The New York Knicks’ 2-2 start, with the 24th-ranked offense in the league, is garnering the kind of measured, rational responses we’ve come to expect from New York sports fans and media.
Draymond Green is piling on. [Speaking on The Draymond Green Show podcast](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYcyiVycsAVuFqUneULcC6FRxCryHJICe), the four-time NBA champion had not listed New York among his title contenders, and in his latest episode he explains why.
_“The Knicks, I just personally don’t believe that they’re contenders. I don’t think they have what it takes to win at the highest level. I think you can stifle their offense, and make it hard on them. Also on the defensive end, any time you have a couple guys on the floor at the same time, that are really key guys, who don’t really want to defend, it makes it tough to win at the highest level. And so that’s my question with the Knicks.”_
Two notes on Green’s comments. First, it was possible to stifle the Knicks’ offense last season, when Jalen Brunson was dominating the ball and their actions were predictable. Fixing that is why Mike Brown was brought in and it’s too early to make a call on whether or not it’s working. It’s hit and miss. A perfect example is the game against the Bucks this week, where the offense looked great as New York put up 71 points in the first half. However, in the second half, everyone stopped moving, the offense looked stuck, and the team scored just 40 points, allowing Milwaukee to pick up the win. Installing a new offensive system takes time, let’s see where the Knicks are around Christmas.
Green’s second point has been a long-running question about this team: Will it have enough defense to win at the highest levels playing Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns heavy minutes next to each other? It worked well last season in the playoffs, when Mitchell Robinson was in the game at the five and Towns slid to the four (which is why Robinson’s “injury management” absence from the first four games of the season is concerning). Can Brown get this team to defend well enough? It is a legitimate question, but so far this season — without Mitchell — the Knicks’ defensive rating is 2.1 points per 100 possessions better than last season. Things are promising, but the defensive question is one that really can’t be answered in the regular season, that is an April and May question.
Draymond Green believes he already knows the answer.