Once upon a time, in a galaxy not-so-far away, because it’s this one, the New York Knicks were considered deeply flawed wannabe contenders. Their most damning issue amid a laundry list of problems: having no chance, whatsoever, of building a championship-caliber defense while relying so heavily on Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns.
This made sense. Until it didn’t.
Although it has flown under the radar, New York’s defense has been good in the aggregate. Frankly, when you dig into the numbers, “good” is underselling it.
The Knicks have an elite defense
Mash all 82 regular-season and seven playoff games together, and the Knicks are allowing 112.8 points per 100 possessions for the year. That doesn’t rank 10th. Or 12th. Or even 14th.
But only because it ranks fourth.
This is not a typo. Nor is it deliberately disinformative slop designed to incite viral engagement. The Knicks have been a top-five defense since opening night, which is somehow equal parts shocking, totally believable, and just plain stupid.
Now is typically when party-pooping context takes effect, and we find out opponents are missing every single three they take. Not today. Rival offenses have shot 35.5 percent from distance, the 17th-highest mark in the league across this 89-game sample, according to PBP Stats.
Instead of undermining the returns, go ahead and pour one out for OG Anunoby being a dominant workaholic; Mikal Bridges holding up in a role that finally suits him; Josh Hart having a real, live, actual “maniac” mode; the peskiness of Deuce McBride; the regular-season screen navigation from Landry Shamet; Mitchell Robinson being Mitchell Robinson; the complete and total reinvention of one Jordan Clarkson; a knack for keeping opponents out of transition; and a more flexible approach from head coach Mike Brown, among other things.
Oh, yeah, go ahead and thank Towns and Brunson, too.
New York’s defense isn’t solely succeeding in spite of its stars
True to concerns, the Knicks’ defense is worse when both KAT and JB are on the court. They allow 115.9 points per possessions, a 3.1-point increase over the mark above.
You know what, though? That’s still the equivalent of a league-averageish defense during this entire-season stretch. And this mark has settled into 108.5 points per possessions during the playoffs, which would be good enough to hover around the top 10.
We know the knocks against both. Brunson is too small, and too overworked on offense. Towns is too inconsistent, too spacey, and often moves his feet like he’s watching the game on a livestream delay so egregious, not even Peacock or Amazon Prime could ignore it.
To Brunson’s credit, though, he tends to maintain a consistent effort level in the half-court. He has zero margin for error because of his size and the frequency with which teams target him, so it’s more glaring when he’s not efforting like Josh Hart. But he does fight.
In Towns’ case, however, he has become an active participant in the Knicks’ defensive machine. He has held his own on more aggressive possessions, made adjustments when the situation calls for it, seldom been caught dawdling, cranked up his contests around the rim, and still kept a strong presence on the glass despite spending time guarding away from the basket.
Neither KAT nor JB is the primary reason New York’s defense has settled into top-five territory. Who cares? The only defenses stingier than the Knicks’ since opening reside in Oklahoma City, Detroit and San Antonio. That is insane, a development not even the most hopeless romantics saw coming, and above all, proof that yeah, you actually can build a championship-caliber defense with JB and KAT headlining your rotation.
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