New York Knicks

Can Langston Galloway return to his scoring ways?

Published Nov. 30, 2015 2:55 p.m. ET

foxsports

Langston Galloway got off to an almost-unrealistically hot start to the season on the offensive end. Now, he's starting to regress.

So, is this just a slump? Is Galloway bound to return back to the glory that he found in his first 10 games of the year? Is he basically the same player he was a season ago but just got off to a hot beginning?

Joe Flynn wonders over at Posting & Toasting:

Galloway was shooting 55 percent from three through 14 games. He's just 1-for-14 over his past four games, all of which the Knicks have lost. Obviously, that wasn't going to keep up, and he's just starting to regress down as a shooter from the outside. That part was expected, and even with his fall-off, Galloway is still shooting 45 percent from long range.

That said, the biggest problem with Galloway's game, in a simplistic sense, is his finishing. He's able to get to the hoop—he has the quickness and power to do it—but his finishes tend rim out. He's shooting just 46 percent at the rim, far below league average, compared to 50 percent last season, which was also below the league average.

That's essentially the problem with Galloway's game. He has to be making his jumper to yield high-quality output on the offensive end—though he's still an effective player either way, considering his impressive defensive play. If the jumper goes away, though, you end up seeing stretches like this one.

1. He stopped getting to the free-throw line

One of the cooler facets of Galloway's early-season dominance was his ability to draw fouls. He doesn't really possess the skill set needed to finish at the rim with regularity, but found ways to draw contact and get to the line at an average of 3.1 free-throw attempts through his first eight games. That script has completely flipped over the last few weeks; Galloway has shot zero free throws in seven of his last 10 games.

One thing I've noticed recently is that Galloway has been getting his shot blocked pretty consistently of late without getting foul calls, and he's adjusting by testing out a variety of floaters. Those shots are great if you can hit them consistently; if you can't then you become Raymond Felton.

2. His mid-range jumper is way off

This one isn't a recent trend; it's been going on all season. Last year Galloway could hit that pull-up mid-range J consistently (you may recall Clyde gushing about it on a regular basis). So far, that hasn't been there. Galloway has hit a paltry 32.6 percent of his 2-point jumpers this season, which boggles the mind when you consider he's shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc.