Pro: 3-Point Shooting
One of the areas in which the New York Knicks struggled most in 2016-17 was with the 3-point shot. The two most productive 3-point shooters were Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, both of whom were tasked with creating offense in isolation.
With the need for 3-point shooting quite evident, and the absence of 3-point shooters dwindling, adding Anderson could be a wise decision.
Anderson isn’t an elite shooter, but he’s more than respectable from distance. He has career averages of 1.0 3-point field goals made per game and 1.8 3-point field goals made per 36 minutes on 34.4 percent shooting.
Those are acceptable marks that could help Jeff Hornacek build a healthier flow on offense via both in-game execution and tendencies learned in practice.
3-point shooting doesn’t need to be the end-all, be-all, but New York must improve. It ranked No. 24 in the NBA in 3-point field goals made and No. 21 in 3-point field goal percentage during the 2016-17 season, neither of which are acceptable marks.
The Knicks have done a solid job of finding shooters through the NBA Draft and free agency, and adding Anderson would mean further solidifying the unit.