The Five Most Important Shots in the Knicks Offense

On their way to the franchise’s 18th NBA Championship, the Boston Celtics just about ran through the Eastern Conference during the playoffs, eventually beating the Dallas Mavericks in five games in the NBA Finals.

The closest the Knicks came to holding the Larry O’Brien trophy was sending Julius Randle to be a part of ESPN’s NBA Countdown crew during their finals coverage. Although Randle may have had a front-row seat to the Celtics dismantling their opposition, it was clear that someone else from the Knicks organization was watching closely - President of Basketball Operations Leon Rose.

Neither the Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, nor the Mavericks could withstand the three-point barrage created by the Celtics’ “five-out” offensive system. The C’s may have ranked 6th out of the 16 participating teams in the postseason for three-point percentage, but they were first in letting them fly (40.2 three-point attempts per game).

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Jrue Holiday, and Derrick White can all collapse the defense with their drives, catch and shoot from the perimeter, and pull up from deep. And if the opposing defense held their ground on those drives, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis were waiting for their open looks from the three-point line.

Rose saw all of this and made the difficult decision to fire on two separate deals: one that sent five unprotected and one-protected first-round draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, and a blockbuster trade including Randle and fan-favorite Donte DiVincenzo for the best shooting big-man of all-time in Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Thus far, the sample size is small, but this Knicks offense looks supercharged with a lot of off-ball screens, cuts to the basket, and quick passes that lead to open threes.

These are the five most important shots in the Knicks offense.

Jalen Brunson floater

Earlier this fall, ESPN’s Chris Herring wrote extensively about the Knicks offense and Jalen Brunson’s efficiency as a scorer. Last season, the Knicks captain converted 166 floaters, which was the most in a season since 2013-2014. Out of those 166 floaters, Big Body Brunson was fouled 86 times. And if you think that number is going down, you’re sorrily mistaken.

The additions of Towns and Bridges will make it extremely difficult to hedge and blitz the pick-and-roll when Brunson has the ball. Simply put, there are too many shooters that can hurt you for putting two on the ball or collapsing on defense. Furthermore, if you decide to play drop-coverage, there is almost no one in the Knicks starting five (besides Josh Hart) that you can reasonably sag off to defend drives.

The playmaking/scoring options available to Brunson will be immeasurable and most likely improve an offense that finished seventh in scoring efficiency last season.

Mikal Bridges mid-range fadeaway

This might be my favorite shot in the Knicks arsenal. It’s unguardable. Consider the following scenario: it’s a playoff game and the Knicks are down six, as the opposing team has just gone on a 12-2 run. The Knicks’ offense looks stagnant. THIS IS THE SHOT THAT ENDS THE MOMENTUM SWING.

Bridges can hit this fading away to his left off the dribble, and he can back-down his defender, turn around, and sink the middy off one foot. It’s beautiful, and I had no idea Bridges had this in his bag until he started wearing orange and blue.

If you look at Bridges’ shot chart, courtesy of 3stepsbasket.com, the former Villanova stand-out is shooting 100 percent from the left-block and 67 percent from the right-block. He is also converting 61 percent of his attempts at the rim.

Bridges’ insanely long arms enable him to avoid blocks and defenders trying to alter his shot. If we ever need a bucket, and Brunson and Towns are cold, this is the best option.

Karl-Anthony Towns above-the-break three-point shot

It might be an understatement to say that Karl-Anthony Towns has been a revelation for this Knicks offense. It’s been incredible watching his touch around the basket, passing ability, and deep-range shooting. At this point, I would say that Towns’ three-point shot from above-the-break is his most dangerous weapon. Routinely, I’ve seen Towns trail the play and receive the ball as the Knicks look to get their half-court offense established. In the blink of an eye, Towns shoots it from deep, and him and his teammates head towards the other end with three points added to the scoreboard.

Last season, the Kentucky product shot 43.8 percent on 233 three-point attempts from above-the-break, and this season, he’s shooting 80 percent on 10 attempts from the same spot. This might be one of the most calorie-dense meals in the Knicks’ shot diet, because it’s typically taken early in the shot-clock, leading to more possessions.

OG Anunoby/Mikal Bridges corner three-point shot

It goes without saying that the corner three-point shot is a staple of any modern NBA offense. Tom Thibodeau has preached searching for these shots in the offense since his appointment as head coach in 2020. Luckily, at his discretion, Thibs has two fantastic dual-threat wings in Bridges and OG Anunoby.

This season, Bridges is shooting 57 percent from the left-corner three-point spot, and 42 percent from the right-corner. Last season he shot above 35 percent from both spots as well. In contrast, although Anunoby has started off slow from the corner three, only converting one of ten corner three-point attempts thus far, last season, the London-born forward shot over 40 percent from both left corner-three, and the right-corner three-point spots last season.

Per statmuse.com, the Knicks are currently top of the league in three-point percentage. Although the frequency of attempts are not where they need to be, as long as the Knicks continue to hunt good shots in their offense, they have personnel to convert those shots at a decent clip.

Josh Hart transition layups

What’s not to like about Josh Hart transition layups? In transition, Hart looks like some lab-inspired mix of a gazelle and rhinoceros as he gallops down the court, shielding the ball ever-so-well from defenders, rising for the layup in traffic.

Despite hitting five of his last thirteen three-point shots, Hart’s historically inconsistent shooting means that his forays in transition are even more important as a catalyst to an offense that can’t always depend on him from the perimeter.

Additionally, per NBAstats.com, despite ranking near the bottom of the league in frequency of transition points, they are ranked 19th in points per possession in transition, and I’m willing to bet that the reason for that discrepancy is Josh Hart.

Hart and with his teammates have already provided some incredible moments for Knicks fans during this young season. Even though there’s plenty of work to be done and chemistry waiting to be built, the trajectory for this team looks very promising. These five shots are key foundations of an offense that was built with one goal in mind - competing with the Boston Celtics and moving closer to winning an NBA title.