New York Knicks: Slow Start Is Inevitable
The New York Knicks are off to a 2-5 start and the panic is already starting to set in for Knicks fans. Is it last year all over again? Will the Knicks miss the playoffs again in the inferior Eastern Conference?
Whenever a team goes through as many changes as the Knicks did, it’ll take some time to work out the kinks. When Phil Jackson was hired as president of the Knicks, it was clear that he’d put his imprint on the franchise and hiring a coach to implement the triangle offense was his goal from day one.
The triangle offense is completely different from how the Knicks played under Mike Woodson last season. Woodson didn’t emphasize ball movement as much, which led to a stagnant offense and a very talented team missing the playoffs in a conference where it only took 38 wins to make it to the postseason. The number of contested, difficult isolation shots taken by Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith took last season would drive any decent coach crazy.
The triangle offense is predicated on spacing and ball movement, something that Anthony and Smith probably heard of at some point, but they’re so talented that they can get away with reverting to their old, flawed ways.
Smith even admitted that he’s struggled with learning the triangle offense:
“Trying to think about the rest of the team over myself or my scoring is something that I never really had to do before,” Smith continued. “I’ve always been in a situation to score, [now I’m] in position to take my time and let the game come and let my teammates succeed more than myself, I think that’s the ultimate win.”
The amazing part is that they’re both capable of moving the ball but they chose not to for such a long time. Anthony has shown that he has the court vision and awareness to involve his teammates and pass the ball more but chose not to.
To be fair, Anthony and Smith aren’t the only ones at fault. The Knicks were decimated with injuries, with Tyson Chandler missing a third of the season and injuries to other key players as well. Raymond Felton also didn’t play very well and it was difficult to rely on him as a starting point guard. The Knicks ended up winning 37 games and if they just played a little more unselfishly, it’s hard to believe they wouldn’t win another game or two.
Another reason for their slow start this season is that they’re missing their starting point guard, Jose Calderon. He’s quietly been one of the most efficent point guards the league has ever seen. He won’t make many dazzling plays but he’ll make the right play and it seems like he makes every open three he ever takes.
For players who played in a minimum of 50 games in a season, only three players ever averaged eight assists and two or less turnovers. Calderon is also an unofficial member of the exclusive 50-40-90 club.
| Totals | Shooting | Per Game | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Season ▾ | Tm | G | FG% | 2P% | 3P% | FT% | AST | TOV |
| 2 | Jose Calderon | 2011-12 | TOR | 53 | .457 | .500 | .371 | .882 | 8.8 | 2.0 |
| 3 | Jose Calderon | 2007-08 | TOR | 82 | .519 | .551 | .429 | .908 | 8.3 | 1.5 |
| 4 | Muggsy Bogues | 1994-95 | CHH | 78 | .477 | .489 | .200 | .889 | 8.7 | 1.7 |
| 5 | Muggsy Bogues | 1992-93 | CHH | 81 | .453 | .462 | .231 | .833 | 8.8 | 1.9 |
| 6 | Muggsy Bogues | 1991-92 | CHH | 82 | .472 | .489 | .074 | .783 | 9.1 | 1.9 |
| 7 | Muggsy Bogues | 1990-91 | CHH | 81 | .460 | .471 | .000 | .796 | 8.3 | 1.5 |
| 8 | Muggsy Bogues | 1989-90 | CHH | 81 | .491 | .503 | .192 | .791 | 10.7 | 1.8 |
| 9 | John Stockton* | 1986-87 | UTA | 82 | .499 | .528 | .179 | .782 | 8.2 | 2.0 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 11/10/2014.
Phil Jackson’s teams also never had a great point guard and were still very successful running the triangle offense, since it reduces the need for a true point guard. With his passing and floor-spacing ability, Calderon is a perfect fit in the triangle offense and the Knicks should be much improved once he returns from injury.
If a team like the Cavaliers can struggle with two top-10 players, it’s no surprise the Knicks are off to a slow start with all the changes they’ve made. The good news is that once Calderon returns, the Knicks should start to click offensively and look much better than they’ve shown so far.