Miller preaches cross-court ball movement to mixed results

Prior to the Knicks' home bout against the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night, interim head coach Mike Miller preached ball movement - specifically getting it across to the weak side to find holes in their opponent's pressure defense.

"Our emphasis always is try to get the ball moving," Miller said. "We talk about attacking more on the second and the third sides, where we can be more effective getting into some longer closeouts and have a chance to move."

One of the biggest shortfalls for New York this season has been a lack of dynamic playmakers. Randle has taken it upon himself to seek out his teammates when defenders surround him, but his passing game hasn't developed enough to keep up. Elfrid Payton is arguably the Knicks' best passer, and he's missed most of the season. Frank Ntilikina and Dennis Smith Jr. have shown numerous flashes on that end, but their scoring hasn't threatened defenses enough to open the lanes they need.

The result? Possessions like the following:

Marcus Morris has been one of the most effective players for the Knicks this season, but he is not known for his creation for others. After the successful pump fake, he has two shooters open on the weak side but takes it to Brook Lopez instead. 

Here, Bobby Portis was pleading for the ball in the opposite corner, which is the type of pass Miller was hoping his team would make. This could have led to an open three, a pump fake into a four-on-three, a blow-by off a bad closeout, etc.

These aren't easy passes to make, especially against a team like the Bucks, and even when made the Knicks' spacing can interfere with their ability to convert. There were plays with one solid swing pass that would have been an easy score with one more, but that second dish never came. New York improved as the game went on at eyeing out opportunities across the court, and when they made sharp, timely passes in that direction their offense loosened up. It was too little too late though, and fundamentally there are few players on this team whose first instinct is to look for those opportunities, which is why this has been a flaw all season for the Knicks.

This issue didn't appear or dissipate with David Fizdale's firing. Roster construction cannot be boiled down to securing solid talent on flexible contracts - when your team lacks deeply in specific facets of the game, these vulnerabilities become easily exposed. The Knicks were supposed to be ball movers from the get-go, but they were never built as such.