The Knicks had a top-five offense in the NBA last season, although it was much less efficient throughout the second half of the season. One of their most glaring issues last year was their inability to get up shots from behind the 3-point line. This season, that shouldn't be as much of an issue, thanks to the upgrades to their bench.
This offseason, the Knicks added Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson on guaranteed deals. They also have Landry Shamet, Malcolm Brogdon, and Garrison Mathews signed to non-guaranteed deals. They currently have enough room to sign one of those players to a guaranteed contract, unless they make a trade to open up additional space.
Last year, the Knicks had one of the shallowest and least-productive bench units in the league. While the new additions will certainly change that, they should also greatly help with the team's shooting volume.
The newest Knicks get up threes
Last season, all of the Knicks' starters had below-average 3-point rates. Meanwhile, Yabusele had a 3-point rate of 49 percent and Clarkson had a 3-point rate of 47 percent.
For context, those are higher rates of shooting threes than anyone currently signed to a guaranteed deal on the Knicks roster outside of Miles McBride, as 57 percent of his shots last year were threes.
Just having these new additions and having a coach who is willing to go deeper in his bench more consistently should make a big difference in their 3-point volume, which was only 27th in the league last year.
It can't just be the bench that shoots threes
There is a good chance that McBride becomes the fifth starter, which should help the team's spacing and make it easier for players like Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby to get off improved catch-and-shoot looks. That said, the rest of the starters need to follow suit.
James Edward III of The Athletic recently wrote that one of the things he will be most interested in seeing through the first 10 games of the season will be if the Knicks get up more threes. As Edwards III explained, the Knicks have several high-profile offensive players who prefer to operate in the mid-range or in the paint, namely Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges.
Brown will ned to preach shot diet and getting up threes if he wants to see the overall volume increase, which it absolutely needs to do. Even if it only increases marginally, the influx of bench shooting should help carry a good portion of the load.