Knicks discover the formula for success

Knicks play in transition leads to blowout over the Clippers

Photo: USA TODAY SPORTS

What a difference a half makes. The Knicks came out after half-time on a mission. Scoring nearly 70 points in the second half alone leading the Knicks to a 111-97 blowout of the Clippers at the Garden.

It was a familiar first half. The slow half-court style, where they couldn’t shoot to save themselves, was particularly hard to watch. Their elite defense kept them in the game at the half down 46-42. Yet a switch went off at half-time, credit their coach because this team played with a fire and intensity largely missing in the previous 5 games, putting LA to the sword.

Unquestionably, this was the Knicks best win of the season. Not only that, it showed a solid formula for how they need to play moving forward in order to be a playoff team. The Knicks got out and ran in the second half. Outscoring the Clippers 26-6 in the fastbreak and 56-38 in the paint, with 28 assists. If the Knicks continue to play as they did in the second half, they will have success this season. The formula was evident.

Transition basketball!

That’s right, the formula is…transition basketball.

When looking at their strengths and weaknesses as a roster, this is an undersized team; light on the wings and at Forward. They don’t have many elite shooters from outside except Brunson and Quickley. What they do have, however, are guys who love to get downhill and attack the basket. RJ is in his bag going downhill into the paint. Julius’ elite size and strength down low are at his best in the paint rather than the 3-point line. Brunson is one of the best scorers in the NBA 5-feet from the basket. Josh Hart loves to slash into the paint.

Defensively this squad is elite. Ranking in the NBA top 3 defensive teams. They have not just good, but great on-ball defenders. Especially Josh Hart and Donte DiVincenzo. Both are scrappy players who often do immeasurably good work outside the stat line. Quentin Grimes’ top asset is his on-ball defense. RJ’s defense has also improved, Quickley can do it all, and Mitchell Robinson is turning into the best rim protector in the league this season. The Knicks are at their finest forcing steals, getting downhill, leading to easy baskets, and keeping opposition teams on their heels.

This is the formula for success moving forward. The Knicks are not a great half-court team. They struggle to break down teams playing zone, because they don’t have the shooting or the playmaking for it. Look at the Heat series and the last Bucks game for reference. The spacing is off as the paint is often crowded and there’s too much responsibility for Brunson and Quickley to create magic for themselves off the dribble or Randle going off. This means they need to play as a team. Coach Thibodeau always preaches “trust the pass”, well they trusted the pass last night and it showed what this squad is capable of.

Blow Out of Clippers

Credit to RJ Barrett. This is a different player this season. Although his game isn’t different from previous seasons, he’s just doing it better and more efficiently. He was 100% from the line last night. Once again his shooting was more efficient, over 50% from the field. He got downhill and no one, not even Paul George could stop him. Despite the sore knee, nothing fazed him last night on his way to scoring 26. He’s been the Knicks most consistent offensive player this year.

The Clippers big-4, is one of the best, if not the best shooting team in the league. They were short of a play-maker, and to their credit, acquired one of the best in the business in James Harden.“The Beard” made his debut last night, and I thought he played fairly well within the offense, he dropped some sweet bounce passes, but (luckily) some of his teammates weren’t on the same page. Plumlee and Zubac definitely caused Harden to miss Embiid out of the pick-and-roll.

Meanwhile, The Knicks did an incredible job on Kawhi and Paul George. Both were a non-factor after their hot starts to the season. Largely due to the work Josh Hart and DiVincenzo did forcing steals and getting out on the fast break. Both were +13 off the bench, combined for 22 points, 9 boards, 3 steals and 8 assists off the bench.

From the outset, I don’t know how these 4 stars in LA are going to work in terms of winning a title, there were few flashes of it last night but it will take time. The Knicks took advantage of their lack of chemistry and simply outworked them.

This was a nice matchup for Julius Randle, he had a clear size advantage in the paint. Neither of the Clippers bigs wanted any part of Randle and he had his way over PJ Tucker in strength and length, powered up to 27 points.

The imperious Mitchell Robinson continues to do unbelievable work. 15 rebounds, 9 offensive boards. 4 steals, and 13 points. After a poor first half where the Knicks could barely score 40 points, Mitch Robinson kept the Knicks alive in with countless offensive boards, recycling possession giving the Knicks second-chance opportunities.

If the Knicks can play with the same level of intensity, speed and teamwork that they showed in the second half, not only will that ease the offensive burden on their one star in Brunson, that is also the formula for success as a team this season.

Check out another recent LTK post by

Donald Stewart