3. Poor Ball Movement
The key to any motion offense is actually having the players on the floor remaining in motion. That’s been absent for the better part of three seasons, as the New York Knicks have all but lived in isolation during the Carmelo Anthony era.
That isn’t necessarily Anthony’s fault, but it’s a flaw that head coach Jeff Hornacek must work to correct.
The Knicks are currently 4-0 when they record at least 20 assists and 1-7 when he fails to reach that mark. That sends as clear of a message as imaginable: the Knicks when they move the ball and lose when they struggle to.
Yet, through 12 games, the Knicks have only recorded 20 or more assists in 33.3 percent of their games so far.
It’s not just that the Knicks aren’t getting assists; come the fourth quarter, New York isn’t even moving. The ball sticks with the stars and ball movement dissolves into ineffective and inefficient isolation possessions.
When the ball is moving, however, the Knicks border on being unbeatable—and a 4-0 record with 20-plus assists is proof of it.