New York Knicks: Jerian Grant Can Solve Knicks Struggles

With all the hype surrounding New York Knicks rookie standout Kristaps Porzingis, many have forgotten about fellow rookie Jerian Grant.

It’s amazing how quickly people forget just how bad the New York Knicks were last season.

After a four-game win streak last week, many had anointed the Knicks as the NBA’s most improved team, completely overlooking that this was a team that won a grand total of only 17 games last season. Simply put, this is a team that is very much still in the process of becoming a legitimate contender and there are sure to be speed bumps throughout that process.

The two games since the four-game win streak have been just that– speed bumps.

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On Monday, the Knicks saw their streak snapped at the hands of the Miami Heat, losing 95-78 in Miami. Losing in Miami isn’t that bad, because you can just, like, go to the beach or a club or something afterwards and be fine, but the Knicks shooting in the loss was far from fine, as the team shot just 32 percent.

Wednesdsay night’s loss was another ugly one, this time in Miami’s ugly-stepsister of a city, Orlando, at the hands of the Magic, finishing with a score of 100-91. Again, the Knicks shooting was simply off, going just 37 percent from the field.

Numbers that low will normally just correct themselves as the Knicks shooter will find their stroke eventually. For instance, Langston Galloway — who was previously leading the league in 3-point shooting — has gone 1-for-14 from the field during the two games and 0-for-7 from behind the arc, numbers that will almost certainly figure themselves out.

But that doesn’t mean head coach Derek Fisher should just sit around and hope his Knicks figure it out. A losing streak can snowball, especially with a young team, and leave New York scratching and clawing for a playoff spot come spring.

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But how do you fix a team’s shooting as a coach?

Fisher has to make a change and get Jerian Grant more involved once again.

After playing 15 or more minutes in his first 11 games this season, Grant has failed to hit the mark in the five games since then, hitting a season low of just six minutes played in the loss to Orlando.

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Grant hasn’t been great and, in fact, his shooting has been downright terrible. The rookie out of Notre Dame has shot just 11 percent from behind the arc and 38 percent from the mid-range. So if Grant can’t shoot, how on earth is he supposed to fix the Knicks shooting problems?

Perhaps the greatest reason for the Knicks’ offensive struggles is the simple fact that they aren’t moving. Teammates are just standing on the perimeter and taking turns playing one-on-one at the top of the key, which would almost be fine if New York was stacked with great iso players.

But outside of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks don’t have anyone that can call for iso and get themselves to the rim to score (shocker that Jose Calderon isn’t just lighting guys up off the dribble, I know).

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That’s where Grant would come in. He’s taken 43 percent of his shots this season within 10 feet of the rim, meaning that he can penetrate a defense and get the entire offense moving. Much of that is because of his athleticism, which is something the Knicks haven’t had in their backcourt in years, but also because of his ability to work off the pick-and-roll.

Grant was statistically the best pick-and-roll player in the NCAA last season at Notre Dame and has already shown plenty of chemistry with Kristaps Porzingis working off the P&R, with Kristaps shooting 62.5 percent on passes from Grant.

Jerian’s ability and willingness to get out and run both in transition and in the half-court is the type of thing that can spark an offense and get the entire team moving quicker, a welcome change to a Knicks offense that seems to be falling into it’s old habits of ball watching.

I’m a firm believer in the ideology that the best way for NBA rookies to improve is to play and play a lot. Sometimes that means playing very poorly, but playing nonetheless. If Grant is to be the future of the Knicks backcourt the way many expect him to be, he has to be getting more minutes than just six a game.

For Grant’s future and the Knicks shooting, now is the time for Derek Fisher to get his rookie point guard more playing time, even if only for a boost of energy off the bench.

Next: 25 Best Players to Play for the New York Knicks

All Statistics Courtesy Of NBA.com/Stats, Basketball-Reference.com, and ShotAnalytics.com

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Jerian Grant Is The Man To Solve Knicks Shooting Struggles

By Sean Linhares | Nov 26, 2015

With all the hype surrounding New York Knicks rookie standout Kristaps Porzingis, many have forgotten about fellow rookie Jerian Grant.

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