The New York Knicks have been criticized all year for their defensive struggles, but things aren’t perfect on the offensive end either.
That showed against the Golden State Warriors, where the team made just eight of its 33 attempts from beyond the 3-point line. If you take away OG Anunoby’s four makes to help lead the team with 29 points, the team only made four more 3-pointers.
The Athletic insider James Edwards III points out how much the team has struggled from beyond the arc even before their game against the Warriors.
“Since Jan. 1, the Knicks rank 29th in the NBA in 3-point attempts per game (31.5), per NBA.com. New York is only converting on 35.1 percent of those attempts, which ranks 21st in the NBA during that span. On the other side of the floor, per NBA.com, the Knicks are doing a good job of not allowing opponents to take 3s, as the defense averages just 34.4 per game, which is the fourth-best mark in the NBA. However, teams are shooting a league-leading 39.9 percent from 3 against New York since the top of the year,” Edwards writes.
“The Knicks have been so efficient on their 2-pointers that losing the game within the game that is the 3-point battle hasn’t slowed them completely. They’re still a good basketball team. With that, though New York is a fine 17-11 since Jan. 1, it has been trampled by some of the league’s best and has been in dogfights with average and below-average teams in part because of the struggles with the 3-point line.”
The Knicks are one of eight teams this season to shoot 37 percent or better from distance, but so too are the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, the latter of which ranks No. 1 in the NBA at 39.4 percent.
If the Knicks are going to catch those teams, they have to shoot better from 3-point land.