There are a lot of reasons as to why the New York Knicks have ascended the standings in the Eastern Conference. They are the hottest team in the NBA as their victory over the Utah Jazz was their eighth in a row, pushing their record to 14-2 in January.
One of the reasons the Knicks have found such a groove is the hot shooting of their starting backcourt, Jalen Brunson and Donte DiVincenzo. The collegiate teammates at Villanova have picked up right where they left off, as their chemistry on the court, along with Josh Hart, is undeniable.
Since being inserted into the starting lineup in place of Quentin Grimes, DiVincenzo’s production has skyrocketed. As the fourth option at times, it wasn’t a role Grimes was happy with, but DiVincenzo has found a way to carve out consistent production and his 3-point shooting is a big reason why.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, New York Knicks Updates
In 30 games as a starter, DiVincenzo is averaging 14.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.3 steals in 25.1 minutes per game. He has been on fire from 3-point range, knocking down 44 percent of his shots, resulting in an impressive 66.3 true shooting percentage.
His efficiency has skyrocketed compared to when he was coming off the bench. As a reserve, he had a shooting split of .384/.388/.684; as a starter, it is up to .489/.444/.756 as he is much more comfortable.
Brunson, in his second season with the Knicks, has taken his production to another level as well. He is now a lethal 3-point shooter despite a ridiculously high shot difficulty, connecting on 42.2 percent of his 6.6 attempts per game.
There are only six players in the NBA who have made 100+ 3-pointers while connecting on 42+ percent of their attempts. Two of them share the backcourt at Madison Square Garden as the starters for the Knicks.
On the season, DiVincenzo has 136 3-pointers already. That is already the second most in a single season for him in his career and he is on pace to shatter his career-high, which was 150 set last season with the Golden State Warriors.
NBA NEWS & RUMORS: Jalen Brunson, Donte DiVincenzo, New York Knicks Updates
Brunson set several career highs last season, his first as the unquestioned lead ball-handler for an NBA team. He made 134 3-pointers last season and like DiVincenzo, is on pace to shatter that record as he has already canned 128 this season.
Just how impressive has their shooting display been? As shared by Tommy Beer on X, Brunson and DiVincenzo are on pace to become the first pair of teammates to shoot over 40 percent on 3-pointers while attempting 5+ per game since Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
What the Knicks’ starting backcourt is accomplishing from behind the arc is extremely impressive. Any time you are mentioned in the same sentence, accomplishing something that the Splash Brothers have done, you are doing something right.
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