Putting context behind the Knick’s historical defensive start to March

The New York Knicks have not been a fun matchup for the opposing team this season. They sit at 41–27 this season and hold the fourth position in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knick’s poor offense will be a separate article, but for a quick summary, they haven’t been good at putting the ball in the hoop. It’s a team built on defense, rebounding, and hustle.

New York’s defense has been top-notch this season. They have allowed the second-fewest points per game, holding teams to under 108 points per game. When playing in front of their home crowd in Madison Square Garden, that number drops to 105 points per game, second among home teams. New York is seventh in defensive rating this season.

If they finish in the top ten, it would only be the second time in 12 years that the Knicks have finished in the top ten in defensive rating. The last time came in the shortened 2020–21 season, when the 41–31 Knickerbockers finished fourth in defensive rating. Ironically enough, the last time the Knicks finished in the top ten in defensive rating before 2020–21 was 2011–12. That was also a shortened season where teams only played 66 games. The 36-30 squad, led by Carmelo Anthony, finished fourth in defensive rating.

When was the last time a Knicks team finished in the top ten in defensive rating in a full 82-game season?

If the 2000–01 season was your answer, you’re correct. It’s been 24 years since New York had a top-ten defensive squad for a full season.

March defense

The Knick’s defense has been on a ridiculous run in the third month of 2024. Through eight games, New York has held its opponents to 92.8 points per game. They have held teams to 41.3 percent field goal shooting and 31.5 percent from three. Only three teams have allowed fewer field goal attempts than the Knicks this month. New York has limited shot attempts, which forces teams to attempt to shoot high percentages against them. As seen so far, those teams have been unsuccessful. The Knicks are 6-2 this month and on a four-game winning streak.

To give a little more context to what the Knicks are doing:

The lowest number of points a team has given up on average in a full month this season was when the Knicks held opponents to 100.1 points in January. New York is on the path to a historic defensive month if it can hold strong defensively for six more games.

Since 2018–19, only four teams have held opponents under 100 points per game for a full month.

Those three teams are:

• Indiana Pacers, who held opponents to 99.3 points in December 2018.
• Denver Nuggets, who held opponents to 99.8 points in November 2019.
• Golden State Warriors, who held opponents to 99.5 points in November 2021.
• Boston Celtics, who held opponents to 99.1 in January 2022.

If you want to start getting into the sub-99 club, you can find that in the 2017–18 season. The last time a team held opponents under 99 points per game was the Boston Celtics in November 2017. Boston held the opposition to 97.7 points and won 14 of 16 games that month. It was a different time back then, and the Golden State Warriors led the NBA in scoring in the 2017–18 season with 113.5 points per game. That scoring mark would place the Warriors 13th in points per game in March 2024.

The 2017–18 season saw teams give up less than 100 points per game in a full month 12 times. The last time two teams allowed fewer than 100 points per game in a month was in March 2018. Those two teams were the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. The Utah Jazz hold the benchmark for the fewest points allowed in a full month in the last seven seasons. Teams were only able to score 94.9 points against the Jazz in 15 games in March 2018.

If the Knicks can somehow hold opponents under 93 points for the rest of the month, they will become the first team to do so since the Utah Jazz held opponents under 92.7 points in March of the 2015-16 season. The San Antonio Spurs hold the record for the fewest points allowed in a month in the last ten seasons. In December of the 2015-16 season, the Spurs only allowed 87.1 points in 16 games.

With the style of basketball played today, I don’t know if we’ll see a team hold opponents under an average of 90 again, but the Knicks are putting forth their best effort.

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