3 Reasons The NY Knicks Can Return to Being a Top Defense

The NY Knicks can return to being a top defense in the NBA as they were last year and there are good reasons to believe that they can do so even after a slow start defensively this year.

On Monday, the Knicks showed they could clamp down on some of the NBA’s best offenses after a terribly disappointing 112-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Kevin Durant struggled throughout the game, going 9/23 from the field, including 0/5 on three.

Everyone knows that KD scores as efficiently as any player in history, so forcing him to a game this inefficient is something to note.

The Nets rank second in three-point percentage at 37.8% as this is being written. The Knicks held Brooklyn to shooting 8/28 from deep, which is 28%.

Can the NY Knicks return to their dominant defensive roots?

The Nets are a dynamic offensive team, and the Knicks used their defense to stick with them.

That was easily the best that New York has looked all year defensively when going up against a true finals contender.

There are reasons to believe things could keep up defensively for the Knicks. It’s not like they are some completely different team from last year.

If you look at the Knicks roster, very few guys are poor defenders, and most starting lineups in the NBA have at least one poor defender on it.

All signs point to the Knicks being able to get back to being a top defensive team in the NBA.

They need to put in the same energy as last year and not get complacent, which I discussed earlier this year in an article.

Suppose the Knicks can put the same defensive effort in as last year and Coach Thibodeau can get rotations correct for defense.

In that case, there’s no reason why New York can’t get back to allowing the least points per game.

There are multiple reasons why the Knicks can totally be the same defensive team as last year, even if they lost a plus defender in their lineup like Reggie Bullock.

Here are some of those reasons.

Was Kemba Walker really the NY Knicks’ Achilles Heel?

This hurts to say as someone who’s been a huge fan of Walker since he came to the NBA.

However, the Knicks are certainly better defensively without Walker…much better.

The Knicks have the best defensive rating in the NBA when Walker is off the court and the worst defensive rating in the league when he is on the court. Ouch.

Walker has never been a great defender, and usually, his offensive ability would make up for that.

He has not been bad on offense, averaging 12 points on 41% from three.

This is not the same amount of production he used to give, and it does not make up for the horrid defense.

It hurts to say that Walker is a liability to this team built in a defensive system like the one Thibs uses.

Thibs likes his point guards to play defense and not be arguably the worst defensive liability in the entire NBA.

This year, Alec Burks has been a very solid defender averaging a steal per game, having been tied for the best defensive rating on the Knicks with Mitchell Robinson and Taj Gibson at 107.

Burks replaced Kemba Walker as the starting point guard for New York, and it looks as if that is here to stay. It’s hard to imagine Walker returning to this role, especially since teams have already come calling about Walker’s trade availability.

As much as I love Walker and thought this signing would work out, it has not.

The Knicks are a defense-first team, and in the first game without Walker, the Knicks played great defense again.

This could be a sign of things to come. Also, it’ll be interesting to see if the Knicks can land any decent defenders in a trade for Walker, though most likely it would be a trade for a second-round pick or two.

RJ Barrett has improved drastically on defense for the NY Knicks

Here I go again, talking about RJ Barrett.

Barrett has become the Knicks’ defensive stopper this season, and time and time again, he looks excellent in this role.

Barrett guards the best wing on the opposing team pretty much nightly and there have been times he has just consumed his matchup.

On opening day against Boston, Barrett had Jayson Tatum completely locked down with no answer for the strength and determination of Barrett.

I’ve seen many parts of Barrett’s game that reminds me of Jimmy Butler.

He also gives his defenders hell on the offensive side of the ball, and though his stats do not always jump out, you can see his impact on his team.

Both Barrett and Butler are not the fastest wings in the league, but they make up for that with incredible strength.

Barrett also forced Zach LaVine to have one of his worst games of the season when the Knicks lost to the Bulls.

Lavine shot 7/20 and 0/5 from deep while being the only starter with a negative +/-, while also having the second-worst defensive rating out of every player on the Bulls that game.

What I’m trying to say is at the young age of 21, Barrett has learned how to successfully become a defensive stopper for a coach who is more demanding than anyone on defense.

It cannot be overlooked that Barrett is a great defender now after not being a great defender as a rookie and coming into the NBA expected to be a defensive liability.

He is a massive part of the Knicks’ success both on offense and defense.

They’ll need Barrett’s ability as a defensive stopper if they want to return a top defense again this year.

Tom Thibodeau is still a defensive genius for the NY Knicks

One thing the Knicks have going for them is they are still coached by Tom Thibodeau, the reigning NBA Coach of the Year.

Thibs won this award for turning this team into a defensive monster last season.

The trap-style defense the Knicks play off the pick-and-roll is a nightmare for offenses in this pick-and-roll/pop era of basketball where it feels like a screen is set every 7 seconds (Mike D’Antoni, anyone?).

Coach Thibs has found a way to completely neutralize the pick and roll against even the best teams.

Thibs knows basketball defense as good as any human to ever exist, honestly. He makes sure his guys are ruthless on defense with endless effort.

Defense is a lot about mentality, you have to want it more than the player on offense, and Thibs has drilled that into his players’ heads.

When your team is coached by a basketball mind of this caliber, they can be an elite unit on defense.

If you don’t believe me, I highly doubt that anyone thought a starting 5 of Elfrid Payton, Reggie Bullock, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson/Nerlens Noel would be a top-three defensive unit that allows the least points per game.

I certainly did not expect that.

Thibs needs to make his guys want it on defense more than anyone else. They have the personnel to get the job done, especially with the defensive improvements of Burks and Barrett and having Mitchell Robinson back, though his block numbers have gone down, unfortunately.

Thibs knows how to make his guys give effort, as RJ Barrett led the NBA in miles ran on the court last season with 192.3 miles.

The man in second place, you might wonder? Julius Randle, with exactly 188 miles.

Effort and accountability are always preached to the Knicks by coach Thibs.

If the Knicks work as hard as they did last year while having a great defensive mind like Thibs at the helm, there is no reason why they cannot return to being a top defense in the NBA.