It’s only been three games, but the New York Knicks have already thoroughly confused the NBA community. After losing 104-80 on the road against the Chicago Bulls, New York defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 95-90 in LeBron James‘ return and beat the Charlotte Hornets 96-93 in the Knicks home opener.
Chalk it up to improved energy.
Per Ian Begley of ESPN New York, star forward Carmelo Anthony spoke on the how different the 2014-15 Knicks are from the 2013-14 squad. Despite having a similar roster with relatively minimal changes, New York isn’t the same team.
As Anthony describes it, the bad energy from 2013-14 is already gone early in 2014-15.
"“I think just overall, not pointing anything out, but just overall from day one last year the energy was just not right,” Anthony said after practice on Monday. “This year, you could just feel the total difference stepping into this gym, talking to guys, talking to the staff, talking to the players. Everybody has a newfound energy so it’s just a lot different now.”“I’m not talking about no players, I’m just talking about as a whole, as a whole,” Anthony said. “As an organization, as a whole, the energy was just different last year from day one. It ain’t have nothing to do with the players. When we walked in here from day one from training camp, media day the energy was just different.”"
New York went 37-45 in 2013-14 with an almost identical roster to the one that went 54-28 in 2012-13. A 17-win drop-off doesn’t normally happen.
Anthony wouldn’t specify what had changed, but he acknowledged that the vibe in the locker room had significantly improved.
"“I won’t go into details. It’s deeper than us going out and losing basketball games,” Anthony said. “For whatever reason, it happened. We looked at that. The organization looked at that. And they made some great changes.”"
"“We want to build on what we started the last couple of games,” Anthony said."
The question is, how far can New York take this newfound chemistry?
It wasn’t long ago that the Knicks were on the rise with a defensive-minded head coach named Mike Woodson. Woodson went 72-34 in his first two seasons, with the only major change from Mike D’Antoni‘s tenure to his own being who was in charge as head coach.
In 2014-15, it’s Derek Fisher‘s turn to endure the wrath of Knicks fans who are notorious for impatience. Despite failing to win a championship in any season since 1973, the standard is high and developing personnel is either rapid or abandoned.
Thus, the question beckons: can the Knicks make the playoffs in 2014-15?
Triangle Offense: Take It In Stride
Through three games, there have been glaring inconsistencies in the New York Knicks’ execution of the Triangle Offense. There have been instances in which the motion has stalled, the preliminary pass has gone to the wrong outlet and possessions where it simply wasn’t run at all.
For as inconsistently as it may be properly utilized, the Triangle Offense is already helping the Knicks tremendously.
The first sign of the progress came against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The win wasn’t even the result worth marveling.
Wins and losses are all that matter in the long-run, but it was how the Knicks won that was so important.
New York made 37 field goals against the Cavaliers. Of those 37 converted attempts, 30 were assisted.
That’s a remarkable 81.1 percent.
The result of the Knicks’ extraordinary ball movement was a slash line of .536/.500/.833. They didn’t settle for jump shots or depend on isolation sets, but instead made the extra pass until it found the open player.
From there, it was a combination of drives to the basket and responsible shooting which gave New York a 95-90 upset of LeBron James and the Cavaliers.
In the following game, the Knicks dished out 23 assists on 36 field goals converted in a 96-93 win over the Charlotte Hornets. That’s not the same 81.1 percent, but it was yet another display of willing passing and responsible shot selection.
New York shot 50.0 percent from the field and 50.0 percent from beyond the arc against one of the best defensive teams in the NBA.
Moving forward, Carmelo Anthony will still be tasked with putting up somewhere in the ballpark of 20 shots per game. What the Triangle Offense achieves, however, is creating open looks for his teammates who may not post glamorous statistics, but will make a positive impact.
Without floor general Jose Calderon active, the Knicks have already begun to reap the benefits of the Triangle Offense.
The STAT Factor
The New York Knicks made a franchise-altering decision when they traded center and defensive anchor Tyson Chandler to the Dallas Mavericks. Quincy Acy, Samuel Dalembert and Jason Smith will have an impact down low, but New York’s interior is now oriented for a different type of approach.
With Chandler, it was defense. Without him, the Knicks need a consistent offensive impact.
That’s where Amar’e Stoudemire comes into play.
The key to the Triangle Offense is having a low-post player who can not only attack and score, but facilitate and make the right passes. That’s something that Stoudemire is capable of, with Andrea Bargnani and Smith spotting time, as well.
Bargnani and Smith are better suited for the high-post with intriguing mid-range jumpers, however, which leaves STAT to be the primary low-post player.
Per Charley Rosen of ESPN.com, Phil Jackson explained the impact that Stoudemire will need to have in 2014-15.
"“One of the keys to the season will be the play of Amar’e Stoudemire. Although his tender knees will require his playing time and his practice time to be carefully monitored, we hope he’ll be able to play four rotations of eight minutes per game. That’s because Stoudemire can still be a potent scorer. He can get to the middle when he’s in the low post, and in screen-rolls he’s a threat to either screen-and-pop or drive to the hoop. Playing adequate defense is a real challenge for him and he’s also got to improve his rebounding. The preseason will also discover whether Amar’e is more effective playing the 4 or the 5 positions.”"
So far, Stoudemire has been strong.
He posted 12 points and eight rebounds in 24 minutes against Joakim Noah and the Chicago Bulls. He took over with 17 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes against Al Jefferson and the Charlotte Hornets.
Both performances embody what’s necessary of Stoudemire for the Knicks to return to the playoffs.
If New York were to return to its all-time shooting ways from 2012-13, the interior would be tasked with less of an offensive load. Whether that transpires or not, Stoudemire needs to step up and collapse opposing defenses with his scoring and general playmaking.
At the very least, he needs to be a shell of his Phoenix Suns self when working the pick-and-roll. If that happens, and the combination of Acy, Bargnani, Dalembert and Smith play up to standard, the Knicks will have a legitimate high-low balance.
Thus, the Triangle will work well enough to push the Knicks into the playoffs.
Can They Actually Make It?
On paper, this is the strongest that the Eastern Conference has been in quite some time. The Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Washington Wizards are viewed as postseason locks, while the Toronto Raptors have improved from a season in which they won the Atlantic Division Title.
From there, the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are the most commonly heralded teams as those which will compete for the final three spots.
Regardless of how it all plays out, there are at least 11 teams with legitimate postseason aspirations in the Eastern Conference. There are only eight berths to be earned.
This will be a battle.
Given the crowded nature of the hunt for the postseason, the Knicks will need to win somewhere around 45 games to be a safe playoff team. That’s not entirely inconceivable considering it’s the meeting point between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 win totals.
With improved chemistry, it’s also an attainable goal.
As much as Knicks fans and outsiders love to bash the roster, there’s an undeniable level of talent. Beyond Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire are sharpshooters Jose Calderon, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Pablo Prigioni.
There’s also the 2013 Sixth Man of the Year in J.R. Smith and a defensive specialist in Iman Shumpert. When healthy and focused, Andrea Bargnani can be an offensive game-changer.
Even the depth beyond those players is commendable with energy players such as Quincy Acy, Shane Larkin and Jason Smith.
So long as the good vibes in the locker room remain intact, the Knicks have intriguing potential. They may not be a championship contender just yet, but Anthony is one of the game’s premier players with a supporting cast that has the potential to be strong enough to help New York compete.
It won’t be easy, but improved chemistry will go a long way in the Knicks’ pursuit of the playoffs.