After the first few games of the New York Knicks’ season, many were left wondering whether head coach Mike Brown made a mistake. Could this team meet his demands on three-point volume and remain efficient from beyond the arc? That concern, while well-intentioned, is officially overblown.
In reality, it was always overblown. The Knicks were so bad from deep to begin the year, there was only ever room to improve.
And improve they have.
The Knicks’ three-shooting is starting to normalize
Through the first four games of the season, in which they went 2-2, the Knicks converted just 33 percent of their triples—the league’s 23rd-best mark. Based on this, it was easy to conclude that New York couldn’t sling 40-plus treys per game, and hope to make them at a quality clip.
Upon digging deeper, though, this cold streak had all the makings of a classic rut. The Knicks were swishing under 34 percent of their wide-open triples during this stretch. That was not only one of the Association’s worst showings, but the average team last season connected on almost 39 percent of their unguarded threes. The Knicks themselves nailed them at a 40.4 percent clip.
This number was always going to climb. That’s what it is doing right now.
Over the last three games, the Knicks are shooting 42.9 percent on wide-open triples. That is the biggest difference, and it’s not an unsustainable one.
Even if the accuracy tumbles, some of the biggest culprits from New York’s arctic-cold streak were guys you knew would be better. Karl-Anthony Towns, in particular, was abysmal. He went 2-of-9 on unguarded threes to start the year (22.2 percent), and is at a more reasonable 37.5 percent since.
Concerns creep in when you get to the Guerschon Yabusele, Jordan Clarkson, Josh Hart, and Landry Shamet of it all. They will be wild cards all year. But Deuce McBride is going to be more deficient, especially on these looks. More critically, Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges have left little doubt, at all, that they are going to hit the threes this offense is generating for them.
New York’s next challenge is around the corner
There is only one question left for the Knicks to answer on their three-point volume: How will they fare when defenses get a better feel for their new style?
“Spray threes” is the buzzphrase making the rounds in New York these days. Defenses know it. Even as the Knicks have become more confident and fluid in generating them, the share of their triples going uncontested (i.e. with the closest defender being six or more feet away), have actually gone down. Teams are already being more cognizant of where they help from, and how deep they collapse on drives.
The Knicks are so far responding well. It’s still early, but their ability to remain efficient on additional long-range volume no longer comes close to topping their list of concerns.
And if we’re being totally honest, as well as rational, it never did.