3. Defending The Pick & Roll
The New York Knicks have been dealt an unfortunate hand with Joakim Noah and Lance Thomas missing multiple games due to injury. Both play a vital role in the defense’s ability to prevent and contest the pick and the roll.
Fair as that may be, the Knicks don’t have time to make excuses, nor will they attempt to make them; the pick and roll defense simply must improve.
Clifford running the #Knicks defense into pick-and-roll tornadoes. Endless cycling and Knick bigs can't keep up.
— Alan Hahn (@alanhahn) November 26, 2016
Having a healthy Noah would mean having a player who isn’t afraid to throw his body around and send a message with a hard foul to a guard coming around a screen. Having Thomas would mean having a positionally versatile big man who can add an extra element defensively.
With or without those players, the Knicks cannot continue to be exploited by the pick and roll late in games.
The Knicks are doing an outstanding job of preventing the ball handler from turning the corner and getting an efficient look at the rim. The issue for the Knicks, however, is that they’re allowing 1.11 points per possession to the dive man—the fifth-worst mark in the NBA.
The Knicks’ big men must do a better job of rotating and preventing the pick and roll dive man from entering the paint for easy finishes.