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New York Knicks: Second Half Preview

By Sean Linhares

Nov 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Knicks associate head coach Kurt Rambis looks on against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Knicks beat the Raptors 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 10, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; New York Knicks associate head coach Kurt Rambis looks on against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Knicks beat the Raptors 111-109. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports /
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New York Knicks
Nov 27, 2015; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard Langston Galloway (2) drives past Miami Heat guard Tyler Johnson (8) during the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden. Miami Heat won 97-78. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

What Happens With Galloway and the Knicks Backcourt?

Despite a painfully obvious need for an upgrade in the backcourt, the Knicks elected to stay quiet at the trade deadline. This means that the group of Jose Calderon, Arron Afflalo, Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant will likely be the guards the remainder of the season.

While that may not sound like the worst backcourt in the world, the complete lack of offensive firepower from the perimeter has been a constant mountain for the Knicks to overcome this season. Simply put, none of these guys are a legit threat on offense.

While Afflalo can create some mismatches and score at a nice clip, Calderon has shown that he simply has no desire to penetrate a defense. At points, both of the Knicks’ starting guards look completely lost on defense. With the two on the floor, the Knicks are being outscored by 2.5 points, even worse than their overall number of -2.1.

The Knicks guards off the bench haven’t been much better. After showing some promise early, Langston Galloway and Jerian Grant have leveled out and it’s become much clearer what these two actually are. Galloway is a guy that can shoot well (42 percent on field goal attempts, 38 percent from behind the arc) and get the Knicks out in transition, while also being a high-effort guy on the defensive end. Grant, meanwhile, is still very much a project. The rookie point guard has shown flashes of brilliance (16 points back on Jan. 12 against the Boston Celtics), but a 35 percent shooting mark has hurt his usage.

I like the idea of Galloway and Grant being the backcourt of the future in New York, but it’s just too early right now to pull the trigger on that. I’d like to see Galloway get a few more starts down the stretch as he’s played relatively well when given that chance, but I’d be surprised to see anything more drastic than that with these guys.

Next: The Jimmer?

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