New York Knicks, Obi Toppin, Evan Fournier, Alec Burks (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)
The New York Knicks now sit at 7-5 on the season.
It seems like every other day we are flip-flopping. Analyzing reasons why the Knicks can hang with any team in the league or finding flaws that indicate a potential drop in the standings.
The reality of the situation is simple — this is a good basketball team that has the potential to be even better. 7-5 is a fine way to start the season, even if it feels like the team’s record could be better.
New York Knicks: Will we see adjustments?
It’s hard to imagine any drastic changes happening at this point.
There have been some growing pains for this team and their new additions. The biggest struggles have come from the team’s starters.
Tom Thibodeau was asked about the issues with the starters and whether or not they just needed more time to “gel”. Thibs response?
“When you get to 20, you say 30. And you get to 30, you say 40. And then before you know it, the season’s over. So it’s a bunch of bulls**t”
There has been no question about it, something is a little off with this team.
Weird, prolonged stretches of bad basketball. Playing up and down to their competition. Falling to the league’s rock bottom in defense.
This team has some serious potential but they haven’t quite found their identity yet.
What are some adjustments that the New York Knicks can make to find some more consistency?
New York Knicks</a> now sit at 7-5 on the season.</p>
<p>It seems like every other day we are flip-flopping. Analyzing reasons why the Knicks can hang with any team in the league or finding flaws that indicate a potential drop in the standings.</p>
<p>The reality of the situation is simple — this is a good basketball team that has the potential to be even better. 7-5 is a fine way to start the season, even if it feels like the team’s record could be better.</p>
<h2>New York Knicks: Will we see adjustments?</h2>
<p>It’s hard to imagine any drastic changes happening at this point.</p>
<p>There have been some growing pains for this team and their new additions. The biggest struggles have come from the team’s starters.</p>
<p><a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://twitter.com/sny_knicks/status/1458635452106350594" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tom Thibodeau was asked about the issues with the starters and whether or not they just needed more time to “gel”.</a> Thibs response?</p>
<blockquote><p>“When you get to 20, you say 30. And you get to 30, you say 40. And then before you know it, the season’s over. So it’s a bunch of bulls**t”</p></blockquote>
<p>There has been no question about it, something is a little off with this team.</p>
<p>Weird, prolonged stretches of bad basketball. Playing up and down to their competition. Falling to the league’s rock bottom in defense.</p>
<p>This team has some serious potential but they haven’t quite found their identity yet.</p>
<p>What are some adjustments that the New York Knicks can make to find some more consistency?</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Adjustment #1 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-122200" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1066,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1347433153.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="1600" height="1066" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1347433153.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1347433153-768x512.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">Obi Toppin, New York Knicks. (Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>New York Knicks: Obi Toppin needs a larger role</h2>
<p>To be 100% honest, this is not something I foresaw happening this season.</p>
<p>It has felt like everything has been stacked up against Obi Toppin since he joined the New York Knicks.</p>
<p>Playing the same position as last season’s NBA’s minutes leader, his teammate, Julius Randle. His limited positional versatility. His lack of defense on a Tom Thibodeau-coached team. Being more comfortable in transition than in the halfcourt on a team that plays at a slower pace.</p>
<p>Yet, all Obi Toppin has done is work on his weaknesses and find ways to assert his playstyle and his skillset every time he’s on the court.</p>
<p>Good players can only be so limited by their team’s philosophy. Talent always shines through, and that’s exactly what is happening with Obi Toppin this season.</p>
<p>He is far from a finished product, but his assertiveness, focus, and impact on any given game is light-years from where it was last season.</p>
<p><a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://cleaningtheglass.com/stats/player/4752#tab-offensive_overview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Knicks’ offensive efficiency when Obi Toppin is on the court increases by +16.2 points per 100 possessions.</a> Their defensive allows 11 fewer points per 100 possessions with Toppin on the court.</p>
<p>Yes, part of that is how good the Knicks’ 2nd unit has been overall, but even when Toppin has shared the court with some starters, his presence has been felt.</p>
<p>Thibs has been reluctant to have Toppin and Randle on the court together. He likes the rotation of Nerlens and Taj as the backup, bruiser centers.</p>
<p>I get sticking to your philosophy, but if something unfamiliar is working, you have to just throw yourself into that new territory as an adaptable coach.</p>
<p>Toppin is the Knicks’ most devastating rim runner. It seems as though every time he’s running off-ball, he’s getting himself wide-open and you can hear the air being sucked from the audience as they prepare for an alley-oop.</p>
<p>He is a key contributor to this team and brings elements of basketball that really no one else on the Knicks has. However it happens, he needs to be incorporated more.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Adjustment #2 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-121899" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_1060,w_1600/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1345921731.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="1600" height="1060" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1345921731.jpeg 1600w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1345921731-768x509.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:1600px;">New York Knicks, Tom Thibodeau (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>New York Knicks: Tighten up the defense</h2>
<p>This one isn’t an easy fix.</p>
<p>There’s no single problem. There’s no single weak link. The Knicks defense this season has been fundamentally different than what they put out last year.</p>
<p>Look at this statistic that Tommy Beer from Forbes pulled up about the team’s defensive effort against the Milwaukee Bucks last night:</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Per NBA tracking data, <br>the Knicks allowed 30 wide-open 3-pointers last night.</p>
<p>That means on 30 occasions no Knick defender was within six feet of a Buck player when they attempted a 3PT. </p>
<p>30.</p>
<p>The Bucks made 15 of those attempts.</p>
<p>We'll dig into it today – words coming soon…</p>
<p>— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://twitter.com/TommyBeer/status/1458788390749491202?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>This seems difficult to achieve. Leaving so many shooters that wide-open.</p>
<p>It has absolutely been the New York Knicks’ Achilles heel this season – <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/05/going-new-york-knicks-defense/">the horrendous 3-point defense. </a></p>
<p>Tom Thibodeau’s defense is always a high-risk system. It involves a lot of overloading towards the ball-handler and requires a lot of help defense and quick rotations.</p>
<p>Even with newcomers Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, the team’s overall familiarity with the system being in the 2nd year of Thibodeau should have them in the middle of the pack with the rest of the league. They’re at the very bottom in a lot of defensive categories.</p>
<p>Is this a matter of Fournier and Walker needing more time? Do the Knicks need to incorporate their bench even more?</p>
<p>There has been some clamor about getting Quentin Grimes some more playing time. The rookie could be one of the team’s most valuable perimeter defenders if given the chance.</p>
<p>Whether it’s a rotation adjustment or something that’s simply missing from the current roster, the New York Knicks need to do something about their perimeter defense.</p>
<p>It’s a drastic change from last season but the offense has the talent and depth to figure itself out. The defense needs to be a priority.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Adjustment #3 </a>
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<img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-122131" src=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2152,w_3200/https%3A%2F%2Fdailyknicks.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2017%2F07%2F1346963405.jpeg" alt="New York Knicks" width="3200" height="2152" srcset="https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1346963405.jpeg 3200w, https://dailyknicks.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2017/07/1346963405-768x516.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><div class="fs-center-img">
<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:3200px;">Kemba Walker, Tom Thibodeau, New York Knicks. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)</p>
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<h2>New York Knicks: Is there a point guard problem?</h2>
<p>This seems to have happened with every Knicks player this season. A stretch where they are hot and we as fans want them to be more involved, and then a stretch where they are cold and their playing time needs to be dialed back.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long ago where Kemba Walker was taking over some serious scoring responsibility and lighting up the Chicago Bulls.</p>
<p>Now, the flavor of the week has been Walker’s lackluster defense and stagnance with the ball in his hands.</p>
<p>It has been a very rough past few games for Walker, who has shot just 6/24 from the field in his last three games.</p>
<p>Do the Knicks need to change their starting point guard rotation? I would think that Walker will remain the starter but that doesn’t mean his playing time can’t decrease, for now, at least.</p>
<p>Playing time isn’t locked in from day one of an NBA season. Outside of your star players, playing time and roles are ever-evolving. There is a human side of basketball that goes beyond numbers — sometimes guys are hot, sometimes they’re cold, it’s just the nature of the game.</p>
<p>Right now, Kemba Walker is nowhere near the best version of his 2021 self. He’s not getting to the rim.</p>
<p>We also have Immanuel Quickley catching fire over his past three games.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Immanuel Quickley averages in his last 3 games</p>
<p>• 20.9 minutes<br>• 13.3 points <br>• 4.0 assists <br>• 50% FG<br>• 50% 3P<br>• 70.4% True Shooting </p>
<p>A rising 🌟 <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://t.co/WdegXPCvTy">pic.twitter.com/WdegXPCvTy
<p>— Daily Knicks (@DailyKnicksFS) <a href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://twitter.com/DailyKnicksFS/status/1458866615076982790?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%22>November 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>If Immanuel Quickley is playing like this you play him. He does things that can jumpstart an entire offense.</p>
<p>If Derrick Rose is catching fire, you leave him in the game. He’s been more consistent than Walker as of late.</p>
<p>Right now, Rose and Quickley are the guys who should be playing closer to 25 minutes. They should be on the court in the 4th quarter.</p>
<p>There will be a game, and it could be as soon as Friday night, where Kemba Walker figures it out. He’s still going to be an important part of this team but he doesn’t need to be forced into being the 2nd option every night. For right now, the team needs to ride with the hot hands at point guard.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Immanuel Quickley is finding his groove" data-url="https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/09/knicks-news-immanuel-quickley-finding-groove/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #007BC1" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/11/new-york-knicks-3-adjustments/"https://dailyknicks.com/2021/11/09/knicks-news-immanuel-quickley-finding-groove/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Immanuel Quickley is finding his groove </a> </div>
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