New York Knicks forward Julius Randle posts up Phoenix Suns guard Eric Gordon (23) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in New York, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Peter K. Afriyie)
Tom Thibodeau has been a head coach in the NBA since 2010. His teams are notorious for defense, tenacity, and starters that play the majority of the 48 minutes every night. However, this year’s Knicks team seems to be a bit of a departure from that stereotype. This is a team powered by offense and pace.
Currently sitting at 9-7, the Knicks are averaging over 117 points per game in victories and less than 100 points in their defeats. The inconsistency on the offensive end can be attributed to a number of things as we are a fifth of the way through the season.
The main culprit of the inconsistency of the Knicks’ offense is whether or not they get off to a fast start. With how they intend to control the tempo of the game, it is paramount they establish their tone early. New York averages 21.6 points in the first quarter of losses and 30.0 points in the first quarter of wins.
Compared to their win/loss defensive splits which are 108 in losses and 104.3 in wins, it is clear the approach to this Thibodeau-coached team is different than we have seen. With the offense being under a microscopic lens, the Knicks’ best offensive lineups continue to go through Julius Randle. Randle is in four-fifths of the Knicks’ most-used lineups, meaning the success of the offense largely lies on his shoulders. New York has paid and treated Randle like a superstar cornerstone, despite his hot and cold offensive streaks.
In wins this year, Randle is averaging 21.6 points per game on 45/37/70 shooting splits. In losses, that number drops to only 18.3 PPG, but the shooting splits drop drastically to 31/17/68. In fact, Randle takes more field goal attempts in losses (18.3) than wins (16.8). While it’s clear your team is unlikely to
win when one of the best players does not play…
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