Knicks Shot Diet Analysis
Let's take a look at how New York's shot numbers compare to last season and whether the current status quo is the correct one.
Good morning! New York welcomes old pals Julius and Donte into the Garden tonight as they continue their home stand. The Knicks have a clean injury report while Wolves have upgraded Anthony Edwards to questionable. Just a guess: I think he plays.
Shot Diet Analysis
Today’s question comes to us from Mike D:
One thing that’s going to be an ongoing process is shot distribution. I know each game is a unique set of circumstances, but what do you think is the ideal distribution for the top four? Going into Tuesday’s games, Jalen Brunson is fourth in the league at 21.9, followed by a big drop to KAT (14.7, 44th in the NBA) and OG (13.4, 58th), followed by our most efficient shooter thus far (Mikal) at 11.0, which is 102nd. In a perfect world, what would the FGA among our top four look like on an average night?
Let’s start by looking back at where these four players finished last season:
Brunson: 18.5 FGA, 18th in the NBA
Towns: 16.9 FGA, 37th
Bridges: 14.4 FGA, 59th
Anunoby: 13.9 FGA, 66th
If we filter out players who didn’t play enough games (65) to qualify for end-of-season awards, those ranks rise to 11th, 24th, 40th and 46th.
That distribution is pretty notable. Last season, not only were the Knicks the only team in the NBA to have four qualifying players finish within the top 50 in field goal attempts per game, but only one other team - the Denver Nuggets - had even three such players who were on their roster for the entire season.
This is a testament not just to New York’s award winning medical staff who kept all four premium players on the court for at least 65 games, but to the fact that the offense was probably more of an equal opportunity endeavor than we gave it credit for.
So why did it so often feel like a one or two-man show?
