Key #3 – Clean up the glass
Despite how well New York’s bigs have played so far this year, particularly in regards to shooting efficiency, the Knicks may not be perceived as that great of a rebounding team given that they’re just 14th in the league in rebounds per game. However, this is largely a direct result to how well they’ve shot as the Knicks simply haven’t had to nab that many defensive rebounds but are dominating in rebound percentage.
They are currently fourth in the league in overall rebound percentage, gobbling up 52.6 percent of available rebounds and second in offensive rebound percentage at 26.9 percent. This has led the Knicks to lead the league in second chance points with an astounding 16.8 per game. Those easy second chance opportunities have likely also helped boost New York’s exceptional field goal percentage.
Therefore, considering that the Knicks do such a great job of tracking down offensive rebounds and converting them into points, the Jazz need to make a conscious effort to box out and limit such opportunities. Since the Jazz have been poor on defense of late and especially considering how bad their offense is, they simply can’t afford to give up any additional easy baskets which would put them deeper in the hole.
Make no mistake about it, the Knicks have some solid big men who are capable of scoring efficiently and grabbing rebounds, whereas the Jazz find themselves outmatched in that area without the help of Rudy Gobert. Therefore, this will be a very difficult key for them to excel in, but one that will be absolutely necessary nonetheless.