NEW YORK — The New York Knicks’ best assist Thursday didn’t show up in the box score. Yet, like the two dozen that came before it, it was another example of how in sync this group is.
With about four minutes left in the fourth quarter of a 125-101 drubbing of the Charlotte Hornets, New York center Karl-Anthony Towns had to jog over to the sideline, his shorts splattered in blood. He couldn’t continue until that was addressed. Towns was given a spare pair, but instead of having him run to the locker room, his teammates — unprompted — created a human closet for their big man, shielding him from public view so he could change and get back on the floor.
“Another assist,” Knicks forward OG Anunoby said. “A team assist.”
You know a team is coming together when they make a human changing room for their 5-man pic.twitter.com/4NBdEqCC9E
— Rit Holtzman (@BenRitholtzNBA) December 6, 2024
This group, still learning one another and with some kinks to iron out, is a synchronized swimming team on the hardwood. Offensively, each pass has a purpose. Each pass is more often than not met with another. And then another. The cuts are timed to perfection and often rewarded.
New York hasn’t been a high-assist team since the turn of the decade. The Knicks have routinely been one of the lowest-assist teams in basketball, if not the lowest. This season, that has flipped. The Knicks are eighth in the NBA in assists per game (28.0), and of the teams ranked ahead of them, they have the lowest turnovers per game (12.8). Their 29 assists against Charlotte were just the latest performance featuring a dizzy basketball that has been whipped all across the court.
From an outsider’s perspective, sometimes the Knicks are too passive. Sometimes the extra pass, which is done in good faith to turn a decent shot into a great shot, doesn’t feel needed. But this group doesn’t see it that way. It has several players willing to get the ball out of their hands if that’s what the game tells them to do. They have just as many players moving when they don’t have the ball as they do when a player has the ball.
New York’s goal is to make the right play, the same as every team. However, few have succeeded on the offensive end like the Knicks have this season.
“They’ve made a conscious effort to move the ball and create advantages,” New York head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the win. “The more you help somebody else, the more you help yourself. I think the cuts have been decisive, driving the ball off the cut and then relocating. … We’ve just been unselfish, making the extra pass to get a great shot. I think that takes everyone working together. They’re all doing that. The unselfishness has been terrific. We’ve got to continue to do that.”
This Knicks team, which is the winner of four straight, poses a threat to the age-old adage that passing is contagious. It is, in theory. The ball would likely stick a lot more if selfishness permeated throughout the roster. However, this isn’t what this feels like. What New York is doing feels like the result of a collection of talented players, all who thrive in specific roles, who understand how the game should be played.
That’s different from passing simply causing more passing.
“I think we all want to play the right way and we all want to win,” said Jalen Brunson, who had five assists to go with 24 points. “That’s just been our mindset. Sometimes we all see something differently. The best thing is we try to be on the same page every single night. Sometimes it’s there, and sometimes it’s not. But that is what we’re striving for.”
One night, it’s Brunson’s passing that pops, like his career-best 17-assist performance against the Denver Nuggets on Nov. 25.
“You’ll never see that again,” teammate Josh Hart jokingly said after.
“I would have had more if I didn’t pass to Josh,” Brunson rebutted.
Another night it might be Towns, who, though he’s always been an underrated passer, seems more eager to pass with flair and is showing an understanding of passing angles that we haven’t seen from him before. Hart is consistent with his ball movement. Against the Hornets, it was Mikal Bridges and his seven assists that carried another ball-spraying outing.
The Knicks offense, which is on pace to be one of the best in NBA history, feels unguardable at times because of its ability to hit you from every part of the court. Assists don’t happen if players don’t make shots, and New York has a lot of shot-makers to go with its unselfish talent.
Thibodeau has always produced top offenses, but this collection of players, to go with his scheme, has created one of the most easy-on-the-eyes products in basketball. Everyone knows where the next person is going to be and, most importantly, when.
Towns and his wardrobe malfunction are thankful for that.
“They all just had the random idea that (surrounding me) was going to be the smartest idea,” said Towns, who scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the win. “I was just going to put the second pair of shorts on top. I felt like that was the smartest option.
“We got basketball IQ — I don’t know about other IQ.”
(Photo: John Jones / Imagn Images)
