00:00Let's talk about the Knicks defending the three-point line, which has been something they've struggled with really since Tom Thibodeau came to town in 2020.
00:08How have the Knicks patched that up?
00:09There's been long-standing vulnerability there regarding the arc that bleeds into this season.
00:14Right now, currently, through nine games, opponents are averaging 15.9 made threes per game on 41% shooting.
00:22That's the third worst perimeter mark in the entire NBA.
00:24How can they get better at that, and who do you think is key to enhancing their vulnerability, decreasing their vulnerability on the perimeter?
00:33Yeah, I love the second part of that question.
00:35Who is key for this?
00:37But I'm going to say how I think they get better is some of it is interesting because when you look at the Knicks defensively, particularly this year under Mike Brown,
00:46you got OG's roaming a little bit more than he has in the past, and there's more flexibility to do that,
00:52which has been really good for him because he's had an uptick in his deflections per game.
00:56I would also say the same for Mikel, and those guys have been getting more steals.
01:00So you knew there'd be a little bit more gambling there.
01:02I think that sometimes, while good and leads to positives, can also lead to some negatives with some of the weaker defensive players,
01:09particularly in the Knicks starting lineup, having to scramble on rotations.
01:13But who's got to be better when we talk about that?
01:16It's got to be Carl Anthony Towns.
01:18Absolutely has to be Carl Anthony Towns.
01:19Cat, and I want to give Cat some grace here because I still think, Lee, he's trying to figure out.
01:25You've got to remember, he tried to play a lot in drop coverage last year,
01:29and for all of us who watch this team closely and analyze it, we know that looked terrible.
01:34It was not good at all whatsoever.
01:37He's not doing the same this year, but I still feel like he just doesn't look as comfortable.
01:41I think Cat can hold his own sometimes in switches.
01:44When he has smaller players switched onto him, he is capable of moving his feet well.
01:49The thing is, I think he doesn't trust himself sometimes in knowing that he is prone to making some dumb fouls.
01:56And so that sometimes causes him to be in no-man land where it's like, should I come out and fully close out?
02:01Am I staying back?
02:03Do I not want to get beat off the dribble?
02:04I would love to see him trust his instincts a little bit more.
02:09You like aggression, especially when it comes to guarding the three-point line, but you don't want to be too aggressive.
02:14Especially against good teams, right, because you're scared of getting blown by, you're scared of them pulling up to three.
02:18But I really think when you have the lineups where Cat is on the floor as the primary big,
02:24and there isn't Mitch there to help him on situations, especially in that back line,
02:28I think he's really got to get better.
02:31I also think in certain situations with Cat on the floor, as I said, we're seeing OG roam a little bit more,
02:37play a little bit more, free safety, if you want to say that, right?
02:40We're seeing Mikkel Bridges gamble a bit more.
02:43I think sometimes in those situations, guys have to stay home with their guy, maybe not gamble as much.
02:49I think this is going to be part of a feeling-out process.
02:51The defense is something like the offense.
02:53I'm really willing to see and take a look at how it looks 25, 26 games into the season.
03:01But I think it's going to have a lot more of guys trusting the communication, trusting the calls.
03:06And particularly, we know Jalen Brunson is limited on size in terms of his defense, right?
03:11And some of the stuff in getting out, getting over pick-and-roll situations where he's a defender
03:16and getting over on screens, that's going to hurt.
03:18But Cat, I think it's got to be a little bit better.
03:20He's the key to me.
03:21If he's trusting more of his defensive instincts and not over-aggressive,
03:27then I think the Knicks will be able to guard the three a lot better.
03:30And especially if he's coming out on guys, I think he'll be better there.
03:32What do you think?
03:34That's a sound argument.
03:36I don't disagree with any points that you made.
03:39I would go a little bit further and say, this is why Mitchell Robinson's health is so important.
03:43I don't disagree with that at all.
03:45I don't disagree with that at all.
03:46When he got that double-bid lineup, which wasn't available at Tom Thibodeau, and that's not his fault to start last season,
03:52Carl Anthony Towns was forced to be the lone bid man at the five.
03:56And OG Anobi was having issues rebounding at the four.
03:59So a lot of the time, Carl Anthony Towns was forced to get in drop because whether that was what was being called by Tom Thibodeau or not,
04:06it was his fail-safe.
04:08It's what he just slipped into when he didn't know what the coverage was or how to guard a screen.
04:12If you have Mitchell Robinson as that back line, you can keep Towns at the level, and he's actually a pretty solid defender around the nail.
04:19I like him in those positions.
04:21We've seen him multiple games this year against Vucevic in Chicago, the second game, where he guarded Vucevic on an island.
04:27And I thought he did a pretty good job mirroring that last time he went to the Western Conference Finals, the Wolves,
04:31where he guarded Durant one series and Joker one series, especially game seven of that Western Conference Semifinals.
04:38That was the best defense I've ever seen from him in his entire career.
04:41So I think he is capable, but it's also, again, Durson Yabuselli, we need him to get back in the game shape
04:48so that his closeouts are crisper, that he can get back and be lateral on ball switches.
04:55Otherwise, it's going to be compromised any minutes that don't involve Mitchell Robinson on the floor
04:59because you're either going to have OG having to do way too much in some type of pre-switch action
05:03with Cardinal and Towns, or you're going to have Towns paired with another net negative defender
05:08and Yabuselli, who neither of them are capable of closing out on defenders getting lost in defensive coverages.
05:13We need both the health of Mitchell Robinson and Yabuselli to be mitigated
05:17so that we can have a sound defensive show.
05:20Oh, I agree, and I love that you referred back to that Western Conference run that Cat had,
05:25and who was next to him? Rudy Gobert, right?
05:27I agree, that was the best defense we saw from Cat.
05:30Now, look, I know Cat's polarizing for a lot of Knicks fans,
05:33and sometimes they're frustrated with his effort and sometimes the silly fouls.
05:37I get all that, but there is a blueprint to this that you just mentioned.
05:41We have seen him next to an elite defensive center, right?
05:45We've seen him just look a lot better in terms of a lot of distress is not put on him.
05:50Cat cannot anchor a defense at the five. We know this.
05:52But next to an elite defensive five, like a Mitchell Robinson, yeah, he can look really good.
05:58And you're right, that's why Mitch's health is so important.
06:02And lately, since he's come back from the early season load management,
06:07when Mitch has been on the floor, Knicks offense and defense has looked a whole lot better.
06:13I don't disagree.
06:13Also, I do think your point about Gershon Yavasele and how he can help
06:18while him getting back into game shape is also very important.
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