Andre Drummond’s uneven start has done more than stir up nostalgia for Mitchell Robinson. It has also made life noticeably tougher for Jalen Brunson, who now has to work through a messier offensive setup than the Knicks probably intended when they brought Drummond in.
That’s the real issue here: the Brunson-Drummond pairing is forcing New York’s offense into a shape that doesn’t suit its best player. The spacing is tighter, the reads are harder, and the clean looks Brunson usually creates for himself are getting harder to find. The Knicks may be able to survive it in stretches, but they’re not helping their point guard.
Mike Brown figured out quickly that New York can’t afford to sit Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns together for long, which has pushed Brunson into staggered units with Drummond. On paper, the results haven’t been disastrous.
The Knicks have outscored opponents by seven points in those minutes, including a plus-13 showing against the Jalen Duren-less Detroit Pistons. But the offense in those stretches has still performed like a bottom-10 unit.
Brunson’s own shooting slump is part of the equation, and the source of that is clear enough: he’s still working back from offseason wrist surgery. Even so, the fit with Drummond is making everything feel harder than it needs to be.
Robinson’s vertical spacing gave Brunson a different kind of runway. Drummond, by contrast, rolls slower and finishes less cleanly around the basket, and that changes the geometry of the floor. Brunson isn’t getting as much separation off screens, and when both players are attacking the paint, Drummond is more likely to clog the same lanes Brunson wants to use.
The numbers back that up. Only 10.1 percent of Brunson’s jumpers outside 10 feet have counted as wide-open this season, down from 11.7 percent last year. His two-point efficiency has dropped by five percentage points alongside Drummond, compared with a 1.9-point dip next to Robinson.
The damage shows up in the pick-and-roll, too. Drummond isn’t a natural lob threat and he isn’t a dependable finisher in that action.
Robinson, by comparison, shot 73 percent at the rim when paired with Brunson. Drummond is at 58.8 percent on those looks, and that number falls by 13 points when Brunson sits.
Some of this may settle down as the season goes on. Brunson is built to make tough shots, and that part of his game isn’t going anywhere. But the broader problem remains: if the Knicks can’t make his job easier, they at least need to stop making it harder.
Right now, they don’t have a clean internal answer. James Wiseman doesn’t look ready for a real role.
Karl-Anthony Towns can’t be stretched too far because of foul trouble. OG Anunoby hasn’t taken on enough offensive usage to let Brunson spend more time off the ball, and Mike Brown doesn’t seem eager to lean heavily on OG-at-the-5 lineups.
So the Knicks keep circling the same conclusion: they need another center. And at this point, the reason goes beyond simply upgrading from Drummond and Wiseman.
It’s for Jalen Brunson’s sake.
In Other News...
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Wembanyama Just Revisited The Villain Role He Played Against The Knicks
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Knicks Still Arent Using A Karl-Anthony Towns Strength They Need
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The passing off those drives has still been there, and it hints at a bigger lane the Knicks have yet to fully open up. If Towns is attacking the rim more often, it could create cleaner looks for everyone around him and unlock more of the playmaking upside that has been sitting just below the surface. For now, though, it remains one of those useful strengths New York has not leaned on enough. [Read more 🡒]