The New York Knicks are off to a 2-4 start as the defending NBA champions. Not ideal, but they still have plenty of time to get back to last season's title-winning form. New York has won two of their last three, so their play has been improving.
Here are three surprising numbers for the Knicks from those six games.
2-point percentage
Over six games, the Knicks are shooting just 47.1 percent from inside the arc. They are just one of three teams currently shooting under 50 percent from two-point range, and they have the worst accuracy among them. In just one game this season, New York has shot even better than 50 percent on twos.
That percentage is a far cry from the 55.5 percent they shot in 2025-26, and the 55.0 percent accuracy in 2024-25, the first year of the Karl-Anthony Towns era. Towns is actually the one keeping their two-point percentage from dropping even further, as he has made 65.5 percent.
Otherwise, Jalen Brunson (42.7 percent), Josh Hart (44.4 percent), and Mikal Bridges (38.1 percent) are three starters who have made well less than half of their two-pointers. Brunson has missed a lot of shots that normally go in, so that percentage should rise substantially as the year goes on.
Mikal Bridges’ scoring
On a team with Brunson, Towns, and OG Anunoby, Bridges won’t get many plays called. Still, averaging 6.2 points is ridiculously low.
The 30-year-old finally had his first efficient scoring game on Friday, but he only attempted eight shots. This year, Bridges is shooting just 33.3 percent from the field and 29.2 percent from beyond the arc. He hasn't attempted a free throw.
Even as the fourth option on many nights last season, Bridges averaged 14.2 points. This season, his usage rate is at just 12.6 percent, not even close to his 17.3 percent in 2025-26 or 19.6 percent in his first year with New York in 2024-25.
Offensive rebounds
Let’s end with something somewhat positive. Losing Mitchell Robinson meant the Knicks no longer had arguably the NBA's best offensive rebounder. Yet through six games, their 14.5 offensive rebounds per contest are the second-most in the league.
The downside is that New York hasn’t shot the ball well (28th in field-goal percentage), which has given them more offensive rebounding opportunities. They are still sixth in the league with a 30.3 offensive rebound rate.
Towns, Anunoby, and Andre Drummond are averaging just shy of nine combined per game. While it’s great to see the Knicks maintain their identity as a team that prides itself on the offensive glass, it comes with the caveat that it’s partly because they’ve missed so many shots.
New York would probably love to see their offensive rebounds per game decline (while keeping their offensive rebounding percentage high), because it would mean they are shooting much better as a team, creating fewer opportunities to get second chances.
Add us as a preferred source on Google