By Kyle Soppe
The New York Knicks hosted the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night, and dismantled the struggling visitors by a finally tally of 113-86. This blowout happened for many reasons, most of which wouldn’t be obvious at first glance.
Carmelo Anthony, returning from injury, and Iman Shumpert, a rookie who needs to “know his role” according to Charles Barkley, average upwards of 45-50 shots per game when both are active. However, this night saw them distribute the ball much more than normal, as the duo combined for 12 assists. The entire Pistons roster recorded 13 helpers on the night.
Staying on Shumpert, he attempted only eight shots in 35 minutes of action, or roughly one shot every 4.25 minutes of action. That is the lowest ratio of shots per minute of the season for the aggressive rookie. Despite not starting early in the season, Shumpert has attempted at least nine field goals in 13 games this season, most of which he didn’t log 35 minutes.
Bill Walker, coming off a big performance against the Heat, played only 15 minutes. The more concerning figure here, is that despite his team winning 27 points, they were played even by the Pistons when Walker was on the court.
Landry Fields made more (4) but attempted three fewer three pointers than all of Detroit. The Knicks efficiency, or Pistons lack there of, was evident in the final totals from the field. New York attempted fewer shots, but managed to make 10 more.
Most teams that are blown out struggle with passing, as they fail to create good looks for teammates or are continually giving their opponent lay ups. This game was no different, as the Pistons had seven players with at least as many turnovers as assists. The Knicks only had two, the aforementioned Walker and Tyson Chandler, who is counted on as a passer.
Detroit at least had balance scoring, the only issue is that they all produced relatively little. They had eight players score between 6-15 points, while New York had four players score at least 15 points.
One bright note for the Pistons was Greg Monroe. The teams star grabbed 18.5% of the games total rebounds.
Comment on this and suggest a future game/team to cover in the box score breakdown. Happy to evaluate any box score on a given day.
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