New York Knicks: How Good Are They?
By Ken Tavarez
The Knicks’ offense has struggled
The issue with the Knicks has been the offense. Their adjusted offensive rating of 107.60 ORtg/A ranks 25th in NBA. While bad, it’s an improvement over last season when they were ranked 29th.
The bright spots have been the play of Julius Randle, Immanuel Quickley, and Austin Rivers. The team is ranked 9th in 3-point shooting, but their efficiency on 2-pointers is not good, they are ranked 29th.
The biggest issue appears to be shot-creation. The team does not have any dynamic ball-handlers. Elfrid Payton is clearly not the answer at point guard, in fact, he might be the issue. His game is not a good fit with the Knicks’ key players; Randle, Barrett, and Robinson.
Having Alec Burks back will help, according to Cleaning the Glass, the Knick are +6.7 per 100 possessions when he is in the lineup. Not having his outside shooting and ball-handling for twelve games crippled the offense.
Playing Burks and Quickley together will provide the spacing Barrett and Randle need to operate.