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The Knicks face the Celtics in Boston on Tuesday to tip off the 2024-25 NBA season. Before things get going, we’ve put together our annual list of bold (and not so bold) predictions:
1. The Knicks offense will clear 120 points per 100 possession
With Karl-Anthony Towns spreading the floor, the Knicks will turn into one of the top offenses in the NBA. It may take some time to gel, but Jalen Brunson & Co. will be putting up a lot of points – efficiently – as the season progresses. Brunson will set a career highs in total assists and field goal percentage on shots within 10 feet of the rim. With Towns on the floor, the lane should open up significantly. And Brunson will benefit, both as a scorer and distributor.
Towns and Brunson will figure out ways to manipulate the defense in the pick-and-roll, leading to greater efficiency on that end. The Knicks defense may take a hit this season (more on that below) but I think the offense will overwhelm teams on many nights.
2. Knicks defense will be outside top 10, but be among league’s best in crunch time
On the other side of the ball, I think the Knicks defense will back-slide this season. They will finish outside of the top 10 in defensive efficiency; their rebounding percentage will take a big hit without Mitchell Robinson (until at least December) and Isaiah Hartenstein.
The Knicks have two of the best individual defenders in the NBA in Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby. Josh Hart is also a very disruptive on defense. Brunson and Towns play with effort, which matters. But they have limitations on defense. So the starting unit will take a hit defensively. Will that impact the bottom line? We’ll see.
Denver did pretty well in 2023 with two top players (Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray) who had limitations on defense.
I do think the Knicks can – and will – get stops when it matters. Last season, New York ranked fourth in defense in the clutch (clutch is defined as the final five minutes of games where a team leads or trails by five or fewer points). The Knicks will be right around there again this season, with the closing lineups featuring Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/10-bold-predictions-nba-season-160000062.html
Author : SNY
Publish date : 2024-10-22 16:00:00
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