Last season, the New York Knicks finished No. 22 in the league in catch-and-shoot made three-pointers, with an average of 9.1. So far this season, the Knicks are first in the league in that category, averaging 13.6 per game. It's only a seven-game sample size, but New York is headed in the direction that the organization envisioned when it agreed to hire Mike Brown to replace Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks also rank No. 10 in the league in assist percentage at 65.2%, after finishing seventeenth in the league in that category last season. As the numbers show, New York has an offense under Brown that is built around ball movement and shooting more threes.
Brown also wants the Knicks to consistently play at a faster pace, but so far, the team is averaging 100.21 possessions per game, 22nd in the league. That isn't alarming, though, considering it's still early in the season and New York is still getting used to Brown's offensive scheme. It's all part of the process.
Knicks are already seeing positive results under Mike Brown
One of the main criticisms of watching New York under Thibodeau was that the offense played at a slow pace and was heavily iso-centered. The Knicks became too predictable. Even a conference finals appearance for the first time in over two decades wasn't enough for the front office to keep Thibodeau around. The organization thought that it was time for a change.
They've gotten that from Brown, and we're not just talking about the fact that he's already smiled more in one month than Thibodeau did in five years.
Mikal Bridges, who struggled during his first season in New York, is off to a good start this season for the Knicks. He's averaging 16.4 points per game on 54.5% shooting from the field and 48.6% from three to go with 5.3 assists (his career-high for a full season is 3.7 assists). As expected, Bridges is the biggest benefactor thus far under Brown's new system.
Karl-Anthony Towns, meanwhile, is struggling, averaging 20.4 points per game on 40.8% shooting from the field and 36.1% from three. He's still trying to find his footing, but again, it's only the beginning of November. Now is the time to work through the growing pains. Towns is doing that.
There are still kinks to iron out, but the significant uptick in catch-and-shoot three-pointers and ball movement are positive developments, showing that the Knicks are already starting to get what they wanted out of the Brown hiring.