10th of the Season Check-In

Let's look at some early statistics.

Good morning! The Knicks are off until Sunday night against the Nets, when there will indeed be a halftime zoom. Hope to see everyone there.

One other reminder before we get to today’s newsletter: the survey that enters you for a chance to win $100 in FanCash from Fanatics is still open. Just click here, fill out the survey (it takes less than 10 minutes), and be entered to win. You’d also be doing us a solid in the process.

Thank you! On to the newsletter…

10th of the Season Check-In

Happy Friday everyone.

There are few things better in life than basking in the glow of a winning streak without the pesky stress of needing to play another game. Someone call Adam Silver and see if he’d be amenable to awarding the Larry O’Brien trophy tomorrow afternoon. I think we’ve seen enough.

Alas, we are but a tenth of the way through the season. All things considered, so far, so good. At press time, the Knicks have the best net rating in the Eastern Conference, outscoring teams by 5.6 points per 100 possessions¹. That’s gotta count for something.

The biggest part of that positive number comes on offense, when after a slow start, New York has had the best offense in the NBA over the last four games. Funny how hitting your shots can have that effect. After having the third worst effective field goal percentage in the league over their first four games, the Knicks have the sixth best eFG% in their last four.

The best news? The strong offense isn’t completely dependent on good shooting. They’re fourth in offensive rating on the season but only 19th in efficiency thanks to a low turnover rate and robust offensive rebounding margin. In other words, the offense seems to have a baseline of competence regardless of whether the threes are falling, but can (and probably will) be near or at the top of the league if they hit shots at a rate commensurate with their talent.

And who is actually converting on those good looks? The Knick scorching the nets the most is former Net Mikal Bridges, who is having some early flirtations with a 50/40/90 campaign. He’s currently hitting 46.5 percent of his threes, including a comically high 65 percent from the corners. Say it with me now: Fuck dem picks!

Other than Bridges, OG Anunoby is also lighting it up. He is one of a dozen players in the league who has attempted at least 50 long balls and is hitting at least 40 percent of those looks (he’s at 41.4 percent, and like Bridges, is killing it from the corners).

If we shift to looking at the impact of players rather than their actual stats, another set of heroes emerge.