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New York Knicks: 5 areas in which NYK should improve over 2016-17

By Maxwell Ogden

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 27: Willy Hernangomez #14 and Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks high five each other during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on January 27, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 27: Willy Hernangomez #14 and Kristaps Porzingis #6 of the New York Knicks high five each other during the game against the Charlotte Hornets on January 27, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Frank Ntilikina 22 in action during Strasbourg IG vs Iberostar Tenerife Basketball Champions League match in Strasbourg, France on 3 January 2017. (Photo by Elyxandro Cegarra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Frank Ntilikina 22 in action during Strasbourg IG vs Iberostar Tenerife Basketball Champions League match in Strasbourg, France on 3 January 2017. (Photo by Elyxandro Cegarra/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /

Defense At Point Guard

Over the course of the Phil Jackson era, no issue was more persistent than the lack of reliable defense at point guard. Between the likes of Jose Calderon, Brandon Jennings, and Derrick Rose, the Knicks were consistently a turnstile for opposing point guards.

New York may not lock players down during the 2017-18 NBA regular season, but it should be better than it was in previous years.

Derrick Rose finished the 2016-17 campaign at No. 66 amongst point guards and No. 442 overall in Defensive Real Plus-Minus. It was a continuation of New York’s point guards failing to display the defensive proficiency required in the modern NBA.

With Ron Baker and Frank Ntilikina running point, the Knicks should at least have the energy and intensity that was missing in 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.

The onus will then fall on the veterans: Jarrett Jack and Ramon Sessions. Neither have been elite defenders during their respective careers—or entirely reliable, for that matter—but they know what their role and responsibility will be in New York.

Jeff Hornacek is prioritizing defense over all else, and that will begin and end at the point guard position—a position that should improve defensively.

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