5. 3-Point Shooting
The New York Knicks have the personnel to be one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. Ron Baker, Justin Holiday, Brandon Jennings, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Courtney Lee, Carmelo Anthony, and Kristaps Porzingis can all light opponents up from beyond the arc.
Against the Indiana Pacers, Jeff Hornacek will need to put those players in a position to succeed from beyond the 3-point line.
New York is making a respectable 9.0 3-point field goals per game—good for No. 14 in the NBA. Indiana, however, is allowing 10.3 3-point field goals per game—the fifth-worst mark in the Association.
If there’s any one area in which the Knicks can succeed in attacking the Pacers’ defense, it’s going to be from distance.
New York may look solid in terms of the season average, but it’s made just 20 3-point field goals over the past three games. The Knicks will need to be far more consistent from 3-point range against an Indiana team that can run the score up.
The Knicks’ first instinct shouldn’t necessarily be to shoot from distance, but it needs to be productive and efficient against a team that struggles to defend the 3-point shot.