The Passing Renaissance that has Reshaped the Knicks Offense

During the Tom Thibodeau era, there has been a widely held belief about the way the Knicks play offense. They have been labeled as a team that relies heavily on isolation plays, generating open looks based solely on the gravity their best scorers attract to open shots for their role players.

This was the case for the first four years of the Thibodeau era. From 2020-21 through last season, the Knicks were consistently top ten in designed isolation plays, averaging just over nine plays per game in this span. Much of this was predicated on their style of play when centered around players like RJ Barrett and Julius Randle.

But this season, the team has trimmed down their isolation possessions to 7.4 per game. The change reflects a commitment to a more fluid pass-centric offense that will suit the team well as the season progresses.