National Basketball Association

New York Knicks: The Statistic That Embodies Offensive Issues

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:35 a.m. ET

Fansided, Maxwell Ogden/FanSided via Daily Knicks

The New York Knicks have been atrocious on defense, but the offense is hardly exempt from blame. This one statistic embodies the offensive issues.

In the eyes of many, the NBA is a numbers game. Statistics rarely tell the full story of what’s transpiring—or, for that matter, why—but there are often times when the statistics display exactly why a team is either succeeding or struggling.

In the case of the 17-20 New York Knicks, the issues on offense boil down to one telling statistic.

New York’s defense has been far more problematic than the offense, but the offense has been far from ideal. It’s No. 18 in the NBA in offensive efficiency with 104.5 points per 100 possessions and No. 21 in field goal percentage at .444.

Marc Stein of ESPN broke down one of the primary issues with the offense by providing a telling statistic.

One for @ianbegley: The Knicks are 1-12 this season when Derrick Rose attempts 17 or more shots …

— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) January 9, 2017

That number is a telling sign of why the Knicks’ offense is failing—and it’s not the reason that you think.

It’s not that Rose is forcing shots, but instead that the Knicks shouldn’t put themselves in a position where he needs to shoot. He’s a slashing scorer who’s quite efficient, but his production is achieved by picking his spots.

A high number of shot attempts is generally a product of Rose playing out of rhythm.

If Rose is playing out of rhythm, then the Knicks are making him do so—and the context proves that to be true.

The past five games during which Rose has attempted at least 17 shots were against the Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans, Houston Rockets, and Milwaukee Bucks. The common theme in all of those games was the Knicks needing someone to step up.

That’s to be expected from time to time, but in recent games, it’s been an example of desperate times calling for desperate measures.

Jennings scored 32 points against the Rockets and Rose had 21 on 8-of-23 shooting. New York allowed 129 points, Kristaps Porzingis missed the entire game, and Carmelo Anthony left at halftime with a knee injury.

In the other four games, Jennings scored a combined 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting from the field.

This isn’t necessarily blaming Jennings, but instead acknowledging that Rose’s backup was ineffective in four of the five past five games that he took 17-plus shots in.

Thus, rather than accusing Rose of shooting too much, the New York Knicks must diagnose the issue. In doing so, it must be recognized that his offensive value is currently in his ability to pick his spots.

Rose may be able to take over as a scorer once his return to form is completed, but for the time being, it’s not in his best interest to have scoring as his primary instinct.

There are areas in which Rose himself must improve, but a 1-12 record during games in which he attempts at least 17 shots is a team problem—not just an individual problem.