The New York Knicks knew there would be some road bumps at the beginning of the 2021-22 NBA season as they were acclimating two new players into their starting five. Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier were acquired in free agency to replace Elfrid Payton and Reggie Bullock.
The duos are drastically different players, as Walker and Fournier are more offensive-minded. Payton and Bullock are more defensive-minded, and thus far, it is showing in the results.
The Knicks are among the best offensive teams in the NBA, ranking fourth in offensive rating. Their defense is on the opposite side of the spectrum, ranking 26th as they are unable to consistently generate stops.
We know there aren’t going to be any changes to the starting lineup, at least not yet. Head coach Tom Thibodeau started Payton 63 times in the regular season during the 2020-21 campaign, so anyone calling for a change will likely have their pleas fall on deaf ears. But, Thibodeau will have to figure something out, because the starting five is not performing up to par.
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Per Tim Bontemps, Walker, Fournier, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson have the most minutes of any five-man grouping in the NBA. They have played 205 minutes together, but the results have been disastrous.
New York is being outscored by 14.4 points per 100 possessions and they have a defensive rating of 119.3. To put into perspective how poor that is, the Sacramento Kings had a defensive rating of 117.2 last season. That was the worst defensive rating in the history of the league, yet this five-man group is even worse.
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Finger-pointing can be done, but this is a schematic issue for the Knicks defensively. Last season, they were daring teams to shoot 3-pointers and they were missing more often than not. This season, that is not the case, as New York is allowing what are warm-up and practice jumpers to opponents in-game.
They seem to be one rotation short regularly and it has been costly. According to Tommy Beer, last night alone the Knicks allowed 30 wide-open 3-pointers to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Milwaukee attempted 50 in the game, so 60 percent of their 3-pointers were attempted without a defender within six feet. The New York Knicks are taking the CDC guidelines of social distancing to the basketball court and it is costing them dearly.
Thibodeau has been hesitant, because he doesn’t want to wear down Randle, but mixing in some more minutes with him at the center spot could be in play. Some of the team’s issues in the starting five stem from Randle being forced into attempting difficult elbow and baseline jumpers.
That was something the additions of Walker and Fournier were expected to alleviate and it has to some degree. But it won’t be fully fixed unless there is a threat to score at the center position. Right now the Knicks have guys that occupy the paint and dunker spot almost exclusively at the center position.
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Unclogging the paint would do wonders for Randle and Barrett attacking the mid-range. It would also open Randle up to do more work in pick-and-rolls if the player at the 5-spot provided some floor spacing.
Again, that would normally mean sacrificing more defense, which just isn’t a realistic possibility currently. Someone such as Myles Turner of the Indiana Pacers would be a good target as he provides elite defense as the anchor and rim protector.
At 7-5, the New York Knicks are off to a much better start than they were last season, so some things are working. But for them to reach that next level, the starting five is going to have to figure things out. They are digging early holes that are sometimes too deep to climb out of or killing momentum in the third quarter, putting the game out of reach and giving their opponents the win.
