Category / Film School

by Jonathan Macri

KFS Video: Knicks vs Wiz

Spencer Pearlman kicks off the KFS video work for the year with a Twitter thread featuring lots of stuff you may have missed from last night’s Washington game. This thread highlights some basic actions and reads, but check back all season long for some more creative video use from Mr. Pearlman.

by Knicks Film School

Did Frank Ntilikina play good defense despite James Harden’s 61 points?

James Harden scored 61 points to tie Kobe Bryant’s visitor scoring record at Madison Square Garden in the Rockets win over the Knicks on Wednesday night.

But if you look at how the Knicks defended him throughout the game, there were surprisingly some bright spots from Frank Ntilikina and the team defense behind him. Harden shot only 1-6 with Frank as the primary defender, while committing 4 turnovers, per Second Spectrum tracking data. He shot 17-38 on the night, overall.

It’s hard to know, for sure, what the Knicks strategy was in trying to defend Harden, but it appeared in watching the film as if Ntilikina was trying to force Harden to the left side of the court, relying on help from a swiping wing defender and an interior man cheating off the worst three-point shooter on the floor at the time.

The Knicks started Noah Vonleh at center in place of Enes Kanter. They inserted Lance Thomas into the lineup at power forward to defend P.J. Tucker. The game plan appeared to be to use Vonleh (and later Mitchell Robinson) to cheat off the Rockets’ big man to trap Harden when he crossed half-court. They then tried to rotate behind the help, to moderate success.

Despite the Knicks’ best efforts, Harden went to the line 25 times and was just too much for the young defense (let’s face it, ANY defense) to contain.

by David Early

Film Study: Analyzing Frank Ntilikina’s shooting form

Frank Ntilikina has struggled with his shot this season. It stands to reason that if he were hitting better than 28.9% from three, he might have avoided some of the benchings and trade rumors he has recently endured.

The margin between success and failure in the NBA can feel pretty slim. If Frank had hit ten more threes than the 28 he’s hit on the year, he’d be at an elite level of over 40 percent. If he’d hit just six more. he’d be at a very respectable 35 percent. Going from bad to good over the next 100 attempts may be a matter of subtle fine-tuning and not some dramatic overhaul.

Free Throws as a Petri Dish

If you want to predict three-point success at the NBA level, surprisingly, using college statistics, free throw percentage is a better indicator than three-point percentage. Part of this might be because it acts like a petri dish in a lab and allows scouts a way to put aside many variables inherent in the sport, like defense or footwork, and simply track a shooter’s form.

Frank shot 27/42 from the line in France (64 percent). So far in the NBA, he is shooting 74.5 percent from the line. But he’s trending up. This season he’s up to a career best mark of 80.8 percent. The video above will show you why he’s making more from the line this season. Hint: he’s more disciplined in his follow through.

When translating to three-pointers, Frank is a better shooter the more closely he uses his free throw form. If you’re skeptical, like me, you can watch the video and say “c’mon Dave, he’s wide open on a lot of the 3’s you included, everyone is better like that.”

And this is fair. But why would this be? Because the closer a defender is, the more it can cause a player to change his shot. Variance, the number one enemy of great shooters, increases as we try to gauge different levels of power, arm drift, or depth perception.

It’s important for Frank to practice using the same form he uses on his free throws, even when we introduce new elements like dribbling, footwork, and a contest from a defender.

The benefit to a good follow through is that it allows a shooter to seek consistency with respect to depth perception. Frank misses lots of shots short, which is not a coincidence since he often drops his follow through, sometimes swings his arms back, or begins heading backwards on defense before his shot even reaches the basket area. Frank doesn’t do any of these things on his free throws.

For a great look into Frank’s foot-work, here is an awesome breakdown by Steve Dagostino, an NBA development coach, who works with Atlanta’s rookie sharp-shooter Kevin Huerter. Frank is still very young and may not even know which of his footwork choices will wind up being the best for him, although it appears he’s more comfy stepping into a shot rather than waiting with a foot planted (except on corner threes, where this changes).

There are plenty of other principles to look at in examining Frank’s shot, including his guide-hand, a slight “tilt” in the positioning of his feet, which some longer armed shooters enjoy, but this video/post was meant to simply point out one area he may be able to improve upon right away.

Go ‘head and pose for us, Frank. You’re better when you’re a bit cocky anyway. Follow through and freeze through the entire shot and don’t go back on D until the ball is long gone from your hands. Give us a chance to take some photos.

Enjoy and let us know what you think in the comments or on twitter.

Happy 2019 folks. Here’s to better form on all of our jump shots.

by Knicks Film School

Noah Vonleh, the Giannis stopper

Ok, so nobody stops Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Noah Vonleh has done a pretty good job of slowing him down over the four games the Knicks have played Milwaukee this season.

You might ask how this is possible considering the MVP candidate is still averaging 31.3 points on 52.9% shooting vs New York?

  • What the stats say: Giannis is shooting 52.1% on possessions he is guarded by Vonleh, who has defended him more than any other defender in the league. This is a drop from the 58.1% he shoots vs everyone else. Vonleh has also forced 7 turnovers and blocked 3 shots. He might not be shutting him down, but he is making a difference on the defensive end. [NBA.com/stats]
  • Why this could matter: Noah Vonleh is a free agent after this season and the Knicks don’t hold any Bird rights to sign him to a significant deal over the cap. If the team wants to preserve cap space to chase a star, it might be difficult to keep him in New York. However, before worrying about what happens in July, they could look to acquire extra assets from an Eastern Conference playoff team looking for someone they can put on Giannis in key situations. The Knicks could always trade him as a rental and bring him back over the summer, but with more assets to show for it.
by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: How the Knicks are getting creative for Kevin Knox

Kevin Knox is scoring in a variety of ways on his way to averaging 20.4 points and 6.5 rebounds over his last eight games. He is scoring in transition, knocking down threes, and driving to the rim with an increased intensity.

As I was looking through the film to see what Knox has been doing differently during this scoring stretch, and you can read more about that here, I came across a few interesting plays that offer a glimpse of how Fizdale is being more creative in getting Knox involved in the offense.

Let’s take a look.

Setting up Knox from dummy action

During Knox’s breakout game against Charlotte, I noticed the offense using “fluff” action, or making it appear they were going to run one of their preferred actions to get Knox the ball coming over the top, only to run something different that resulted in an open look for the rookie.

EXAMPLE 1: The Knicks start in a dribble hand-off (DHO) look, but they really want their primary action to start by focusing the defense on the mismatch in the post between Tim Hardaway Jr. and Tony Parker. Once the Hornets react to this mismatch by sending help, the Knicks anticipate this and create an open look for Knox when his man helps the helper.

The only reason the Knicks show this DHO action to start the play is so Knox can move his man with him toward the top of the key and closer to where he would help the helper when Hardaway Jr. gets the entry.

As the Knicks move the ball to the other side of the court and make the entry to Hardaway Jr., Knox slowly creeps to the three-point break where he will find himself wide open to receive the pass from THJ for the open look.

EXAMPLE 2: Again, the Knicks set their offense as if they are going to run something different than what they ultimately show. Mudiay and Vonleh set themselves in position to set the stagger screen for Knox, fooling the Hornets, and in particular, Malik Monk, into thinking Knox will be coming over the top to receive the ball from Tim Hardaway Jr.

Instead of Knox coming around the stagger screen, as the Hornets expect, Knox cuts to the basket. With Dotson on the far corner, THJ handling the ball high on the perimeter, and Knox’s two remaining teammates set-up for the screen near the three-point line, the floor is spaced so there are no defenders to help inside.

You can see Monk is completely fooled below, as he is so concerned with fighting his way to the top where he expects Knox to be after running around the screens, he doesn’t even realize Knox is under the basket waiting for a pass until it is too late.

You can watch both plays in motion in the video below.

by Knicks Film School

Film School: Kevin Knox shows off his offensive repertoire vs Philadelphia

Kevin Knox became the first Knicks rookie since Patrick Ewing to post at least 15 points in six consecutive games when he scored 21 points in the Knicks loss to Philadelphia.

As much as Knicks fans talk about Frank Ntilikina’s confidence (or lack thereof), it is something everyone has been tracking with Kevin Knox, too. The 19-year-old has a challenging set of expectations to manage in basketball’s biggest market. The lottery pick had a breakout Summer League, followed by an early season injury and slow shooting start that had some doubting his game.

As crazy as it sounds, it might take more than a few weeks for a teenager to get acclimated to the NBA, and we are starting to see Knox do that now. Over his last 10 games, he is averaging 17.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.6 assists on 41.4% shooting. He is shooting 43.6%, including 41.2% form three over his last five games.

His offensive repertoire came together in his performance against the Sixers. He was knocking down threes, scoring in transition, and driving, both left and right, to the hoop.

We are seeing a more confident Kevin Knox that can be measured through his scoring numbers, but if you watch how he is racking up those points, you can see he is starting to learn how he can score in an NBA offense.

Last night didn’t exactly start like it would be an efficient shooting night for Knox. He was blocked on his first two attempts, but I liked what I saw on his very first shot.

Knowing where to be on the floor to look for your shot is an under-appreciated skill that comes natural to NBA players who have been in the league for a while. It’s something that every basketball player knows how to do in a comfortable environment – I know the spot on my driveway where nobody can stop me. But translating what was once comfortable in high school or college to the professional setting, where the offense is different, defenses are more complex, and defenders are quicker and longer, is not an easy task.

It’s why it’s no coincidence that Knox is making more shots as he is becoming more comfortable at finding his place to shoot in the Knicks offense.

While Ben Simmons made a great recovery to block the shot above, in a somewhat broken play, I like how Knox read the situation and maintained his position in the corner to get the “open” look until the super tall Australian came out of nowhere.

Below is another example of Knox finding the right spot on the floor to shoot. Mudiay draws the double in the post, keeps his dribble, and patiently waits for a Knick to get open. Watch how Knox starts in the corner and rotates up to create a passing lane for Mudiay. This subtle movement is the difference between getting an open look and Mudiay never seeing him.

Here’s another example that didn’t turn into points, but I almost like these plays more because they show how Knox is doing the right things beyond what is shown on the score sheet.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. The dunk attempt was sick. But look at the cut before he gets the ball. This is what makes the entire highlight attempt possible.

As promising as it is to see Knox finding scoring options without the ball, we saw him do what he does best with the basketball last night, too.

Fizdale likes it when his wings move the ball in transition, and that’s why Kevin Knox’s rebounding becomes so important. When he gets the ball off a miss, he finds better shots.

In fact, Knox connects on 41.4% of his two-point attempts on possessions following an opponent miss, versus only 28.6% on possessions after an opponent make, per PBP Stats.

As we see in the example above, and common sense will tell us, it is easier to score in transition when defensive match-ups aren’t always clear and the spacing is already set for an athletic player like Knox to make a play to the rim. Knox finds the rim on 29.9% of his shot attempts after an opponent miss, versus only 17.9% after an opponent make.

When the Kentucky product is running the floor in transition, points are going to come.

As I said earlier, what impressed me most about Knox’s performance against Philly was the range of ways in which he scored. He made threes, he scored in transition, and he did what we saw him do in Summer League, and that is, drive to the hoop out of half-court sets.

We know he can drive right and the caveat that always comes with that is whether he can do the same thing going left. The play below is a promising sign of his progression driving left, where his handle is often too high and prone to turnover. Notice how he is forced to gather the basketball on the swipe, but still keeps his composure, drop steps, and converts on the little floater.

While nobody should have overreacted to Knox’s slow start to his rookie campaign, it’s important not to overreact the other way: just because he has played well for a stretch of games doesn’t mean he is going to be the next great Knick.

So this is where incremental development comes in. The Knicks are losing a lot of games, but we can watch to see how the young players are developing in different aspects of their game. And we are seeing promising signs in Knox, from learning where to locate his shots, to taking advantage of transition opportunities, to improving his ability to drive in both directions to the hoop.

by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: Breaking down Frank Ntilikina’s career night

Frank Ntilikina had a career-high 18 points on French Heritage Night at Madison Square Garden. How did he do it? Through early offense and moving without the ball. He also showed a willingness to attack the basket, when the opportunity presented itself.

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by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: How Kevin Knox countered each of his critics’ points

After being criticized by anonymous sources earlier the week, Kevin Knox, all 19-years-old of him, decided to respond in a mature manner, with his game. The rookie from Kentucky had his best game of his young career with 26 points (9-12), 4 rebounds, and 4 assists against one of the best teams in the NBA.

Watch in the video above how Kevin Knox counters point-by-point to the criticism he received earlier this week. For context, a sample of the criticism Knox received is provided below.

“I don’t like how he’s playing,’’ an Atlantic Division scout said. “He’s looking for his shot right away. I like when he puts the ball on the ground. He’s a big boy, but he’s capable of getting closer to the basket than launching 3-pointers. He’s also got to wake up a little. There’s loose balls he can get to. He’s lazy on defense a bit.”

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by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: Frank Ntilikina locks up Trae Young

Frank Ntilikina held Trae Young scoreless into the third quarter of their match-up that the Knicks won 112-107. And it wasn’t from contesting a lot of shots. It was from Frank playing like an All-Pro cornerback, draped all over his man, giving no space or opportunity to make a play happen.

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by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: Why the Bulls were effective in trapping Allonzo Trier

Allonzo Trier has surprised everyone with his play through the first few weeks of the season. He finally met an adjustment against the Bulls when they trapped him early and often. The Knicks were unprepared for this, with teammates watching instead of cutting, and Trier losing his dribble too quickly. All part of the learning process. It will be interesting to see how the Knicks react to this going forward.

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by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: Mitchell Robinson’s length on display vs Washington

Mitchell Robinson still has plenty to learn in the NBA, but something you can’t teach is length, and we are seeing how he uses it to impact games already. It’s one thing to use that length to protect the rim, it’s another to be agile enough to be able to use that same length on the perimeter, something we have seen Robinson do since Summer League.

If Mitchell Robinson can switch onto point guards, like John Wall, off pick-and-rolls, and hold his own? It’s over!

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by Knicks Film School

Film Cut: Pushing the ball off misses

David Fizdale emphasized all through Summer League and training camp the importance of using forwards to rebound and push the ball off misses. Without Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks need to create easy baskets in transition in order to have an efficient offense.

In the play highlighted above, you can see how Lance Thomas keeps the ball off the rebound, instead of handing off to the nearby guard, and how that creates a mismatch on the other end.

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by Knicks Film School

Film Cut: Frank Ntilikina’s perfect technique vs pick-and-roll

The Knicks were carved up in the pick-and-roll last night, from completely missing on switches, to simply losing the resulting one-on-one match-up.

However, I found this play by Frank Ntilikina to be interesting, as you can see the value he brings to the court as a PnR defender. Watch how he essentially nullifies the action with his technique and length.

by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film School: A Vocal Mitchell Robinson

Rasheed Wallace took time to work with Mitchell Robinson over the past few days. We saw an immediate impact in the way Robinson asserted himself on the court, trying to be more vocal in calling out defensive coverages. The players still need to learn how to react off each other, but it’s a good start.

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by Knicks Film School

Film Study: Why the Frank we saw vs Golden State is the real one

@FrontOfficeEye highlights Frank Ntilikina’s strengths and weaknesses from his October 26 start against the Warriors. He then shows why the “aggressive Frank” we saw vs Golden State is not a flash in the pan, but something that simply needs to be unleashed.

Combining clips from last night’s game and his U18 championship run, you will be able to see that Frank hasn’t even begun to scratch the surface of his offensive potential.

Quick hitting FIBA U18 stats from Frank on offense:

  • 88th percentile on offense
  • 99th percentile in PnR offense (for himself)
  • 65th percentile spot up (off ball drives off the catch + catch and shoot)
  • 75th percentile on catch and shoot
  • 100th percentile on dribble jumpers

During the U18s he took on a bigger offensive load…and he still produced. We saw some of that potential against Golden State and watching the Knicks unlock more of it should be fun to watch going forward.

Follow Spencer on Twitter and YouTube.

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Music: Roy by JBlanked

by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film Study: Noah Vonleh stands tall vs Giannis and Bucks

Noah Vonleh has been impressive since grabbing the final roster spot on the Knicks. He did a little bit of everything in New York’s loss to Milwaukee, setting screens, rebounding, passing, and most impressively, standing tall against Giannis Antetokounmpo.

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by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film Study: How Caris LeVert Beat the Knicks

Photo: @BrooklynNets

Caris LeVert made a driving basket to beat the Knicks against his fellow Michigan alum Tim Hardaway Jr. Let’s take a look at where the play went wrong.

Why isn’t Frank Ntilikina guarding Caris LeVert on the game’s most important possession?

That’s the question Knicks fans are asking themselves this morning after the Michigan product blew past Tim Hardaway Jr. to score the winning basket in an exciting game at Barclays.

My initial reaction was to let Hardaway Jr. stay on the assignment, considering he had been guarding him throughout the game, and the two are friends who train together in the offseason, so if anyone knows LeVert’s tendencies, it would be Timmy.

Former scout, Clarence Gaines, noted that it is rare to find an NBA coach switch match-ups in that situation after they had been matched-up the entire time.

Putting the Frank vs Hardaway Jr. debate aside, what exactly happened on this play?

Let’s take a deeper look.

As you can see in the video, it appears that Hardaway Jr. intended on forcing LeVert left at the start of the possession, but his spacing and footwork caused him to be in poor position to stay in front of him when LeVert crossed the ball over and drove right to the basket.

After the game, Hardaway Jr. told reporters, “I feel like I could have defended it a lot better. That’s all I can say. He’s been going right the whole entire game, so I just need to know that,” via MSG Networks.

It’s also interesting to note the help assignments on the play. The Knicks had Kevin Knox helping off the left side, with both Lance Thomas and Frank Ntilikina pinned to their men to prevent a kick-out for an open three.

While this makes sense for Joe Harris, a 40% career three-point shooter, I would have liked to see Frank a few steps off Dinwiddie in the corner, which would have allowed Lance to at least reach over and help on LeVert’s drive, knowing he had Frank in position to help if he reached too far. The clock was ticking down to the final seconds, so there wasn’t a lot of time for LeVert to kick out and give his shooters the time to make a pump fake, so both Lance and Frank could have closed hard on any kick-out.

Fizdale supported Hardaway Jr. after the game saying, “No, he was alright. They’ve got too many shooters to be trying to help. I thought Tim did a good job. I really thought that was a tough shot that (LeVert) made.”

Another factor to consider that caught my attention from a quote that Hardaway Jr. made after the game is fatigue. Hardaway Jr. said, “I think I shot the ball way too much tonight. That falls on me. I’ve got to get my teammates involved.”

To me, this isn’t about being out of shape, or a grand indictment on Hardaway Jr., but I do think it is worth considering the impact of fatigue on the final play. Hardaway Jr. took 25 shots over a team-high 36 minutes of play. He is then being asked to defend a talented player on the final possession (I guess more reason why people would argue Frank should have been on the ball).

If you look at his footwork in the video, whether he wanted to force LeVert left or right, a good on-ball defender is able to keep the player in front of them with proper technique. On the final play of a high usage game, I could see why Hardaway Jr. wouldn’t have the perfect technique.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

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by Knicks Film School

Knicks Film Study: Frank Ntilikina vs Screens

A lot has been made about who Frank Ntilikina matches up against on defense, whether he is playing as a small forward or point guard, or something else. What is often overlooked is who he matches up against in terms of the screener. In other words, while Taurean Prince was technically his match-up assignment against the Hawks, it was Alex Len who Frank mainly needed to get around in order to defend the play.

Watch in this video how Frank Ntilikina has become one of the most difficult players to create space off of screens.

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