It was always only a matter of time.
The Knicks didn’t walk into Saturday’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on a five-game winning streak solely because of a high-powered offense.
It’s been the defense making all the difference for the hottest team in basketball, a Knicks team that has learned to string together consistent stops — just like what was envisioned when the front office made a series of gambles, trading five first-round picks for Mikal Bridges and signing OG Anunoby to the richest contract in franchise history over the summer.
“I think we’re doing a good job of utilizing what we have. We have a lot of athleticism one through five,” said All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns. “And for us to have that athleticism, matched with IQ, I think we’re just being great at the point of attack, the physicality and making teams turn the ball over is something that we’re doing really well right now.”
The Knicks rank atop the league in both turnovers created and points scored off turnovers during their five-game winning streak. They have made a habit of getting out in transition — where they also lead the NBA with 25.2 fast break points per game during their hot streak — and using their active hands on defense to create easy offense.
Knicks stars Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart each attribute the growth on the defensive end to better communication. A team assembled three days into training camp is finally finding its groove.
“We’ve played — what’s the record? 32-16? 48 games together,” said Brunson. “Just knowing each other, talking to each other, having better communication. Making sure we’re on the same page. It just comes with time.”
Hart said the lack of good communication cost the Knicks a handful of games earlier in the season.
He also credited reserve forward Precious Achiuwa’s presence in the rotation after he returned from a preseason hamstring strain that sidelined him the first leg of the season.
“I think the communication is better. Not so many stupid mistakes,” said Hart. “We realized a lot of the mistakes was us not communicating and not talking at a high level. And we kind of fixed that.”
On the other side of the ball, starting Knicks forward OG Anunoby has been a beneficiary the growing chemistry among the league-leaders in minutes played this season.
Anunoby is averaging more than 22 points per game over the last five games.
“Just time. It was — we just got together at the beginning of the year. It was really fresh,” said Anunoby.. “Everyone was really new, trying to figure everything out. So over time we’re getting better and better.”
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau acknowledges the team’s strides on the defensive end but wants his roster to remain focused on daily improvement. His goal is for the team to be playing its best basketball at the end of the season.
“For me, [the best stat is] net rating. So what are we scoring and what are we giving up? That tells you how really good your team is. And then I look at if we’re seventh in points allowed and we’re fifth in points scored, that’s a plus-seven net rating,” he said. “Then I look at what are the points we’re giving up in the paint? What are we giving up in defensive transition. What’s our rebounding margin? Defend, rebound. Our rebound margin is top-five in the league. So that’s what I’m looking at.
“We have some challenges like every team does. It’s defensive transition, building your shell, working together, communication, the willingness to make a second and third effort, challenge a shot and finish with a rebound. And the rebounding’s been there all year. Collapsing on the ball and getting out, if there’s no recovery after you help, then it’s basically it’s no help at all, so you’ve got to do both. And I think we’re getting better at it. We’ve been good at limiting 3-point attempts. Would I like the percentage to be better? Yes. I think we can do it a lot better. But there’s a lot of good things. It odens’t mean we have it figured out. It means we have to continue to work. There’s a long way to go, and we want to be playing our best at the end.”