While they begin the longest road trip of the season, the Knicks look and sound like a team that is finding rhythm on offense.
“We’re starting to click,” Josh Hart said late Monday night.
“I think we’re starting to figure out how to play with each other,” Cam Payne said a few minutes later.
The eye test and the numbers support that theory.
Let’s look at assist ratio, which measures the amount of a team’s possessions that end with an assist.
Over the past five games, the Knicks lead the league in assist ratio.
In the nine games before, New York ranked 13th in the statistics.
You can also view assists adjusted, which accounts for a team’s total assists, free assists and secondary assists. The Knicks rank sixth in adjusted assists over the past five games. In the nine games before that? They were in their 20s.
What happened over the past five games? Nothing remarkable, except more time spent on the court together.
“Just gelling, continuity, more acclimatization with each other,” Karl-Anthony Towns said on Monday. “Just understanding what everybody’s going to do and how they’re going to cut and just building trust with each other.”
The Knicks averaged 31.5 assists per game over their four-game homestand.
Jalen Brunson had nine assists per game in that span. His assist-to-turnover ratio (9-to-2) was strong.
“He’s finally passing the ball,” Hart joked Monday night.
New York has scored efficiently on cuts (10th in points per game) so far this season. Cutting opened up opportunities on other areas of the floor.
The Knicks are shooting a league-leading 51.7 percent from the floor over the past five games.
“The energy is flowing,” Hart said Monday. “The ball has energy, guys are able to shoot with confidence or make plays with confidence.”
Keep this trend going as the Knicks hit the road.
MCBRIDE STATE
Miles McBride missed the past three games (one due to illness and two due to left knee inflammation, the Knicks say). He will miss Wednesday’s game against Phoenix because of the knee ailment. Tom Thibodeau figured the injury is manageable and the Knicks just want the inflammation to subside. It’s probably an encouraging sign that McBride is on the road trip with the Knicks.
CAM CHEMISTRY
Payne played a significant role in the Knicks’ 3-1 homestand. He averaged 11.8 points on 57 percent shooting and hit 59 percent from three on 5.5 attempts per game. Thibodeau regularly praised Payne for his shooting and ability to push the pace.
Payne said Monday the team was able to balance having fun with holding each other accountable on the court.
“That’s the unique thing,” Payne said Monday. “Everyone is connected; you can joke around outside the court, but when you get in the court, everybody’s holding each other accountable… Nobody’s out there pointing fingers.
“I think everyone gets on well with each other. That’s big for an NBA team,” he added.
Payne says it was easy to assimilate with this Knicks team.
“They are really good guys; they make it easy to go out there and play,” Payne said. “For new guys coming in, that’s all you can really ask for. Having good guys on the team who really embrace you.”
ADD-ONS COMING?
When Thibodeau is asked about the bench game in his press conferences, he routinely mentions how well Landry Shamet to fit into the group.
The Knicks waived Shamet before the regular season but selected him in the G League draft so he could rehabilitate his shoulder injury within team limits.
I would still expect the Knicks to sign Shamet if he can make it all the way back from rehab. He was in the facility regularly.
“See him almost every day, see him all the time,” Payne said. “He’s getting better, his shoulder is starting to feel a lot better.”
