Knicks must foil Rockets’ 3-point plan
The Nuggets attempted 41 3-pointers against the Knicks on Monday at the Garden. In Oklahoma City on opening night, the Thunder tried 38. Well, Knicks, you ain’t seen nothing yet: Here come the Rockets.
Last season, Houston attempted a senses-numbing average of 40.3 3-pointers a game. In the embryonic stages this season, the Rockets have attempted 44.0 trifectas a game, making pitching changes in postseason baseball seem rare by comparison. James Harden, of course, is near the forefront.
“But it’s the whole team,” Knicks guard Courtney Lee said of the Rockets, his team’s opponent Wednesday at the Garden. “You’ve got Harden. He’s a phenomenal playmaker, ball-handler and scorer so you definitely key in on him, but [general manager] Daryl Morey and Houston did a good job surrounding him with shooters so it makes it kind of tough because they space the floor out so well. It will be a challenge.”
But while the Rockets are first in attempts, they are just 28th in accuracy, making 13.5 a game for just a 30.7 percent clip. The Knicks are middle-of-the-road defending the perimeter, ranking 16th while allowing foes to shoot 36.3 percent.
Houston is without Chris Paul (knee) and averages 104.3 points with three of the NBA’s top four in 3-point attempts. Eric Gordon, in seven games, is 26-of-86 (.302), Harden is third at 27-of-78 (.346) in eight games and Ryan Anderson is fourth with 26-of-67 (.388) in eight games. The Warriors’ Stephen Curry is No. 2 (32-of-83, .386). The Knicks’ Tim Hardaway Jr. (14-of-47, .298) ranks 10th.
“[Harden] does a great job creating space and drawing fouls. So we have to do a great job of making sure our hands are back,” Hardaway said. “You’ve got to respect him. He’s an AllStar. He’s going to make tough shots and you can’t get down when he’s doing that. We’ve just got to do the best we can to contain him, try to get the ball out of his hands and make the other guy score.”
➤ “Young,” when describing any team, usually is a nice synonym for “mistake prone.” Witness the Knicks in the third quarter against Denver. They committed 12 turnovers in that quarter alone. But center Enes
Kanter, acknowledging the slop, sees “young” meaning something else.
“Things are starting to click. I know now we are a good team. We are a young team. I don’t use that as an excuse,” Kanter said. “People keep saying that we are a young team, but that means that we have a lot of energy.”
In the Knicks’ three victories, Jarrett Jack started at point guard and had 24 assists.
“It doesn’t matter if he’s on the bench or if he’s starting,” Kanter said. “I see him, he’s speaking every time. He’s the leader of this team he just tries to help everybody.”