Alex Sconziano
@ASconzCourant
For the past several seasons the New York Knicks have been the NBA’s most dreadful and embarrassing franchise. The Knicks haven’t had a winning record since 2012, when they were led by Carmelo Anthony to a First Round playoff series win over the Boston Celtics before ultimately losing in the Conference Semifinals to the Indiana Pacers. This season the Knicks hold a losing record of 10-26.
Knicks fans are once again disappointed as they must suffer through another nightmare season with no hope of their team having a winning record much less returning to the playoffs after a 7 year drought. What is even more frustrating is that the Knicks ownership and front office seem to have no plan in place to return a once premier NBA team to any measure of relevance. Here’s a look at several reasons for the Knick’s continued failures.
Their Lack Of Talent At The Point Guard Position
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In basketball, an effective point guard is considered a “floor general” and acts as an extension of the head coach while on the court. They must also be good shooters, ball handlers, and passers who create scoring opportunities for their teammates. Unfortunately the Knicks do not have any players who consistently demonstrate these skills. The Knicks’ two main Point Guards are Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. Ntilikina is more of an intangibles player, he might not fill up the stat sheet but he can move the ball on offense and has a very good feel of the game. Dennis Smith Jr is highly athletic who displays brief flashes of offensive brilliance.
The problem is that neither of them play with any level of consistency. Ntilikina is averaging only 6.5 points, 2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while Smith Jr, is contributing 5.9 points, 1.6 boards, and 2.9 assists. These stats are among the lowest in the NBA for point guards. The first step to the Knicks getting better is finding a reliable and consistent point guard to compete against the league’s best floor generals.
Good Players Do Not Want To Play For The Knicks
This offseason Knicks fans were especially excited by the possibility of securing one of the several big name free agents who were on the market and who were being courted by many interested teams. The Knicks had more available salary cap space than any other team and had the funds to sign two high level free agents. The Knicks targeted Kevin Durant – arguably the NBA’s best all around player – and Kyrie Irving – arguably the NBA’s best point guard. Two of the league’s biggest superstars are exactly what the Knicks needed to get back on track. But the Knicks suffered a devastating loss when both Irving and Durant unexpectedly signed with crosstown rival Brooklyn Nets.
In just one day the futures of the NBA’s two New York teams were on completely different paths. The Knicks inability to sign any big name free agents was clear evidence that no one wanted to play for the team in the league’s biggest market. No high level player wanted to play for such a dysfunctional team. The only options left to improve the team would be to build through the draft and to develop young but inexperienced players.
Failing To Play Hard All Game
Time and time again the Knicks have shown an inability to play 4 complete quarters of competitive basketball. They have played great for two quarters only to come out of halftime flat and end up getting blown out. On the rare occasions where they have been able to string together 3 good quarters of basketball they somehow find new ways to blow even sizable leads in the 4th quarter. Even the good games the Knicks have played have been taken away from them because of their lack of strong performance at the end of the game.
The Knicks are averaging a 4th quarter scoring margin of minus 2.8 points, which is last in the league! The lack of effort all game is costing the team wins. They are averaging only 24 points in the fourth quarter which is second to last in the league. It’s not that the players are getting tired it’s simply the lack of consistent effort and concentration from the beginning to the end of a game. If the players started playing inspired basketball for an entire game they could obviously win more.
Coach Fizdale Fired
In recent years the Knicks have shown an inability to hire an effective head coach and have hired and fired several head coaches in their never ending search for a consistent leader. The latest head coach to be fired was David Fizdale who at the time of his hiring was touted as a smart coach who players loved to play for and who could assist in attracting the league’s best free agents. After the Knicks failed to sign Irving or Durant, Coach Fizdale was left with an under talented and poorly constructed roster of players. At the beginning of the 2019 season the Knicks players appeared to be listening to Coach Fizdale and were competitive in several games even though they were losing games. Unfortunately as the season continued and the losses piled up the players eventually stopped playing for their Coach.
Fizdale also failed to develop the Knicks top draft picks for the past two years – Frank Ntilikina and Kevin Knox – as the talent development of both players appears to have stalled. Under Fizdale the Knicks also repeatedly failed to close out games despite having large leads in the third and fourth quarters. Ultimately the Knicks were forced to fire Fizdale after only 22 games with just 4 wins and 18 losses.
Lacking A Smooth Offense
Under Fizdale the Knicks utilized an isolation offense despite the team not having a premier one-on-one player like a James Harden type who could single handedly breakdown a defense. This offense caused the Knicks to not pass the ball effectively and force bad shots. The Knicks have the lowest shot percentage in the NBA, making just 42.4% of their shots.
Also, the absence of a pure point guard/ball handler caused an unacceptable number of turnovers. The Knicks average 14.6 turnovers per game. Fizdale also preferred to put all of his big men on the floor at one time and not balance the offense with the team’s better shooters. All of this caused the Knicks to be unable to consistently score and remain in games.
After Fizdale was fired his assistant coach Mike Miller took over the head coaching job. Since Miller’s promotion the team appears to be playing more inspired basketball as shown by several wins during a recent west coast road trip. If Miller has any hope of improving the team he needs to establish an offensive identity for the Knicks and stick with it.
Most importantly, he needs to put his players in positions where they can be successful. Particularly his young and developing players. It is important for Miller to develop his young talent instead of playing his veterans who are on short term contracts and likely won’t be on next year’s roster. The future of the Knicks should be Miller’s number one priority.
If the Knicks improve in these areas, they can start being a competitive basketball team once again. They can become an actual competitor and threat in the NBA, if their guards step up and start controlling the floor and running the offense. With the firing of Fizdale and the elevation of Miller as the new coach the team was given the chance to restart the season with a clean slate. If Miller can get the offense to run smoother and if he can convince his team to play tough for the entire game the Knicks can salvage this season and give their fans some entertainment and, more importantly, hope for the future.
