The New York Knicks will host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, Nov. 20. What must the Knicks do in order to defeat the high-octane Clippers?
After struggling against the Toronto Raptors at the Air Canada Centre on Friday, Nov. 17, the New York Knicks will head back to a more comfortable venue on Monday, Nov. 20. There will be nothing easy about the encounter, however, as the Knicks will host a hungry Los Angeles Clippers team.
The Clippers may be struggling, but the talent level is undeniable and the desire to end their losing ways could make Monday’s game a daunting challenge.
Despite opening the 2017-18 regular season at 5-2, Los Angeles enters Monday’s contest at 5-10. Although the Clippers have lost eight consecutive games, the Knicks aren’t viewed as the heavy favorite to win—and there’s good reason for that.
Los Angeles has two All-NBA big men and a talented cast of perimeter players, all of whom could give New York fits if it doesn’t come prepared for a slugfest.
True as that may be, the 8-7 Knicks will have a chance to add to Los Angeles’ laundry list of early losses. The players had a day between weekend games, and will thus be given the opportunity to recover from a demoralizing loss of their own.
The win won’t be easy to secure, but the New York Knicks can improve to 9-7 by focusing on the following keys and principles.
5. Push The Pace
The Los Angeles Clippers are an athletic team, but the loss of point guards Patrick Beverley and Milos Teodosic have limited their effectiveness in the open court. Beverley expects to play against the New York Knicks, but that only strengthens the following point.
The Knicks would run the risk of playing a style that the Clippers can adapt to, but the best way to beat Doc Rivers’ defense is in the open court.
Beverley is going to hound whichever player he’s assigned to—bad news for playmakers Jarrett Jack and Frank Ntilikina, and top perimeter scorer Tim Hardaway Jr. Behind Beverley will be center DeAndre Jordan, who’s an elite rebounder and shot-blocker.
Thankfully, the Clippers are allowing more fast break points per game than all but six teams in the NBA at a surprising 12.2.
Knowing that Jack and Ntilikina could have trouble in the half court against Beverley, getting them out in transition will be critical. Pushing the pace means potentially catching the Clippers off guard, which would give New York its best shot at getting into its offensive sets.
The Clippers have the personnel to make the game tough on New York, but pushing the pace would be a wise approach to efficient offensive production.
4. Winning The Turnover Battle
When the New York Knicks take care of the ball, they look the part of an offensive juggernaut that plays with poise, precision, and balance. When the Los Angeles Clippers take care of the ball, they bully opponents with physicality and overwhelm defenders with shooting.
The unfortunate reality for both teams is that turnovers have become costly issues in their attempts to create stability on offense.
Thus far in 2017-18, the Knicks are 6-3 when they record fewer than 15 turnovers and 2-4 when they cough the ball up at least 15 times. New York is also 6-3 when it forces at least 13 turnovers, and 2-4 when the opponent commits 12 or less.
That alone should be evidence of the importance of taking care of the ball on offense and forcing the opposition to make mistakes with defense.
While the Knicks rank in the bottom five of the NBA in points created off of turnovers, the Clippers rank No. 8. The more balanced revelation is that both teams can be reckless, with Los Angeles ranking No. 19 and New York No. 25 in points allowed off of turnovers per game.
The team that takes better care of the ball will position itself to secure a victory under the bright lights at Madison Square Garden.
3. Rebounding
The New York Knicks are one of the most dominant rebounding teams in the NBA. Unfortunately for the Knicks, the same can be said for Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and the Los Angeles Clippers, thus creating the current talking point.
Both teams are going to make it a point to control the pace of the game through rebounding, and New York must at least keep up in this battle.
Thus far in 2017-18, the Knicks are 6-4 when they record more total rebounds than the opposition and 2-3 when they fail to. The issue for New York is that the Clippers currently rank No. 1 in the NBA in offensive rebounds per game and No. 5 in second chance points.
Thankfully, the Knicks rank No. 1 in the NBA in second chance points per game at 16.5—well above the 12.6 Los Angeles allows.
This is all based off of a small sample size, but it’s a fair reflection of how the Knicks and Clippers generate offense and lock in on defense. By creating and limiting second chances, the playmakers are enabled to control the pace at which the game is played on both ends of the floor.
For what it’s worth: New York has averaged 18.9 second chance points per game during its eight wins and 13.7 during its seven losses.
2. Interior Defense
The Los Angeles Clippers have two of the best big men in the NBA: Power forward Blake Griffin and center DeAndre Jordan. Both are elite finishers off of the pick and roll, both can take over on the offensive glass, and both can physically overwhelm defenders.
If the New York Knicks are going to defeat the Clippers, Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter must ensure that players other than Griffin and Jordan are forced to lead the offense.
Griffin has evolved into one of the most complete scorers in the NBA. A generational athlete who has no trouble finishing through contact, Griffin now has a respectable three-point shot, a quality midrange game, and a decent post game.
Put that all together and Griffin is capable of both taking over as a scorer and getting the player defending him into early foul trouble—in this instance, that will be Kristaps Porzingis.
Jordan doesn’t operate out of isolation on much of a consistent basis, but he has a rare combination of size and explosiveness. He’s a massive target in the pick and roll, and an elite rebounder who will work for second chances.
The Knicks have a strong interior themselves, but Griffin and Jordan form a top five interior on the offensive end of the floor.
1. Defending The Three-Point Line
Whether the opposition is an elite three-point shooting team or one that generally struggles from beyond the arc, the New York Knicks have had trouble defending the outside shot. That’s proven true throughout the 2017-18 NBA regular season, and it could continue against the Los Angeles Clippers.
If the Knicks are going to defeat the Clippers, they must stop the bleeding and run the opposition off the three-point line.
No team is allowing opponents to convert more three-point field goals than the Knicks. New York is currently letting up a league-worst average of 12.7 three-point field goals made per game, which translates to upwards of 38 points per contest.
Head coach Jeff Hornacek admittedly has an offensive-minded group that he’s convincing to buy in on defense, but the Knicks can’t continue defending the three-ball this poorly.
Los Angeles isn’t elite from beyond the arc, but it converts at a solid clip of 10.5 three-point field goals made per game. That ranks a respectable No. 16 in the NBA, and has provided invaluable balance to the interior attack.
The Knicks may not be playing the Golden State Warriors or Houston Rockets, but the Clippers will light them up from distance if they play with the inadequate energy of past games.
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The question is: Will the New York Knicks do what’s necessary to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers and improve to 9-7?