The New York Knicks have reinvented themselves as a possession-winning machine, with a winning record and stats to back it up. What was once a middle-of-the-pack rebounding team is now one of the league’s elite. Fred Katz explains why in his latest Athletic article. Also below, an NBA insider gives an update on the Giannis situation. Plus a funny tweet. All for you! Read on, Donkey Kong.
The Knicks be Boundin’!
The Knicks have earned a reputation as a tough, rebound-driven team this season.
Comparing this campaign (so far) to last year’s, the New York Knicks are averaging almost four more rebounds per game and three more offensive boards. Ranking-wise, that rockets them from 24th to fourth for rebounds per game, and 17th to third for offensive boards.
The personnel remain essentially the same, but the coach is different. The strategy is different.
For an explanation of what’s working, why, and where Mike Brown’s philosophy of offensive rebounding derives from, check out Fred Katz’s latest article at The Athletic.
According to Katz, when Brown coached the Nigerian national men’s basketball team, they were getting clobbered on the glass. He sought advice from New Zealand’s coach, whose team, despite similar roster limitations, excelled by aggressively crashing the offensive boards.
Traditional NBA wisdom had downplayed offensive rebounding to protect transition defense. But Paul Henare’s Kiwi squads defied that logic by sending all five players to the offensive boards. Surprisingly, they did so without sacrificing transition defense.
Henare taught a tag up technique, which involves pinning defenders from behind to prevent leak-outs. This also increases long rebounds because it locks defenders in place against three–point–era bounce-outs.
Brown adopted tagging-up principles for Nigeria, then Sacramento, and now the Knicks. As a result, New York leads the NBA in net chances—Fred’s term—creating 4.6 more scoring opportunities per game than opponents. Katz claims that analytics now show minimal downside in transition defense when crashing three or more players.
Because of this possession edge, offensive rebounding is experiencing a league-wide resurgence. Multiple NBA coaches, including Mazzulla, Udoka, Atkinson, and Rajaković, are now tagging up acolytes. Atkinson’s Cavaliers emphasize winning the possession game and prepare for opponents’ crashing schemes in detail. Consequently, the Cavs are near the top of the league in three-player crash frequency and net chances created.
Have you noticed that the Phoenix Suns are outperforming expectations, sitting seventh in the Western Conference? It may be no coincidence that their head coach, Jordan Ott, is also down with the tag-up.
Houston is posting historically high offensive rebounding numbers. Ime Udoka is pushing the Rockets to send even more bodies, including veterans like Kevin Durant, who aren’t used to this style. When Houston does send three crashers, it wins the offensive rebound over 56% of the time.
No NBA team fully tags up with all five players, but many selectively apply the concept, especially on 3-point attempts. According to Katz, NBA teams now crash three players twice as often as they did three years ago. He claims that sixteen teams recover more than half their misses when they crash at least three players.
Latest from Stein on Giannis
Around the league, teams remain on Giannis Watch, waiting for any signal Milwaukee might take trade calls for Antetokounmpo.
Milwaukee believed Giannis was committed through the season, especially with his brothers on the roster. The Bucks insist Giannis has never asked for a trade, but, per Marc Stein’s “The Stein Line,” the All-Star’s recent calf injury and the team’s poor record have made things murky.
Any team pursuing him will want assurance he’ll extend past 2026–27, or they may not risk their best assets. League executives believe Giannis will only stay long-term where he’s convinced he can contend for a championship.
Stein says that there is a belief that Giannis strongly prefers the Knicks if he ever does push for a move. His sources confirm Madison Square Garden and New York’s playoff atmosphere were the “temptation” Giannis referenced publicly.
“I can confirm that the Knicks—as well as playing in Madison Square Garden—were the specific ‘temptation’ that Giannis himself publicly acknowledged on Bucks Media Day as an outcome he pondered during the summer. I’ve even heard that the rowdy fanbase gatherings outside the arena following playoff victories that the Knicks are known for have resonated, given his natural fondness for the emotionally charged support so prevalent for basketball and soccer clubs throughout Europe.”
Miami is another team positioned for a potential Giannis pursuit, having saved assets by avoiding all-in bids for Lillard and Durant. The Heat refused to include Kel’el Ware and other young players in past superstar trade talks, a stubbornness that preserved their flexibility for someone like Giannis.
Miami is unexpectedly good this season and has discussed bold moves, including exploratory internal talk about Ja Morant.
According to Stein, “Miami was already shaping into a surprising buyer on this trade market even before this week’s Giannis headlines. League sources say that the Heat, for example, have had internal discussions about Memphis’ Ja Morant and how Miami’s infrastructure could benefit him.”
And Miami’s nightlife! Ja would have a ball there, for sure!
Miami also hasn’t forgotten Giannis’ prior interest in joining the Heat in 2020, and his camp reportedly evaluated the financial advantages of a max deal in tax-free Florida or Texas before he chose Milwaukee’s supermax extension. The Heat’s ability to pursue Giannis may hinge on whether they’re willing to move Ware and navigate complications around Terry Rozier’s legal situation and salary.
Lipreading of the Bane-OG Incident
Remember the other night, when Desmond Bane dodgeballed OG Anunoby? TipperNaughtSports (@TPNaughtSports) on X killed me with this. Enjoy.