Tuesday night\u2019s Cup final was an enthralling contest from start to finish, a deliberate, grind-it-out affair from two of the slower teams in terms of pace. It was an atmosphere fitting of a championship game \u2014 the Spurs super fans chanting and dancing for 48 minutes, the Knicks faithful letting their emotions hang on every missed shot or deflection and Vegas providing the perfect backdrop for a high-stakes affair.<\/p>\n
But given the playoff-like environment, Victor Wembanyama\u2019s individual star power and New York\u2019s assemblage of talent, the crowning glory would come from which team simply had the ball more. In Robinson, the Knicks have one of the league\u2019s best in doing just that. So much of the Knicks\u2019 offense \u2014 second in the NBA according to Cleaning the Glass \u2014 comes from their ability to generate more than their opponents. They are the second-most frequent and third-most efficient team in offense after an offensive rebound, per Synergy tracking data. When Robinson is on the floor, New York\u2019s offensive rebounding rate soars by over fourteen percent \u2014 good for the 100th percentile. It\u2019s not as glamorous of a stat as isolation efficiency, playmaking control or three-point savvy, but it\u2019s just as important.<\/p>\n
\u201cMitchell Robinson, he had 10 offensive rebounds in 18 minutes,\u201d head coach Mike Brown said. \u201cThat’s unbelievable. We had 23 offensive rebounds for the game. He had 10. OG had four. KAT had four. That was probably the biggest difference in the game when you’re scoring 32 second-chance points. For him to come off the bench and do that \u2026 \u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cShout-out to Mitch, man,\u201d Karl Anthony-Towns added. \u201cHell of a day at the office for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
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New York’s NBA Cup win revealed a roster that doesn’t rely on individual brilliance, and that balance might just be its most dangerous weapon.<\/p>\n
(Ethan Miller via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Still, as critical as offensive rebounds can be to a good half-court offense, they\u2019re deemed futile without everything else working in tandem. Quality floor spacing, decision and shot-making, talent and overall IQ are the other necessary ingredients that make a contender. OG Anunoby led all players on the floor with 28 points on 10-for-17 shooting, Jalen Brunson chipped in 25 of his own and Karl Anthony-Towns finished with 16 \u2014 with Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek combining for 29 points from the bench. The Knicks, much like the city of New York, are a diverse group that get their strength from the sum of their parts. They shy away from isolated praise, understanding their ultimate goal can\u2019t be reached on the shoulders of one or two. Brunson, who was named tournament MVP, wasted no time in shouting out the contributions of each of his teammates as he was presented with his trophy as a reminder of the collective.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout them I don’t hold that trophy,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cWe don’t hold the trophy as a team. We’re on the complete other side of this.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cJust having everybody out there competing and contributing to the team,\u201d forward Mikal Bridges told Yahoo Sports. \u201cI think we got a lot of talented guys. High-IQ individuals that will go out there and do whatever it takes to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a lot of ways, being the last one standing \u2014 albeit in a midseason tournament \u2014 could invigorate the Knicks as they plant their flag in the ground as one of the NBA elite, especially with New York sitting just 2.5 games behind Detroit atop a much-improved Eastern Conference. It was clear from their words both before and after the game that bringing success back home, lifting a banner, meant something. New York outlasted two top four seeds in the Western Conference and Orlando, the East\u2019s fifth seed. Regardless of what the outside perception of the NBA Cup may be, you\u2019d be hard pressed to convince these Knicks that Tuesday night doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n
New York can make a strong claim as the deepest, most talented team in the East \u2014 and perhaps the NBA as a whole. How many teams can match the sheer offensive brilliance and leadership of Brunson? The two-way skill set of Anunoby and Bridges? Towns\u2019 unicorn-like gravity? Josh Hart\u2019s glue? Jordan Clarkson\u2019s instant scoring off the bench? The guidance and tactical astuteness of Brown?<\/p>\n
This is why the Knicks should be feared. Brunson is the head of the snake, a likely MVP candidate and rightfully so; his ability to command complete control of a team filled with vibrant personalities, all while understanding how to navigate situations, is admirable. But take a stroll into Madison Square Garden and think that slowing Brunson down is a surefire way to victory, and your mistakes haven\u2019t even begun. New York is deep. New York is dangerous. New York is champion. And they\u2019re just getting started.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt’s a goal of ours that we get to check off,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cIt’s an important stepping stone for us. We can still learn from this game and get better, as well. I’m very thankful for the opportunity presented to ourselves. \u2026 This is great. We’re going to enjoy this. But once we leave tomorrow, we’re moving on.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 Each time the New York Knicks needed a problem solved, no matter how mundane or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":353383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,12266,20455,19696,87780,12834,16104,590,1025,1666,134411,9275,2785,85,193623,12838],"class_list":["post-353382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-detroit","tag-jalen-brunson","tag-jordan-clarkson","tag-josh-hart","tag-mikal-bridges","tag-mitchell-robinson","tag-nba","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-knicks","tag-offensive-rebounds","tag-og-anunoby","tag-orlando","tag-sports","tag-tyler-kolek","tag-victor-wembanyama"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=353382"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/353382\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/353383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=353382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=353382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=353382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}