When Mike Brown was hired as the new honcho in July, it was abundantly clear that the Knicks would fundamentally change their offensive identity.
And while the team has been pretty similar to last season in terms of offensive rating, efficiency, and their overall standing in the league, there’s one thing that’s been different: three-point volume.
The Knicks are eighth in 3PA/g with 39.5 following their win in Toronto on Tuesday night. Last year? They were 27th with 34.1. The overall efficiency hasn’t changed too much (up to 37.5% from 36.9% last year), but in shooting 5.4 more attempts per game, the shot diet has been considerably augmented. They went from 38.2% of their shots being from 3 to having 43.7% of their shots be from downtown, a solid increase.
The biggest change, though, is that the team is now hunting the most efficient shot in the modern NBA, the corner 3. And for the most part, they’re knocking them down.
2024-25: 10.2 att/g (11th), 38.3% (17th) 2025-26: 12.4 att/g (T-1st), 43.0% (3rd)
That’s powered by some of the NBA’s most prolific corner 3 shooters, as Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are 2nd and 3rd in attempts from the corner, respectively, while both are shooting over 42%. Deuce McBride, Landry Shamet, Josh Hart, and Jalen Brunson are also shooting over 39%. Hell, even Mo Diawara is on fire from the corner!
So the Knicks have shooters and a coach who prioritizes getting good, open looks at the most efficient spots. What could possibly go wrong?
The problem turns out to be that the Knicks aren’t the most consistent bunch. The numbers look spectacular, but not all “efficient” shooters are created equally. There’s the AJ Green’s of the world, that’s an absolute lock to at least go 3/6 or 4/10 even when he’s not 100% locked in. Then, there’s the type that will one game go 6/8 and the next game go 1/8, but ultimately average out at over 40%.
That’s, unfortunately, what the Knicks have been.
As such, the Knicks have had some really bad shooting games. Through 62 games, here are the Knicks’ records when they shoot a certain percentage from 3:
Over 45%: 13-0 Over 40%: 20-5 Over 34%: 37-9 Under 34%: 3-13 Under 30%: 1-9
The Knicks have not lost a game where they shoot better than 44% from 3. They have not won a game where they shoot worse than 28%. Of course, it’s obvious that a team will do better when they make more 3-pointers, but this disparity is extremely jarring. In fact, here are the exact same splits from the 2024-25 season:
Over 45%: 11-1 Over 40%: 24-4 Over 34%: 40-13 Under 34%: 11-18 Under 30%:
With the larger volume of threes being taken this year, there’s less margin for error when they don’t go down. Last year, the Knicks were able to occasionally win when inefficient from 3 because they usually shot less than 30 a night when they weren’t falling. This year? They’re trying to shoot 35-40 per game, regardless.
There are pros and cons to both systems. Last year’s offensive system was more flexible, but the ceiling of the current team is much higher because they can absolutely destroy teams when they knock down a barrage of threes. It also makes it so that, as long as they make enough shots, the volume will usually have them out in front.
Of course, what matters is making the shots when it counts. The Knicks are the league’s best three-point shooting team in the clutch this season (while also, strangely, being the worst free-throw shooting team), but that’s not entirely what I mean by making it when it matters.
In three matchups with the top-seeded Detroit Pistons this season, the Knicks are shooting an abysmal 29.6%. While some of that is elite Pistons defense, a deeper dive shows that it’s just really bad shotmaking.
Open threes: 5-33 (15.2%) Wide-open threes: 19-56 (33.9%)
In the most recent defeat in Cleveland, the Knicks went an absolutely horrific 5-for-21 on wide-open triples. Maybe a good percentage of those bolsters an offense that was stuck in neutral all night there.
When the Knicks lose, it’s because they can’t make shots. Very few times (outside the 11-game stretch, of course) are they just completely overmatched and outplayed in all facets. There will be that game where Brunson is stuck in a box, and his supporting cast is either in street clothes or just not effective. There will be nights when important players are injured. There will be nights when the effort level isn’t there.
But a lot of times, it really just boils down to making open threes. When they make them, they’re extremely hard to beat.
