Breaking down the improved play of Bojan Bogdanovic

When the Knicks pulled off a midseason trade for Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic without relinquishing any first-round picks, fans were elated, and analysts were impressed, as the Knicks seemed to be addressing one of their few weaknesses. In Burks, they were welcoming back a veteran backup who knew what it took to succeed under Tom Thibodeau and play under the pressures and lights of New York City. And in Bogdanovic, they were getting the shot-creating and shot-making floor spacer they so badly needed after parting ways with reigning Sixth Man of the Year runner-up, Immanuel Quickley. Or at least that’s what everyone thought they were getting.

Instead, what they got, for the most part, was 10-20 minutes a night of awful defense, inefficient scoring, an unimpressive level of playmaking, and a plethora of questions on whether the trade was really worth it. And while some of those questions still linger, they’ve somewhat quieted down, at least on Bogdanovic’s behalf, thanks in large part to what has been a much more productive last couple of weeks.

Despite Burks continuing to be a shell of his old self, Bogdanovic seems to have turned a corner. Over his last eight games, the 34-year-old forward is averaging 11.5PPG while shooting an impressive 52.9% from the field, and 39.3% from three. He’s still a net negative while on the floor as he has a plus-minus of minus three during that span, but it’s a large improvement compared to what he was doing before. And as many have pointed out, the Knicks, as currently constructed, don’t need to dominate the bench minutes like prior iterations of this team needed to. They simply just need Bogdanovic, and the rest of the bench, to withstand the non-Jalen Brunson minutes to give this team a chance.

So what’s been different? Well, the obvious thing is him making shots. The NBA has long been known as a make-or-miss league, and for stretches of his first few weeks as a Knick, Bogdanovic was simply missing shots we’re all used to seeing him make. Through his first 15 games as a Knick, Bogdanovic was still averaging 11.1PPG, but was shooting just 39.5% from the field and 33.8% from three, which were both significantly lower than his career averages. So him starting to make shots he’s expected to make, is clearly the biggest development.

But that isn’t all. Another big part of the change has come in the form of lineup adjustments. For much of his first couple weeks, Bogdanovic spent time sharing the floor with players that don’t really complement his strengths or weaknesses. For example, the lineup of him, Deuce McBride, Alec Burks, Josh Hart, and Precious Achiuwa played 42 minutes together and had a horrendous offensive rating of 84.1, and a just bad defensive rating of 127.4, both of which would be the worst in the league if they were a team’s ranking. Some of that is definitely on Bogdanovic as he’s a below-average defender who was struggling to make shots, but some of that was also on the overall makeup of that lineup. It gave Bogdanovic little to no spacing at all, which hindered his ability to get his own shot, and it put him in positions where he was asked to do too much on both sides of the ball at times.

Evident in the video above and below, if you pause right before he turns the ball over, you can see that teams can sag off of Hart, Burks, Achiuwa, and, or Sims. While Bogdanovic is a capable shooter and scorer off the dribble, he lacks the quickness and explosiveness to consistently get good looks if he doesn’t have other shooters or creators on the floor with him.

And on the plays where he tried to counter defenders trying to sag off Hart, like in the two plays below, there was often a lack of spacing and chemistry that led to forced and contested shots.

Here’s another play below for good measure. Take a look at how packed the paint is when Bogdanovic rises for his shot. It’s by no means a great shot, but with Hart, Achiuwa, and Robinson on the floor, the Raptors can just hone in on Bogdanovic.

As of late though, we’ve seen him play with Burks, and Achiuwa a little less, and play with Isaiah Hartenstein, Donte, DiVincezno, OG Anunoby, and Brunson a little more. And while it’s a very small sample size, the early signs have looked encouraging. In the four minutes that Bogdanovic played with Anunoby, Hartenstein, Hart, and McBride, the Knicks had an offensive rating of 142.9, and a defensive rating of 125, and in the nine minutes that Bogdanovic played with Hart, DiVincenzo, McBride, and Robinson, they have an offensive rating of 141.2, and a defensive rating of 94.4.

And you can see the clear difference as well. In the clip above, you can see that Bogdanovic has much more space to operate with, especially in that midrange area that he’s proficient at scoring from, as the defense now has to account for the shooting of McBride, DiVincenzo, and Anunoby.

Again, it’s a small sample size, but pairing him with more floor spacers, creators, and defenders has put Bogdanovic in a better position to succeed. One in which he can focus solely on scoring and do so with more ease. And it’s led to him playing with confidence and coming up big with momentum-swinging shots like the one below.