Despite their recent success, the Knicks’ offense has often been anything but pretty this year. What simple adjustments could New York make to improve themselves on that side of the ball?

The New York Knicks have employed a style of basketball this season that is so ugly, it’s beautiful. Familiar to many ’90s Knicks fans, the defense-first mindset this Knicks team is playing with has led to countless low-scoring, grind-it-out victories that at times border on being unwatchable due to the struggles on the offensive end.

It’s no secret that an upgrade at point guard is needed, or that everyone would benefit from some added perimeter shooting, but the harsh reality after the Knick’s quiet trade deadline is that there are no reinforcements on the way this season. That leaves coach Tom Thibodeau with the unenviable — but not impossible — task of trying to manufacture good offense with a flawed roster. 

Julius Randle and RJ Barrett have shouldered the brunt of the offensive load this season. The offense is very heavy with Isolations, post-ups, and pick-and-roll. The nature of this play style leads to stagnation and little off-ball movement. These types of plays promote guys to look for their own shot before looking to create for others. This is evident by the fact that the Knicks average the second-fewest assists per game in the NBA. 

To their credit, they’ve largely found success playing this way. Randle has consistently drawn double teams and made defenses pay for it, but making the game easier for him would ease his heavy workload. Here’s an example of Randle being double-teamed down the stretch of a close game and being forced into a turnover.

The starting lineup is also an issue. It is an ill-fitting lineup that features two non-shooters in Nerlens Noel and Elfrid Payton. This shrinks the floor for Randle and Barrett, who are forced to attack multiple defenders. Thibodeau seems set on this starting lineup, but replacing Payton with Immanuel Quickley or Derrick Rose would provide a boost to the offense. Teams weaponize Payton’s inability to shoot.

Watch how Barrett gets doubled and the Heat choose to leave Payton open. He swings to Randle, who finds Payton for the three. The Heat want the Knicks to take this shot.

The Knicks are the slowest team in the NBA in terms of pace, which means they are forced to go up against set defenses. Thibodeau’s philosophy may be to limit how many possessions there are in a game, and that mucking the game gives them the best shot to win, which is a sound one. However, some opportunistic pushes in transition could help manufacture easy baskets. Randle, Rose, Barrett, and Toppin would all benefit from being able to get out in transition. The Knicks don’t have to play a run-and-gun style of basketball, but some early offense would do wonders for their shot quality. 

The Knicks have often looked fairly comfortable pushing this ball up the floor, like they do here for the easy bucket.

Thibodeau’s lineups and rotations often lack creativity. Playing small-ball lineups with Randle at center would give him a mismatch every time down the floor. Short stints with Randle at center would also give Knick guards a lot more space to operate. Deploying Kevin Knox some more can also provide more shooting. Knox has had his defensive struggles, but he’s consistently shown he can shoot from the corner.

Thibodeau should allow Toppin and Quickley to play to their strengths more. Toppin’s calling card coming into the draft was being an elite roll threat out of the pick-and-roll. He’s had very few chances to showcase his skills in that regard, but when he has, it’s worked.

Quickley’s shooting is a weapon that isn’t always maximized. Few, if any, off-ball actions are ever run to get him good looks coming off screens. Using Quickley as a screener, especially when Randle has the ball, would force opposing defenses into uncomfortable positions, as the Grizzlies found out here. 

Implementing more off-ball actions to get Randle and Barrett downhill would ease their load as well. They are often forced to create their own downhill attack, and defenses are keyed in on them. It’s a big reason why they are often subject to some poor shooting performances. 

The Knicks’ offense has ranked in the bottom third of the NBA for the entire season. The Knicks currently rank 21st in offensive rating, scoring just 108.8 points per 100 possessions. To his credit, Thibodeau has recently implemented some more plays that have generated some good looks that have boosted the offense.

This Spain pick-and-roll gets Alec Burks an open look at the top of the key and catches the Grizzlies’ defense off-guard:

And this simple screen from Noel opens up an open look from Bullock in the corner:

This roster is ill-equipped to be a good offense, much less an elite one, but some minor tweaks could see the offense take a much-needed jump. Thibodeau has rather quietly begun to shift the Knicks’ offense in the past couple weeks, and the numbers reflect that. Their offensive rating is 10th in the NBA in the past 10 games. If the Knicks could hover around that number for the rest of the season, they could find themselves as a top six seed (or higher).