After a miraculous three-pointer to send the game into overtime, the Knicks offense fell apart. Knicks Film School breaks it down for us.
I am going to start this post with a disclaimer:
Let me clarify my thoughts on Jack playing in overtime:
1) I prefer that Frank played
2) Given Jack played (wrong decision), it’s his defense that you look at since his offense is more developed than Frank
3) Jack’s defense was fine
4) Frank’s offense wouldn’t have changed game— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 6, 2018
There are two sides to the Jarrett Jack coin: one side has a cagey veteran that sort of looks like Cuba Gooding Jr., smiling at you; the other side offers an upset mob of Knicks fans calling for more playing time for Frank Ntilikina.
So when Jeff Hornacek decided to play Jarrett Jack down the stretch against Miami, #KnicksTwitter was ready to explode. It’s one thing to play Jack in certain offensive situations (the smiling side of the coin); it’s another to play him every possession, even on defense (the ugly side of the coin), when you could have switched him out with Frank for key stops.
On par, Jack is the Knicks best penetrating guard (not saying much at this point) and he is their best pick and roll point guard. In fact, he ranks above league average in points per possession as both a pick and roll ball-handler and passer, per Synergy Sports.
Ntilikina, on the other hand, is still working on that part of his game:
Frank gets near the hoop and acts like he’s about to fall out of bounds instead of making a play pic.twitter.com/Vgv1OZaAvi
— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 6, 2018
Flip the coin and sometimes you get heads when you expect tails. Such was the case in overtime against the Heat. It wasn’t Jack’s defense that became a problem:
Look, I make a living promoting Frank Ntilikina's defense, but Jarrett Jack was fine in overtime. In fact, his steal and transition bucket nearly turned the whole game. I didn't see one play where he was a problem on defense in overtime, so kill that narrative #Knicks pic.twitter.com/MlivC4ry1Q
— Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) January 6, 2018
It was Jack’s offense that killed the Knicks.
A big part of that comes from the team’s overall inability to get Porzingis the basketball in good spots after slips and rolls. When they miss that pass, even as Porzingis finds a mismatch on the switch off the pick, the ball-handlers seem skittish to make a post entry, probably after watching the past several weeks of opposing teams swat the ball out of KP’s hands in these situations.
Without making the post entry, random isolation plays then develop with players like Courtney Lee, or even Jarrett Jack, trying to take the defense one-on-one off the dribble.
As Ntilikina continues to develop, the Knicks need Jack to find improvement in his defense, as he did in Miami, while showing more consistency on offense, something the team needs from both their aging and rookie point guards.
Make sure to follow @KnickFilmSchool and @TheKnicksWall on Twitter for more analysis.
