The New York Knicks may not play the most aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball in the NBA, but it gets the job done. There is no denying that the game plan that head coach Tom Thibodeau has put together works, especially now that he has the players to put his system to use.
The Knicks front office has been ridiculed at times by fans and people around the NBA for slow playing certain things. They have bided their time when it comes to making a blockbuster trade, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. That has resulted in some great asset collection, enabling them to acquire players such as Donte DiVincenzo in free agency.
For the second straight summer, the Knicks look to have come away with the perfect player they were seeking. In 2022 they desperately needed a point guard to bring everything together and landed Jalen Brunson. At the deadline last season, it was Josh Hart being acquired from the Portland Trail Blazers. This past summer, it was their former Villanova teammate, DiVincenzo.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo, New York Knicks Updates
The Knicks were willing to sacrifice size, trading Obi Toppin to the Indiana Pacers, for a player who fit better into their scheme in DiVincenzo. Despite being multiple inches shorter than Toppin, a power forward, DiVincenzo, a guard, provided nearly identical rebounding numbers.
When you include the other areas of the game in which DiVincenzo has an edge, it was a worthwhile change to make. One of the areas that he excels in compared to Toppin is 3-point shooting, more specifically, from the corners.
In his first three seasons in the NBA with the Knicks, Toppin made only 32.5 percent of his 3-pointers, with a career-high of 34.4. DiVincenzo is a 37.7 percent 3-point shooter in his career and is on track to surpass Toppin’s Knick career high for the third time in six seasons.
Given the system that Thibodeau runs on offense, there is an emphasis put on corner 3-pointers. Not only is DiVincenzo knocking down a career-high 44.2 percent of his 3-balls this season, but he is also providing elite percentages from the corner.
According to KnicksNation on X, DiVincenzo is shooting 51 percent on corner 3-pointers this season. That is an elite number as he is making life easier for Brunson and Julius Randle, who are kicking the ball out to him with confidence he will knock the shots down.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo, New York Knicks Updates
Along with DiVincenzo, the Knicks now have a second elite corner 3-point specialist in OG Anunoby in their lineup. Those two, along with Quentin Grimes, are the perfect complements around Brunson and Randle, as the offense is now, unquestionable, running through those two and everyone else is falling into roles they are comfortable with.
As Anunoby gets more comfortable with his new team, as it has been only four games, things will start clicking even more. So far so good, as the Knicks are 4-0 with Anunoby in the starting lineup as he and DiVincenzo are combining to be an elite 3-and-D combination on the perimeter.
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