2. Ball Movement
As previously alluded to, the New York Knicks have a clear talent advantage over the Brooklyn Nets at point guard. Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings will be going up against a Nets team that could be without its starting and backup point guards.
Regardless of who plays for the Nets, the Knicks cannot afford to fall into the isolation tendencies that have plagued the offense in almost every fourth quarter through six games.
Rose and Jennings are both gifted passers whose respective court vision appear to have improved under head coach Jeff Hornacek. Both are still showing signs of inconsistency in their willingness to facilitate, however, and that issue cannot be overstated.
Fortunately for the Knicks, the past two games have been the best of Rose’s tenure with the organization thus far.
Rose finished with 15 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds against the Chicago Bulls—a game during which Jennings added seven assists of his own. The next time out, Rose tallied 18 points and eight assists against the Utah Jazz.
Simply put: the Knicks are 2-0 when they dish out at least 20 assists and 0-4 when they fail to. Enough said.