New York Knicks Preview: Keys To Defeating The Atlanta Hawks

2. Ball Movement

The New York Knicks have been borderline unstoppable when they’ve successfully moved the ball on offense. The Knicks have been inefficient and on the wrong side of victory when they’ve failed to create an ideal level of ball movement.

If the Knicks hope to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, then they must run an actual motion offense and not a string of isolation possessions that damage the quality of team play.

New York is currently averaging 21.3 assists per game, but that’s a misleading statistic. The Knicks have exceeded 20 assists in just five games thus far, leaving seven games during which it recorded fewer than 20.

New York is 4-1 when it’s recorded at least 20 assists and 1-6 when it’s failed to—a simple formula for what it needs to do.

The only time the Knicks lost when recording at least 20 assists was against the Washington Wizards. During that game, New York scored 47 of its 112 points in the fourth quarter after entering the final period of play with a 22-point deficit.

In other words: the only time New York’s emphasis on ball movement didn’t result in victory was when it failed to emphasize it for the first three quarters.