1. Energy On The Road
Following a brutal loss to the Washington Wizards, sixth man Brandon Jennings called the New York Knicks out for playing with lackluster energy on the road. It was a necessary move by the outspoken Jennings, who was accurate in his evaluation of the Knicks.
Though they’ve played better in recent games, the Knicks haven’t yet escaped the reality that they consistently no-show road games.
Per Marc Berman of The New York Post:
"“We haven’t been locking in well on the road,” Jennings said after the Knicks failed to hit the .500 mark and dropped to 5-7. “That’s our big problem. If we want to be the team we think we are, we’re going to have to lock in better on the road. We got to play 10 times harder.”"
Cliche as it may seem, the Knicks need to give a 100 percent effort on the road.
The Knicks may be 11-9 overall, but nine of those victories were achieved at Madison Square Garden. It’s not a bad thing to be strong at home—it’s actually a vital strength—but it’s terrible to be 2-6 on the road.
When digging deeper than the win-loss record, one can corroborate Jennings’ claim that the Knicks aren’t trying hard enough on the road.
The Knicks are allowing an average of 110.8 points on a slash line of .458/.399/.777 during road games. Those numbers drop all the way to 103.6 points on a slash line of .441/.319/.770 at home, which all but proves that this is a matter of energy and effort.
If the Knicks are going to turn an 11-9 start into a postseason appearance, then they must play with a higher level of energy and effort on the road.
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It’s never easy to play away from home, but if the Knicks can bring it during road games, the results will pay off over time.