MILWAUKEE — The best way to create some spacing? Knock down open shots. That’s head coach Tom Thibodeau’s response after is responsible for not just his shooting struggles, but a downtrend in scoring efficiency that has blanketed the team as a whole. Randle shot 3-of-15 from the field and missed all six of his attempts from downtown in the Knicks’ loss to a shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers team in the second game of a back-to-back on Wednesday.
After Thibodeau reviewed game film, he said players are getting open shots. They just need to knock them down. “Yeah, we missed wide open shots.
We’ve got to make sure we get easy baskets and then we’ve got to move and get off the ball and move,” Thibodeau said ahead of tipoff against the Bucks on Friday. “When they collapse spray the ball out, trust, pass, pass, attack the defense before it’s set. After looking at the shots, we got wide open threes.
We have to make them. ” Five games into the season, the Knicks rank 11th-worst in three-point shooting efficiency converting at just a 33. 9% clip.
That percentage would likely be in the top-10 if Randle, who is shooting just 25. 8% from downtown on six attempts per game, mirrored last season’s three-point efficiency, nearly 10 percentage points higher. Randle has found other ways to impact the game for the Knicks — namely on the boards and with the pass to the tune of more than 10 rebounds and five assists per game to start the season.
The Knicks, however, need him to score — efficiently and in bunches — if they are going to reach their full potential and move up the standings from last season’s fifth-place finish. Randle is averaging just 13 points per game entering Friday’s matchup against the Bucks. “I think it’s more just a rhythm thing,” Randle said after his inefficient shooting night against the Cavaliers.
“We’re not getting anything easy. I feel like we’re working hard for everything right now, so we’ve gotta find a way to try to make the game a little bit easier out there. ” Starting point guard is also struggling from downtown, with an carrying his early-season percentages.
Brunson is shooting 43. 3% from downtown entering Friday’s matchup against the Bucks, but he is shooting just 5-of-18 from downtown in games not including his barrage against the Atlanta Hawks. That’s just 27.
7%. A tick above Randle’s clip of 26% from downtown. “Everything is pretty packed in,” Randle explained.
“We’re working really hard for everything, so we’ve just gotta keep trying to find a way to make it easier for each other, open the floor up a little bit so we’re able to get downhill and just get into a rhythm a little bit better “I can tell you we’re just looking at a lot of bodies. Whenever we’re catching the ball, driving, we’re just seeing a lot of bodies, so we’ve gotta figure out how to open it up a little bit. ” Thibodeau remains pleased with how Randle is playing despite his shot faltering early.
The Knicks coach thinks the team can get its star forward easier looks by forcing turnovers and getting out in transition for easy layups. “And sometimes that’s all it takes, a few easy baskets here and there, and then you find your rhythm and then you go,” Thibodeau said. “So we know Julius has already proven the type of scorer he is.
Just keep working through it. Trust the pass. ” He and Randle also agree it’s not just the star forward whose shot needs to start falling for this team to turn it around after an early slow start.
“I thought you go back and you look at each game, and we’ve been up and down, so we have to build that consistency, find good rhythm and play for each other,” Thibodeau said. “I think when we play for each other, we saw how good the results can be. When you look at that Atlanta game, and the way then ball moved, and of course it helps when shots go in.
You’ve gotta see the ball go through the net. ”.
From: nydailynews
URL: https://www.nydailynews.com/2023/11/03/knickstom-thibodeau-spacing-concerns-bucks/
