT. They should have waited for a superstar who fits that description. Maybe someone who likes dolmades and lives in Milwaukee?
Instead, they’re forcing Precious Achiuwa into the lineup like a square peg in a round hole. Every time he plays heavy minutes alongside non-shooters, the offense bogs down. When he catches the ball outside the arc, the opponent’s defense knows he’s no threat, and they don’t need to hedge or abandon their assignment to wave a hand in his face. Every time he plays at power forward against a real opponent, he gets exploited. Yet, here we are.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has his strengths, but his decision-making is under scrutiny today for good reason. Re-inserting Karl-Anthony Towns when the Knicks were down 18 with four minutes left in yesterday’s laugher? Questionable at best, reckless at worst. The win-at-all-costs mentality made sense when the Knicks were scrapping for relevance. Now, it’s fair to ask whether it’s holding them back.
Watch them against elite teams, and you’ll see it: they lose 50/50 balls, play too cautiously, and look half-defeated before the game even reaches crunch time. Knicks teams under Thibs are supposed to play harder than everyone else, but that ethos disappears against elite opponents. They look unprepared, unsure, and unable to execute. That’s a mindset issue. And it’s not a winning mindset.
If Thibs intends to keep his job and the Knicks plan to make any noise in the postseason, they need to maximize the team’s offensive potential. Deuce McBride should be playing with the starters. You can argue that he is too small to regularly pair with Jalen Brunson—a guard of a similar stature—but he maximizes his arm length and athleticism to play taller than he is. He’s one of the Knicks’ five best players and fits the unit like a glove. To ignore him until injuries force a change is simply another example of coaching malpractice.
Help is on the way in the form of Mitchell Robinson. He has been an elite offensive rebounder and rim protector. If he is in shape and can stay healthy, maybe he will be again. We’ll see what happens when he is paired with KAT for meaningful minutes. It could prove limiting to the offense, or it could lead to more second-chance opportunities.
Maybe it works with this assortment of players and this particular coach. Maybe it doesn’t. But here’s the problem: we haven’t even seen the best version of this team yet. Their much lauded offense has barely shot 35% from downtown over the past 10 games, making about 11 treys per night. OG Anunoby has not risen to the offensive level we had hoped for before the season; Mikal Bridges has moments of impressive bucketing ability, followed by overlong quiet spells. Neither player had much presence in yesterday’s 118-105 loss to Boston—which was an uglier affair than the score suggests.
Boston was ahead by 27 at one point and although the Knicks were able to claw within five points in the fourth quarter, the home team’s lead was never in danger. Check the stat sheet and you’ll see that Boston made just three more three-pointers than New York, committed one more turnover, and both teams were perfect 11-of-11 from the charity stripe. However, they outrebounded the Knicks by nine, including 12 offensive boards to New York’s seven. It’s hard to believe the ‘Bockers would not have fared better with Mitch playing instead of Precious.
In the latest loss to Boston–the third of the season–Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby combined to log 4-of-12 from downtown, 24 points, and an astounding two rebounds in their 63 minutes of play. Maybe having Mitchell Robinson back will lighten their defensive loads a bit and allow them to focus a little more on the offensive side of the court. Maybe he’ll kick out their misses for a second shot that goes in. Here’s hoping.
The Knicks still might not have enough to succeed in the postseason. Boston and OKC are elite on both ends. Cleveland is a problem. But the Knicks haven’t maximized themselves, so how do we even know?
Here’s what we do know: Thibs refuses to consistently play his best offensive lineup. The Knicks sacrifice offensive firepower in the name of defense, but their defense still isn’t elite; and the best teams in the league have too much talent. As we saw with Cleveland and Boston this weekend, you have to outgun them.
The Knicks need a clearer vision. If they’re going to win, it’ll be because their offense is unstoppable, not because they turn into a defensive slaughterhouse. There’s a version of this team that spaces the floor, punishes mismatches, and lights up scoreboards. A version that isn’t weighed down by defensive overcorrections and misplaced caution.
They need to find it—fast.