Jeff Hornacek is getting fed up with his Knicks' pitiful defense
The coach says this particular team might not be capable of playing on that end of the court
By
Matt Moore
•
2 min read
If the Knicks miss the playoffs, it will be because of their defense. New York has fallen to 25th in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). The Knicks can't contain, can't rim protect and can't rebound. They're bottom-10 in points allowed off turnovers, points in the paint allowed, second-chance points allowed and free-throw rate allowed.
In short, if there's a way to score, the Knicks are terrible at stopping it.
After New York's loss to the offensively woeful Magic Monday night, coach Jeff Hornacek had some pretty candid words about New York's problems on that end.
"I don't think our guys aren't trying," Hornacek said. "Maybe we're just not capable of it. I don't know. That's what we're going to have to figure out."
"I have to find someone to play some defense," Hornacek said.
Source: Knicks' defense almost as bad as it gets.
There is an interesting question that comes out of this, in whether the defense's performance is dependent entirely on ability or coaching. Coaches have constructed good defenses out of limited personnel before; if you put Steve Clifford or Mike Budenholzer as coach of the Knicks, they would likely be top-15. But on some level there is only so much Hornacek can do.
Their defensive numbers are a little confusing though. For example, the Knicks are actually middle of the pack, 14th, in 3-pointers surrendered per 100 possessions. But their biggest weakness in Synergy play sets is actually spot-up shots. Their biggest culprits are Carmelo Anthony, Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose. There are a number of reasons they get gouged in these situations, but one is how low they sink in pick and roll action.
This is Ryan Anderson spotting up, guarded by Melo, who's all the way in the paint.
That's a made 3-pointer. Here's Rose overloading the strong side in the pick and roll. There's just no way he gets back over to Trevor Ariza, who scores on a drive off the catch as Rose is out of position.
The Knicks have a bad scheme under defensive specialist Kurt Rambis, and bad personnel. The best thing they can do is try and live with more attacks inside by staying home on wings on the weakside. Getting beat one on one isn't a big deal, as they're the sixth best team in isolation defense. They need to not get caught out of position. But that's easier said than done, which is Hornacek's point.
