New York Knicks: Predicting the 2020-21 statistical leaders

Steals: Elfrid Payton

Quite peculiarly, in basketball, you don’t have to be a great defender to get many steals, and you don’t have to get many steals to be a good defender. Joe Dumars and Michael Cooper averaged about a steal for their careers, while Stephen Curry and Allen Iverson have steals titles on their respective resumes.

The same principle applies to the 2020-21 New York Knicks. Frank Ntilikina is obviously the best perimeter defender on the roster, though he doesn’t reach with his hands all that much. Elfrid Payton, despite being an average defender, topped the steals charts last season.

Now under a defensive-minded new head coach, Payton’s numbers can only go up, as the team’s affluence in point guards can let him play even more aggressively.

Blocks: Mitchell Robinson

Making his second appearance here, and probably not even his last one, the young brick wall by the name of Robinson is almost certain to set a defensive example for his teammates to follow.

Despite the fresh signing of Nerlens Noel who is a great shot-blocker by nature, Robinson’s first two seasons have just been too good for him to be threatened by this arrival. His 2.4 blocks per game as a rookie left Rudy Gobert chasing him and put Mitchell on the radar.

To be honest, Noel could lead the team in blocks relatively easily, given that he receives plenty of playing time. But as Thibodeau has shown to have a more youthful approach to the game, Robinson’s spot on the starting 5 seems almost guaranteed.