The New York Knicks have won four straight and are heating up from outside.
But the Memphis Grizzlies are hoping the Knicks’ imperfect defense is finally the cure for whatever is ailing Ja Morant from 3-point land this season.
New York will continue their season-long seven-game homestand Tuesday night, when they host Memphis in the first clash of the season between the teams.
Both clubs were off Monday after playing at home Sunday night. The Knicks never trailed in a 134-98 win over the Brooklyn Nets while the Grizzlies squandered an 11-point halftime lead in a 114-100 setback to the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby hit consecutive 3-pointers to end a game-opening 8-0 run by the Knicks, who remained potent from beyond the arc and were never threatened by the Nets.
New York shot 45.9% (17-of-37) from outside Sunday – the fourth time in five games it’s drained at least 40% of its 3-pointers. The Knicks are averaging 128.6 points in those five games and have topped 130 points in each of the last two contests, including a 137-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves last Wednesday.
The Knicks shot just 33% from long distance over their first four games. New York enters Tuesday’s game shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc, the seventh-best mark in the NBA.
However, New York is allowing opponents to shoot 39.5% from 3-point land, the fourth-worst mark in the league entering Monday. Their foes have shot 40.6% from long distance over the last five games – a figure that includes the Nets shooting just 31.1% Sunday.
“We are just looking to get better every single day – and with that being said, you can’t just say ‘Hey, let’s get better at this,'” said Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, who scored 19 points Sunday night. ” … Yeah, the ball’s going through the hoop, but we can be a lot better.”
Things aren’t going nearly as well offensively for the Grizzlies, who set a season-low in points Sunday while losing for the fifth time in six games. Memphis is averaging 113.7 points per game, the ninth-fewest in the NBA.
Nobody has struggled more than Morant, who is averaging 19.2 points per game while shooting just 35.8% from the floor and 14.8% (8-of-54) from 3-point range. His overall shooting percentage is the fifth-worst amongst players who have at least 100 field goal attempts while his 3-point shooting percentage is the worst amongst those who have at least 50 attempts.
The seven-year veteran entered the season averaging 22.6 points per game while shooting 46.9% overall and 31.6% from deep.
“He’s getting good looks, he’s getting looks that he will make. Every player goes through these ups and downs throughout a season,” Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo said. “We have a ton of trust in him. We want him to be with the ball. He needs to stay aggressive. That’s the biggest thing.”
