Knicks Miss 60 Threes in Two Games: The Real Question Goes Beyond Cold Shooting
The Knicks made just 19 of 79 threes in their first two preseason games. Are missed shots or offensive execution behind the early shooting struggles?
The Knicks’ three-point shooting struggles have become impossible to overlook through their first two preseason games.
New York went 8-for-41 from beyond the arc against Philadelphia, then followed with an 11-for-38 performance against Washington. Combined, that amounts to 19 makes in 79 attempts—approximately 24.1 percent, with 60 shots missing the target.
Those numbers explain some of the frustration surrounding an 0-2 start. They do not, however, explain whether the Knicks are suffering through ordinary shooting variance or consistently creating the wrong opportunities.
For Mike Brown, that distinction should guide the response.
The Knicks Are Taking Threes, but Volume Is Only Part of the Story
New York has averaged 39.5 three-point attempts across the two exhibitions. The offense is clearly generating perimeter attempts; the question is how those attempts develop.
A possession that forces multiple defensive rotations before producing an open shot has accomplished something useful, even when the attempt misses. A contested jumper taken because the offense stalled requires a different evaluation.
Treating both outcomes identically would make it harder to identify the correct adjustment.
The Knicks need to review the process behind their shots before deciding that the solution is simply taking fewer of them.
Paint Pressure Can Improve Perimeter Opportunities
One useful framework for examining the offense is how often New York makes defenders leave their original assignments.
A drive into the paint can draw help and create a passing opportunity outside. A rolling center can occupy an interior defender, while movement away from the ball can prevent the remaining defenders from covering every option.
When those actions connect, the perimeter shooter receives more than a pass: he receives time and space.
That is a tactical route worth examining in the Knicks’ film review, rather than a claim that every missed preseason attempt followed a failed drive. The available shooting totals cannot establish how many clean looks New York created.
A Late Pass Can Change the Entire Shot
Even when an offense creates an opening, it must use it quickly.
A pass delivered slightly late can allow a defender to recover. A ball arriving outside the shooter’s preferred catching position can require an adjustment, disrupting balance or delaying the release.
These details help explain why ball movement and shooting accuracy belong in the same conversation. The player taking the shot is finishing a sequence shaped by several teammates.
For Brown, progress could mean earlier recognition of the open player, cleaner delivery and more decisive movement after the first pass.
Improving the final attempt often begins one or two decisions before the release.
Open Shots Still Need Confidence
The opposite mistake would be allowing poor early percentages to create hesitation.
If the Knicks generate an appropriate shot for a capable shooter, passing it up can give the defense time to reset. The next opportunity may be considerably worse.
Players must distinguish between patience and reluctance. Patience allows an action to develop; reluctance can waste the advantage that action has already produced.
That makes clear feedback important. Coaches can reinforce sound shot selection while correcting rushed or heavily contested attempts. The goal is to preserve confidence without treating every three-pointer as equally desirable.
Two Games Cannot Establish a Season-Long Weakness
The combined percentage is a legitimate concern, but the sample remains limited.
Preseason includes changing combinations, uneven workloads and players still establishing their timing. Those conditions should inform the evaluation without becoming an excuse for repeated execution errors.
The next games should offer more useful evidence: whether the same offensive problems recur, whether passes arrive more cleanly and whether the Knicks consistently create attempts their shooters can take in rhythm.
A hot shooting night would improve the numbers. Sustained improvement in those underlying actions would provide a stronger reason for confidence.
Brown Needs Better Answers Than “The Shots Will Fall”
New York can reasonably expect shooting results to fluctuate. It still needs to determine which possessions deserve to be repeated and which require correction.
The first two exhibitions have produced enough misses to make that review urgent, but not enough evidence to justify a sweeping judgment about the offense.
The Knicks’ most important adjustment may happen before the shot goes up. Better timing, purposeful penetration and accurate passing would give their shooters a stronger platform—and make the next set of percentages more informative.
