In the basketball world, a five game sample size generally tends to be just that: a sample.
There’s not much you can learn about a team’s true identity across the first week or so of hoops. We’re 6.1% through the year. Any takeaway I could give to you right now could prove to be invalid two weeks from now, let alone the entire season.
That being said, the beginning of the season _does_ give you a chance to address the feel of a team. You learn what ideal rotations look like, how players slot into their minutes, and which combinations of guys tend to perform well.
Now, we learned more about the New York roster last postseason than we ever thought possible. I’m sure you, the reader, have a good understanding of what Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns look like on the floor. You know about Josh Hart’s hustle. You might even yell “_DEUUUUUCE”_ every time Miles McBride takes a corner three that you just know is going in.
That being said. The new guys? It’s been our first time seeing them run up and down the floor. Sure, shots may or may not fall. Not every day is going to be the best or worst game of any given player’s career. Whether positive or negative, we will certainly see regression to the mean for every single player on the floor. But there’s a certain sense you get towards the beginning of the season in terms of how your offseason additions fit into the bigger picture, how they’ll look to contribute, and what they can provide for your team.
From that perspective, things haven’t been ideal for Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele.
I could have warned you already about the Jordan Clarkson battle we’d be fighting this season. He’s shooting 32% from the field on 29% from deep. Obviously, those numbers will change.
But boy, are his shot selections far from desirable. Not to mention that the defense on the other end of the floor is non-existent.
It’ll remain to be seen if Clarkson can wise up and play winning basketball. There were moments last night where New York looked _very_ strong on the offensive end of the floor. If Clarkson can find his role in the flow of the offense, rather than take over and bring the game to himself, things will look better.
But the inefficient “bucket-in-a-pinch” play style will certainly hurt the Knicks over time. He’ll bail New York out of some big moments where the offense comes to a standstill. He’ll go on some remarkable heaters and show why he’s one of the best iso-scorers in the modern NBA. One can only hope that it happens more times than not, and he remains a net positive for the Knickerbockers.
Similarly, everyone’s been asking themselves what happened to Gueschon Yabusele, the other key offseason signing. He’s looked completely lost as a Knick, scoring 8 points in 4 appearances. His field goal percentage is below 25%. His defense has been underwhelming. Last night, we got the sense that things may be even worse than they seem.
Three minutes of playing time. That’s all.
Yes, percentages will rise. Yes, he’ll ease into the lineup over time. But again, early returns have _not_ been desirable, and if New York wants to make another deep playoff run, it’s absolutely imperative that Yabusele be a contributor. Can he find his three point stroke? Can he wall up on the defensive side of things?
There’s a lot of time left. There’s no question about that. But for the Knicks to untap their full potential, Mike Brown will have to play around with the lineup to get the most out of both Clarkson and Yabusele. The other guys on the team have had some time to mesh, and integrating two new pieces is never easy.
The Knicks play the Bulls again tomorrow night. Let’s see if they can start to right the ship.
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