Official 2017 Knicks Offseason thread, Phil Jackson gone

[nick.]

Might have to give Noah the Bobby Bonilla deal

 

[donewithjs]

Rumors are there is going to be NO amnesty clause in the new CBA.

 

[Air Pope]

 
Excited as hell to see these Knicks in action in person tonight 

Dope bro. Enjoy that.

 

[throwback1718]

Rumors are there is going to be NO amnesty clause in the new CBA.

We made our bed.

 

[Air Pope]

Y'all might wanna be careful. I don't think tears are good for electronics.

 

[nick.]

A win tonight would be yuuuuuge before playing GS

15-10 after 25 games would be nice considering injuries, a new coach, 10 new players, & a tough November schedule

 

[kingfoamnyc]

Fugazi Tyson and **** boy Jared need to get this work

 

[everysingletime]

Was the November schedule really that tough? Don't remember the Knicks playing too many good teams.

 

[abematic]

[table][tr][td]Tuesday, 1 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Detroit Pistons[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Wednesday, 2 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Houston Rockets[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, 4 November 2016[/td][td]08:00 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Chicago Bulls[/td][td]ESPN[/td][/tr][tr][td]Sunday, 6 November 2016[/td][td]12:00 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Utah Jazz[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Wednesday, 9 November 2016[/td][td]07:00 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Brooklyn Nets[/td][td]ESPN[/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, 11 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Boston Celtics[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Saturday, 12 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Toronto Raptors[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Monday, 14 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Dallas Mavericks[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Wednesday, 16 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Detroit Pistons[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Thursday, 17 November 2016[/td][td]07:00 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Washington Wizards[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Sunday, 20 November 2016[/td][td]01:00 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Atlanta Hawks[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Tuesday, 22 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Portland Trail Blazers[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Friday, 25 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Charlotte Hornets[/td][td]NBATV[/td][/tr][tr][td]Saturday, 26 November 2016[/td][td]07:00 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Charlotte Hornets[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Monday, 28 November 2016[/td][td]07:30 PM[/td][td]Home[/td][td]

  Oklahoma City Thunder[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][tr][td]Wednesday, 30 November 2016[/td][td]08:00 PM[/td][td]Away[/td][td]

  Minnesota Timberwolves[/td][td]  [/td][/tr][/table]

 

[kingfoamnyc]

Our November schedule was way tougher than our December one. No back to backs this month also

 

[Master Zik]

Rumors are there is going to be NO amnesty clause in the new CBA.

Good. It was a one to.e thing and it got super annoying plnkept talking about amnesty this player or that player after we had already used it.

 

[the 718 truth]

Excited as hell to see these Knicks in action in person tonight 

Enjoy. Boo the **** outta Chandler for me

Might have to give Noah the Bobby Bonilla deal

That's hurtful

 

[phar0]

 
Excited as hell to see these Knicks in action in person tonight 

have fun! 

 

[phar0]

Rumors are there is going to be NO amnesty clause in the new CBA.

 

[floodarea]

For everyone watching the game on MSG tonight, lemme know if y'all s see me on TV hahah I'll be the white dude wearing a Mitchell &a Ness Knicks warmup jacket in the lower levels

 

[Hank Scorpio]

I guess I'm in the minority of people who think November wasn't that bad for us. We just happened to gel as a unit in the recent past few weeks.

Honestly, it would be DAMN impressive if we can sneak away with 45+ wins this season.

 

[nick.]

Alex Len & TJ Warren are out for PHX tonight

Would be nice to have our starters sit the 4th quarter

 

[nick.]

2016 Knicks vs 2017 Knicks 4th Q & OT Shot Charts

Through the first 24 games, the Knicks have been more efficient offensively in the 4th quarter & overtime than they were a season ago 
[table][tr][th=""]NYK Season[/th][th=""]Non-Corner 3PT[/th][th=""]Mid 16-22 FT[/th][th=""]8-16 FT[/th][th=""]Corner 3PT[/th][th=""]Restricted Area[/th][/tr][tr][td]2016[/td][td]22.4% (27.8%)[/td][td]29.3% (38.3%)[/td][td]14.3% (39.5%)[/td][td]6.8% (43.2%)[/td][td]27.3% (55.6%)[/td][/tr][tr][td]2017[/td][td]28.7% (34.2%)[/td][td]25.5% (39.2%)[/td][td]12.6% (39.1%)[/td][td]7.5% (42.1%)[/td][td]25.7% (61.8%)[/td][/tr][/table]
(Table has the percentage of FGA's from each area followed by the FG% on those attempts in parenthesis)

The biggest team wide positives are the simultaneous increase in 3PA volume and 3PT%. The 2016 Knicks scored 0.83 Points Per Shot on non-corner 3's in the 4th quarter & OT. The 2017 Knicks are currently scoring 1.03 PPS on those same shots, while getting a higher volume of them in their offense. A big difference in this season's Knicks is the ability to drive and create looks at the rim. Despite a lower percentage of FGA's in the paint, NY has seen a significant increase in Restricted Area FG%. The ability both Jennings & Rose have to drive the ball has been a big factor, as has the improved ball/player movement under Hornacek. The 2016 Knicks were dead last in the league in drives, taking just 15.5 per game (44.7% FG). They've already bumped up to 21.1 drives per game (45.5% FG)  this year.
[h3]2016 & 2017 NYK Drives[/h3][table][tr][th=""]2016 Player[/th][th=""]Drives[/th][th=""]FG%[/th][th=""]2017 Player[/th][th=""]Drives[/th][th=""]FG%[/th][/tr][tr][td]J. Grant[/td][td]3.5[/td][td]45.8%[/td][td]D. Rose[/td][td]9.6[/td][td]54.5%[/td][/tr][tr][td]A. Afflalo[/td][td]2.2[/td][td]42.0%[/td][td]B. Jennings[/td][td]4.2[/td][td]51.2%[/td][/tr][tr][td]J. Calderon[/td][td]2.2[/td][td]48.6%[/td][td]C. Lee[/td][td]1.9[/td][td]31.0%[/td][/tr][tr][td]C. Anthony[/td][td]2.0[/td][td]48.8%[/td][td]C. Anthony[/td][td]1.3[/td][td]47.4%[/td][/tr][tr][td]D. Williams[/td][td]1.7[/td][td]47.3%[/td][td]K. Porzingis[/td][td]1.3[/td][td]40.0%[/td][/tr][tr][td]L. Thomas[/td][td]1.4[/td][td]38.6%[/td][td]J. Holiday[/td][td]1.0[/td][td]36.4%[/td][/tr][tr][td]K. Porzingis[/td][td]1.3[/td][td]33.3%[/td][td]M. Kuzminskas[/td][td]1.0[/td][td]38.5%[/td][/tr][/table]
Having two capable penetrators has opened up more efficient spot-up opportunities for the Knicks as well. New York is attempting 26.7 catch-and-shoot FGA's per game, which is identical to their numbers in the same category a season ago. Despite maintaining their volume, the efficiency of those shots has increased from 49.8 eFG% a year ago to 55.4 eFG% currently.
[h3]2016 & 2017 NYK Catch-and-Shoot[/h3][table][tr][th=""]2016 Player[/th][th=""]C&S FGA[/th][th=""]eFG%[/th][th=""]2017 Player[/th][th=""]C&S FGA[/th][th=""]eFG%[/th][/tr][tr][td]K. Porzingis[/td][td]5.2[/td][td]49.5%[/td][td]K. Porzingis[/td][td]6.6[/td][td]54.7%[/td][/tr][tr][td]C. Anthony[/td][td]4.4[/td][td]52.1%[/td][td]C. Anthony[/td][td]5.6[/td][td]64.2%[/td][/tr][tr][td]A. Afflalo[/td][td]4.0[/td][td]50.5%[/td][td]C. Lee[/td][td]3.3[/td][td]60.3%[/td][/tr][tr][td]L. Galloway[/td][td]2.9[/td][td]47.7%[/td][td]J. Holiday[/td][td]2.9[/td][td]59.4%[/td][/tr][tr][td]S. Vujacic[/td][td]2.9[/td][td]51.4%[/td][td]L. Thomas[/td][td]2.1[/td][td]61.7%[/td][/tr][tr][td]J. Calderon[/td][td]2.5[/td][td]62.6%[/td][td]K. O'Quinn[/td][td]1.6[/td][td]47.2%[/td][/tr][tr][td]L. Thomas[/td][td]2.3[/td][td]56.7%[/td][td]B. Jennings[/td][td]1.1[/td][td]61.5%[/td][/tr][/table]
(The numbers in both of these tables are taken from the entire game)

KP & Melo have individually seen the biggest benefit in the form of catch-and-shoot efficiency, along with their volume uptick. Courtney Lee and Justin Holiday, though not high volume contributors, have also flown under the radar as very efficient additions to the Knicks offense. This brings us back to late game offense, NY's new additions have been upgrades in these situations while the holdovers have individually been better (mostly).

Afflalo vs Lee  This is a difference a lot of Knicks fans saw coming this summer, after growing weary of Afflalo's play last season.

Kyle O'Quinn  Sustainable? We'll see but during this recent stretch O'Quinn has played fantastic and stayed in his role while doing so.

Kristaps Porzingis  Partially due to the natural evolution of an offensive force, partially due to having more competent talent around him. Whatever is responsible for the improvement, KP has already made more 4th quarter 3's than he did all of last season. The kick-outs created by his guards have been a very valuable part of NY's offense, as has KP's presence in opening the floor for his guards. When playing next to guards who can create their own shots consistently, Porzingis is able to slide into easy corner 3's more often as well. Though he won't be a high volume guy in those spots, Hornacek has already been using KP's versatility in unique ways out of timeouts.

Brandon Jennings  There's more time between Jennings and his Achilles injury, so that helps. He looks spring and explosive, has put pressure on opposing ball handlers defensively. Jennings still has his tunnel vision moments but when the mid range jummpers and stepback 3's are falling, he provides a bench spark that NY hasn't had since good JR.

From one MVP to another  The most talked about Knick acquisition this summer was Derrick Rose and his late game scoring has given people reason to keep talking. Outside of a back spasm flare up, Rose has been exactly what the doctor ordered to energize the Knicks offense and that goes double for 4th quarters. Derrick has been one of the most efficient players in the NBA during crunch time this season. The combination of Rose & KP has been a mutually beneficial pairing, along with contributions from the supporting cast. The talk of taking shots away from each other gets pushed to the side if efficiency spikes and W's come more often. 

Curious case of Melo  Melo is the one case here that doesn't show a jump in efficiency and there could be a lot of reasons for this. On one hand, Melo still goes through stretches where he seems too determined to create his own shot. His efficiency on those shots can vary greatly game to game and can be dependent on the defense he's facing. Though he has much better shot creators around him this season, Anthony has yet to be a late game beneficiary of the same ball movement and offensive freedom some of his teammates are enjoying. Obviously Melo has already taken "ball hog"  criticism early this season, but he still has the ability to be a dominant 1st option player so I'd hesitate to rush him out of that role.

Based on Melo's age and career I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he can be a lot better than a 33% 4th quarter shooter the rest of the year. Especially since it's not as if Melo is stinking it up in every instance this season. He's shooting 47% from mid range through the 1st three quarters, 50% in non-restricted paint shots. Even if those hot starts meet the average over time, the same can happen with Anthony's 4th quarter efficiency. I'm also optimistic that Hornacek, Melo and Melo's teammates can all figure out the most effective ways to get Melo sustainable shots. Besides, it's not as though  Melo ceases to exist  during this stretch. Having a scorer of his caliber on the court creates gravity for opposing defenses as well. It's not a stretch to suggest that some of the efficient looks Rose, Porzingis and many others are enjoying come because a defender is hesitant to sag off Melo.

In regards to Melo's late game shooting struggles, is there reason to worry? How much?

In regards to the improved Knicks 4th quarter offense, how sustainable is it? With a not-so-hot Melo late in games, could we see an even more potent finishing offense by the end of the season? Defense is another topic and, although it's improving, it's still what has a ceiling over this team. What defensive changes could vault the Knicks to the next tier of playoff teams?

Great reddit post on how much our offense has changed from last season

 

[Arthur Shelby]

 

[the 718 truth]

I guess I'm in the minority of people who think November wasn't that bad for us. We just happened to gel as a unit in the recent past few weeks.

Honestly, it would be DAMN impressive if we can sneak away with 45+ wins this season.

I agree

 

[everysingletime]

Wow twice KP couldn't take advantage of the mismatch with Bledsoe

GOT ugly fast.

 

[the 718 truth]

Bum *** Jared Dudley in

 

[ballinsam23]

KOQ hesitating to pass to Dookie because he knows he's gonna miss the shot.

 

[the 718 truth]

Wow twice KP couldn't take advantage of the mismatch with Bledsoe

GOT ugly fast.

Gotta learn to take his time. Seemed rushed

 

[everysingletime]

KP struggles when there's quickness or physicality on him and Bledsoe was being both on those two switches.