This is no longer a hot streak. The Knicks offense is for real.
After pouring in 142 points on the Nets on Wednesday night, including 81 in the first half, New York is averaging 123.7 points per game during their current seven-game winning streak, and is shooting 50.6 percent from the field and 40.6 percent from downtown during that span.
But the offensive efficiency stretches back even further than that. Since Tom Thibodeau tweaked his rotations back in December, sending veterans Evan Fournier and Derrick Rose to the bench and opening up more playing time for the likes of Quentin Grimes and Immanuel Quickley, New York has the best offensive rating in the NBA (120.7), a span of half a season. The team has moved all the way up to fifth in the league in offensive rating in the season overall, and show no signs of slowing down.
"Our offense has always been good the whole year," RJ Barrett said. "But right now, we are clicking just on a different level. It definitely feels good."
Knicks up to 5th in offensive rating now. Could end up 4th, depending on how the Blazers finish tonight.
— Joseph Flynn (@ChinaJoeFlynn) March 2, 2023
Of all the crazy shit about this team that you never would have predicted, their insanely efficient offense might be the craziest.
The Knicks' offense was on display from start to finish on Wednesday night, shooting 80 percent in a 47-point first quarter, and never looking back. Every move Tom Thibodeau has made since shuffling the deck back in December has seemed to work, especially how he deploys newcomer Josh Hart, who has only helped the team improve even more in his seven games as a Knick (all wins).
Thibodeau, widely known as a defensive-minded coach, is now leading one of the strongest offenses in the NBA, and it has resulted in a team that is now a season-high 10 games over .500 and creeping up on the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
"Everybody is just fun to be around," Grimes said. "The last 20-something games, people have been clicking in, buying in, not worried about individual stuff. Just worrying about what they can do to help the team. And you see it out there on the court every night."
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
Follow WFAN on Social Media
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitch
Listen live to WFAN:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker (just say 'Play W-F-A-N')
