Knicks must force more turnovers to spark stagnant offense

Both head coaches came to the same conclusion.Tom Thibodeau and Joe Mazzulla both pointed to the same area as the reason behind the Knicks’ offensive struggles, particularly in Game 3.“I think for anybody, live-ball turnovers that put you into the open floor, get you easy baskets,” Thibodeau said Sunday.“So that’s a big part of the game, and that’s the fight.

I think it’s the challenge for each team to try to create as many as you can, because you know what it does for your offense.It fuels your offense.”“We didn’t have [so many] live-ball turnovers,” Mazzulla said after Game 3.

“I can’t stress to you the importance of not throwing the ball to the other team and them getting out in transition.”The Knicks offense has been at its best in the series when it is riding its defense to easy buckets in transition.That has largely come in the fourth quarter of Games 1 and 2.

Much of the rest of the series has been a slog offensively.“We got guys that can make plays, guys that can shoot the ball, guys that can finish at the rim.So for sure that’s when our offense is firing on all cylinders,” Josh Hart — the one who is often pushing the Knicks to play faster — said Sunday.

“We’re able to get out and get everybody easy shots, easy baskets and get everyone into the flow of things.Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.“And when you’re not causing turnovers and you’re getting the ball under the rim, taking it out every possession, it’s tough to have that speed, so we have to try to cause more turnovers, play better defense and finish possessions with rebounds and run, and even when we do take the ball out, have pace to our offense and not just be standing around being so stagnant.”Thibodeau believes that’s also behind OG Anunoby’s quiet past two games.Anunoby recorded just a combined seven points in Games 2 and 3 after e...