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How Jerian Grant Can Make The Knicks’ Second Unit Dangerous

By Steve Conoscenti

Sep 28, 2015; Greenburgh, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Jerian Grant (13) during media day at NY Knicks practice facility. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 28, 2015; Greenburgh, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Jerian Grant (13) during media day at NY Knicks practice facility. Mandatory Credit: William Hauser-USA TODAY Sports /
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The jury will be out on Kristaps Porzingis for at least a year, but Phil Jackson made sure to snag an immediate contributor on draft night. He traded Tim Hardaway to the Atlanta Hawks, who had drafted Notre Dame point guard Jerian Grant and sent him to the New York Knicks in return. Analysts loved the move. Fans rejoiced to the point of proclaiming him the opening night starter.

Could he? Probably. He was a four-year player at Notre Dame and displayed NBA-level court vision with an ability to create his own shot. The ideal player next to Carmelo Anthony. But as free agency played out and we got a better look at how Grant meshed with his peers, it became abundantly clear: Jerian Grant needs to anchor the second unit.

What Grant does exceptionally well fits exactly what the Knicks would love to do, and that’s to create space for their shooters. As we’ve seen so far this preseason, Grant causes commotion when he takes off towards the hoop. He can finish, but he can also find the open man. That’s going to lead to a lot of quick, open shots.

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Taking a look at the percentages, this plays into a major strength of Knicks second unit. When you have a player like Grant creating space and drawing doubles, odds are the player he passes to isn’t going to be draped by a defender and will have space to make his next move.

Take for example Kyle O’Quinn, the projected backup at power forward and center. According to NBA.com in 2014-15, O’Quinn shot 57 percent when he touched the ball for less than two seconds. With a defender two to four feet away from him, he made 58 percent of his shots. He also made 49 percet of his shots taken without dribbling the ball.

Give him space to pull up with a dribble or get into layup/dunk territory and he converted on 64 percent of those attempts.

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Speaking of using space to get to the rim, I recently discussed Derrick Williams‘ key to success and spoiler alert: it involves using space to get to the rim. For someone like Williams who possesses insane amounts of athleticism, an open lane can work wonders. It’s up to Grant to find him and all indications are that will be no issue.

Cleanthony Early is a but of an anomaly considering he missed a bulk of his rookie year due to injury. This preseason, he took 30 shots: 12 of them were in the restricted area and he made nine of them. That accounts for more than half of his made FGs in the preseason … a preseason in which most will agree he played himself into the lineup.

Again, Grant can create lanes and if preseason holds any value, Early is great at taking advantage.

If preseason is any indicator, Jerian Grant is going to be sharing the backcourt with second-year guard Langston Galloway. Last year, 37 percent of Galloway’s attempts were catch-and-shoot jumpers; his most-attempted shot. Breaking it down by dribble, he attempted 43 percent of his shots off zero dribbles.

Sorting by time, he attempted 57 percent of his jumpers less than two seconds after receiving the ball.

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    • One of the most interesting and honestly, impressive stats when it comes to Galloway is the space he creates for himself. In 44 games, only 2 percent of his shots came with a defender within two feet. That’s kind of … amazing. Thirty-three percent of his shots came with a defender four to six feet away.

    Pair that with the fact he takes most of his shots with zero dribbles involved and you can draw the conclusion that Galloway is very good at finding ways to get open.

    Galloway isn’t a fantastic shooter, but he’s also going to be playing a more natural role that caters to his “strengths” if you will. And that’s what it’s about for this bench unit. Don’t try to be something you aren’t. Accentuate the strengths rather than trying to strengthen the weaknesses.

    Someone like Kevin Seraphin should stay close to home and wait for the pass because he’s a great finisher down low (66 percent shooter from inside five feet). Guys like Early and Williams should use their size and athleticism to get to the rim. O’Quinn and Galloway shouldn’t try to be ball-handlers.

    Let Jerian Grant’s play dictate the gameplan. If the numbers hold true, the gameplan should be obvious.

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