The Knicks defeated the Timberwolves on Wednesday, Nov. 5, with a final score of 137-114. The team’s highest scoring game of the young season provided a window into the Knicks’ new offense and how it plays to the team’s strengths. OG Anunoby had another excellent game, finishing with 25 points and five offensive rebounds.
Anunoby is off to his best start as a rebounder since the 2021-22 season. That year, he averaged 5.5 rebounds, including 1.5 offensive boards. This year, he’s averaging six rebounds a game, with 1.6 coming on the offensive end. Anunoby’s play is an example of the kind of equal-opportunity offense Mike Brown hopes to foster with his new system.
How the Knicks’ New Offense Plays to the Team’s Strengths
Pushing the Pace
The Knicks’ offense is fourth in the league through the first month of the season. They were a top-five offense last season. The core of that team remains, so it’s not surprising that they’re among the league’s best at scoring. The team seems to have bought into Mike Brown’s pace and space concepts, but it’s still a work in progress.
While seventh in the league in points added per 100 possessions through transition play per Cleaning the Glass, the Knicks are 24th in transition frequency. Despite being fourth in transition points added per 100 possessions off live ball rebounds, the team is 26th in frequency of live ball rebounds that lead to a transition play. For a team that’s third in points per 100 transition plays, the Knicks don’t play in transition often. When they do, they score efficiently.
Yet even with Brown’s emphasis on pace, the Knicks initiate less offense through transition play than they did a season ago. Last season, the Knicks were 11th in the league in points added per 100 possessions through transition and 6th in points per 100 transition plays, not far off their mark this year.
Going from 24th in scoring off live-ball rebounds to fourth is a significant improvement, but that growth is stymied by the team’s reluctance to pursue those opportunities. Adjusting to Brown’s system will take time. Mikal Bridges‘ transition to an expanded role has been smooth. Mitchell Robinson remains a force on the offensive glass. He had nine offensive rebounds in 16 minutes Wednesday. In the three games he’s played, he’s averaging six offensive rebounds despite playing just 16 minutes per game.
Leaning Into the Rebounding Advantage
Robinson and Anunoby are part of a team-wide focus on crashing the offensive glass. Brown and his staff have stressed “the importance of hitting the offensive glass from the ‘crash zone,’” according to The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III. They lead the league in offensive rebounds per game and are fifth in total rebounding. The team ranks fifth in offensive rebounding percentage. Even Bridges and Miles McBride average an offensive rebound per game.
Still, there’s room to grow. The Knicks are just 16th in points scored per putback play and 27th in points per possession on putbacks. They generate 15 extra possessions per game but struggle scoring off those opportunities, doing so at the 29th-worst frequency in the league. Repetition should breed comfort in those situations. Robinson’s presence will only accentuate this advantage; he’s been one of the best offensive rebounders in the league for years.
The Knicks are also due for some regression. Being 19th in effective field goal percentage makes little sense when you have the fourth-highest rate of shots taken when open (4-6 feet of space to the closest defender). As a team, they struggle at the rim, in most of the mid-range, and with making non-corner threes. They’re league average from three overall, buoyed by a top-four ranking in corner threes.
The two players taking the most shots, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, are off to a poor shooting start. Brunson’s effective field goal percentage is his worst since his second season in the league. Towns has an effective field goal percentage of 47 percent, down 11 points from last year. He’s shooting 34 percent from three, his worst mark in several seasons.
What Does This Mean for the Season?
Brunson and Towns must get used to a system that pushes them out of their comfort zone. In Brunson’s case, the focus is on expanding playmaking opportunities for others, which takes the ball out of his hands. For Towns, fastbreaks aren’t his preferred method of scoring, but he’s excellent in transition opportunities.
The Knicks have to stay the course. Expect the shooting to even out as the season goes on. The offensive rebounding is sustainable, given the team’s personnel and Brown making it a point of emphasis. Playing in transition means easier opportunities to score. On a team with limited one-on-one threats, giving players like Bridges, Anunoby, and Josh Hart the chance to create with a numbers advantage means fewer possessions that stagnate into tough shots for Brunson or Towns.
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