| Outside Shooting The Biggest Knick Problem? Authored by Moritz Wollert - April 13, 2007 - 7:12 pm
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The Knicks lost two of their most reliable three-point threats in Quentin Richardson and Jamal Crawford to injuries. Stephon Marbury improved his long-range jumps hot this year and would have taken more threes than ever in his career if he wouldn't have also gone down to a toe injury. Of course the Knicks struggled recently with only Nate Robinson as a consistent jumpshooter on the floor. Robinson actually is the Knicks best three-point shooter statistically with 38.2% from behind the arc, which ranks him 38th in the NBA. But even before the injury bug hit the Knicks, Isiah Thomas' squad mightily struggled to punish other teams for double and triple teaming emerging center Eddy Curry inside. Now, just games before the end of the season, Thomas must not only think about adding a shooter but also has to make sure that his current players work on their jumpers all summer long.
Let's take a closer look at the problems the Knicks face on offense and especially in the half court. Let alone their defensive problems, one of the main reasons for the Knicks struggling almost all season long is their lack of accuracy from the three point line and also from the free throw line. The Knicks offensive game plan is pretty simple. They give the ball to Eddy Curry down low and then they develop their attack from there. Most teams in the NBA react with constant double teams and they try to force the Knicks to beat them from somewhere else, mostly from the outside. There we have the complete contrast in idea and in realization. Even though the Knicks want to exploit double teams and try to work from the inside out, they don't have the players or the certain set plays to do so. The makeup of the roster isn't perfect for a half court, post offense team. Players like Renaldo Balkman, Jared Jeffries, David Lee or Mardy Collins don't even need to be guarded outside of 15 feet which gives the opponents a chance to double anywhere else and clog the middle. Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson can punish a double team but they aren't consistent enough. In fact Richardson is the only true catch and shoot player the Knicks have, even though Robinson has shown great promise in this area lately. But just that type of player, who will move without the ball to a spot where he can let it rain from downtown, who will spread the floor for the penetrators and for Curry inside, is what the Knicks need.
Not only is the Knicks roster flawed in terms of being an inside out team but the players also do a poor job of reacting to common situations in that offense. Eddy Curry is far from being a gifted passer even though he has shown signs of development this year compared to earlier in his career. The Knicks constantly post him up on both sides of the paint which limits his passing angles from the right side as a right-hander. The Knicks not only do a poor job of passing into the post, they also aren't spreading the floor properly. At times you have Curry posting up on one side of the court and no Knick is on the same side, which leaves half the court unused by the Knicks. We rarely saw the Knicks executing the high low offense with Curry and power forward Channing Frye, who happens to be a great jump shooting big man.
The numbers also prove the Knicks woes from behind the arc. With 34.3% from downtown the Knicks rank 24th in the NBA. Taking a closer look at the top 5 of that category will underline the importance of good outside shooting in today's league. Phoenix is ranked first with 40.1%, followed by Dallas (38.6%), Chicago (38.4%) and San Antonio (38.1%). I don't need to say that all of these teams are part of the NBA elite and are fighting for top spots in their respective conferences. Teams like Detroit, Miami and Utah are ranked in the bottom 10 in three point percentage yet they feature other dangerous weapons from the outside. Miami's Jason Kapono is the league's best three point shooter at 52% and I don't need to talk about Dwyane Wade's ability to knock down the midrange jumper. The Jazz have an army of players who can knock down the outside jumper and also possess a center in Mehmet Okur who has legit three point range. Detroit's bread and butter play is the midrange game and t he off ball screens for Richard Hamilton, which usually ends in an uncontested midrange jump shot for one of the best midrange shooters of our generation. All the other starters are capable, too, of knocking down an open shot which leads to great spacing and open lanes for post up players and penetration. Outside shooting is extremely important in today's league as it opens up everything else. Penetrators will be able to find lanes and post players will have room to operate. For teams with dominant post big man it's even more important. Houston with Yao Ming in the middle has two players in the top 15 in three point percentage, San Antonio with Tim Duncan has three players in front of Nate Robinson who's the Knick leader in that category. It has also been a problem for the Knicks to solve opposing zones defenses in recent years which is another hint that they have trouble to constantly generate pressure from downtown and find open shooters in the half court.
Now as already mentioned, part of the problem is the Knicks roster. Isiah Thomas has to add a shooter or even two in the summer in order to really build his offense around Eddy Curry. On the current team it happens that the worst jump shooters (Balkman, Collins, Jeffries and maybe even Malik Rose) are his best defenders, which gives him a tough time to find well working lineups at both ends of the court. So the new player(s) should also be able to hold their ground defensively. On a roster filled with big contracts and with not many tradable assets, Thomas' only chance to acquire that shooter might be via the draft. The Knicks will likely pick early in the twenties of the first round after swapping picks with the Chicago Bulls. Luckily for the Knicks though, this seems to be exactly the range where many players will be taken that fit the needs of the New York team. Kansas' Brandon Rush is a tremendous catch and shoot player and with his length and athleticism more than capable of becoming a lock down defender. He also shoots with great accuracy from the corners. UCLA's Arron Afflalo is arguably the best outside shooter in college basketball in the last two years. International players such as Spain's Rudy Fernandez or Italy's Marco Belinelli possess already great experience at their young age and just like many Europeans players they can be deadly from three-point range. Other players such as USC's Nick Young or Rice's Morris Almond also might fit the Knicks' needs. As you can see, Isiah Thomas will likely have numerous options in the draft and hopefully he makes the right decision just as he did in previous years. They Knicks just have to add someone who will make an impact on one of their most glaring weaknesses.
Beside from maybe adding players through draft or free agency, the Knicks have to look for developing their own players. Given the Knicks' young age and the variety of rookies and second year players, they all have a chance to develop their games and especially work on their jump shots. The perfect example for that is Dallas' Josh Howard who came into the league when he couldn't hit the ocean from the beach with a basketball. Today he has become a dangerous outside shooter, which sets up the rest of his game perfectly. With the right coaching young players can develop a jump shot and at least get a respectable one for that matter. The Knicks should look to make the right step in this direction by hiring a shooting coach who works with the players in the summer and throughout next season. That would also help them at the free throw line where their struggles have cost them numerous games this season. The Knicks have a lot of work to do in the summer; it's up the Isiah Thomas and his players to lay the emphasis on the right things. This year has proved once again that outside shooting has to be one of the areas where the Knicks have to make a step forward in order to become a better team. |
