3 areas where the Knicks need to improve to become a better team

The Knicks need to do a better job closing games

A running theme of the Knicks this season is how poor they are in crunch time. According to NBA.com, the Knicks have a record of 10 and 11 in games decided in the clutch. It isn’t because of their defense. The Knicks have the best defensive rating in clutch time in the NBA, but they really struggle to score points in the final few minutes of the game.

A few extra baskets could have made the difference between winning and losing. Unfortunately, the clutch is an area where Julius Randle has struggled mightily. According to NBA.com, Julius Randle is only shooting 38.6% from the field in the clutch period this NBA season. Julius Randle has been a fantastic player for the team this season but closing the game with clutch baskets is not an area where he’s thrived in.

It could be that he’s too exhausted from carrying the offensive load to score in the last few minutes, either way, he’s been a poor closer for most of the season. He has hit some clutch shots this season but they’ve been rare. In New York’s recent win against the Wizards, Randle hit a turnaround fadeaway over Beal with about 2 minutes remaining to help the Knicks win.

Perhaps Thibodeau needs to run more plays to get Randle some better looks but he definitely has to perform better in the clutch for the Knicks to win more games. This also shows that the Knicks could use another elite shot creator to ease the offensive burden off Randle and also deliver in the 4th quarter. The team maintains a strong defense in the 4th quarter, if they could generate just a few extra baskets in the clutch that could make them a much better team.