New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau should be very pleased with how his team’s offense has been performing.
Case in point, the Knicks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers on the road on Monday night, scoring an impressive 114 points against LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and company. But New York's defense is an entirely different story.
The Knicks have struggled against winning teams and on the road, but neither observation explains why they’ve struggled. It’s a bit of an oversimplification to blame any one thing; however, the Knicks’ defense is the obvious culprit, at least according to the national media. And statistically, it’s hard to argue against that argument.
While New York has faced its share of above-average opponents, there is a trend there, too. Three of the Knicks’ first four opponents are presently better than .500. They held the Boston Celtics — the fifth-highest-scoring team in the NBA — to 108 points on opening night, and then proceeded to hold the New Orleans Pelicans to 96 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers to 91 points — all of which took place in October.
Even in November, the Knicks held the Milwaukee Bucks — the third-highest-scoring team in the NBA — to 110 points, the Celtics to 114, and the Los Angeles Clippers to 97.
But the team’s defense has struggled mightily in December. The Knicks have given up 146 points to Milwaukee, 133 to Boston , and 144 to the Clippers — and they’ve also surrendered 130 to the Toronto Raptors (19th in scoring) and 117 to the Utah Jazz (25th in scoring).
The Knicks have managed to claw out a .500 record in December so far, but that’s (way) more to the credit of their offense and Jalen Brunson’s putting up a particularly special 50-point game.
Defense is slowing down the Knicks
Last season, the Knicks ranked 19th in defensive rating (114.8). Defensive stops have been even more fleeting this season. New York's defensive rating has dropped to 115.2. Granted, that's technically up to 15th in the NBA, but December has been an entirely different story.
The Knicks started the season strongly, with a defensive rating of 105.5 (or 104 points per game) through four games in October. November saw the Knicks sink back toward their 2022-23 defensive rating, with a rating of 112.4 in 14 contests. But December has been far less kind.
Through eight games in December, the Knicks are giving up an eye opening 126 points per game, or a defensive rating of 127.8. So, what’s the problem? Have the Knicks taken an early Christmas vacation?
First of all, there’s Mitchell Robinson’s absence. Robison was available for the first two games this month, but went down with an injury that resulted in surgery, costing him the last five (and probably another 7-11 weeks depending on well he responded to the surgery and its subsequent rehab.)
But it’s more than just their missing defensive anchor. One thing that’s notably different is the team’s lack of forced turnovers. New York is averaging 13.5 forced turnovers per game on the season — good for only 19th in the league. But it’s even worse of late, as New York is forcing only 10.3 turnovers per game through their last five games. Forced turnovers benefit teams in two ways: additional possessions for an offense and fewer shot attempts for an opponent. And forced turnovers are the product of activity, intelligence, and teamwork. They are the direct result of on-ball pressure, good defensive rotations, and — more than anything else — communication.
Giving opponents more possessions is bad enough, but allowing them to shoot an above-average percentage is debilitating. The Knicks are only 18th in opponent field goal percentage and 19th in opponent three-point field goal percentage for the entire season. It’s even worse in December. Over the past eight games, the Knicks rank 25th and 26th in opponent field goal percentage and opponent three-point field goal percentage, respectively — certainly not ideal.
New York is going to have to figure out its defensive struggles sooner than later. Otherwise, they're going to have a lot of trouble come the playoffs. All four of the top-scoring teams in the league are in the Eastern Conference, three of whom are above them in the standings — Indiana, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. Road games are tough. Playing good teams is tough. But playing poor defense is a recipe for disaster.
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