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

The Knicks need better point guard play

It feels like the team has been without a point guard for years now. The team has been starting mediocre point guards throughout the past decade, from Raymond Felton to Jose Calderon to now Elfrid Payton. The point guard position is one of the most important positions in basketball, it isn’t a coincidence that not having good point guard play has coincided with the Knicks’ futility as an NBA team.

If the Knicks want to improve with a little over 25 games remaining, they need to get better play from their point guards. Elfrid Payton is a strong defender who can drive to the basket, but his complete lack of shooting severely holds the Knicks’ offense back. Immanuel Quickley has been a pleasant surprise as a shooter and shot creator but he’s too inconsistent on offense which is probably why Thibodeau prefers to keep Quickley as a second unit player. Frank Ntilikina is a very good defender but his complete lack of an offensive game has kept him as primarily an off-the-bench defensive specialist during most of his Knicks tenure.

The key for New York may be to get Derrick Rose reintegrated into the lineup. Rose was averaging a solid 12 points and 5 assists per game while shooting 45% from 3 in the 10 games he played for the Knicks but he’s been out for an extended length of time due to health and safety protocols. Derrick Rose is the only point guard on the roster that gives the team strong shooting, scoring, and playmaking. Hopefully, his return can fix the Knicks’ point guard woes but either way, they need more help at that position to improve as a team.