NBA

Woodson, Felton: Knicks need to move ball more

MORE OF THIS, LESS OF THAT: The Knicks will be looking to follow the Pablo Prigioni-style of more ball movement (top left) in Game 6, which they hope will lead to less forced shots, like this one by Raymond Felton (top right). (
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BOSTON — Coach Mike Woodson and Raymond Felton believe the Knicks’ ball movement needs an upgrade, and the numbers seem to bear that out.

In the Knicks’ last two losses to the Celtics, they have averaged 88 points per game, a more glaring statistic because Game 4 also included a five-minute overtime. They shot 34 percent from the field in Game 4, 40 percent in Game 5 and 23 percent from 3-point range in both games.

“They’ve shrunk our offense by just staying at home on shooters,” Woodson said Thursday as the Knicks prepared for Friday night’s Game 6 in Boston. “We got to get the ball moved two, three passes before letting it go and not quick-shoot as much.”

Felton agreed with that assessment.

“We’ve got to move the ball better,” he said. “We’ve got to push the pace, and just go back to playing the way we were playing in the first three games.”

Point totals don’t tell the complete story why the Knicks suddenly find themselves in a tough series. They have scored between 85-90 points in all five games this series and have won three and lost two.

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What’s more troubling for the Knicks is the drop in their assist totals. They are averaging 14.4 assists per game this series, compared with their 19.3 in the regular season. Entering last night’s NBA action, the Knicks’ 14.4 assist average is the lowest among the 16 playoff teams by far. The Celtics are next-lowest at 17.6, but they are missing point guard Rajon Rondo.

Nevertheless, Jason Kidd said he believes the bigger issue offensively is the Knicks’ shooting woes.

“The ball’s been moving,” Kidd said. “You can always improve. But the big thing is you’ve got to put the ball in the basket no matter how well you move it. [In Game 5] we just didn’t do that.”

The Knicks are shooting 41 percent for the series, including 32 percent from 3-point land. During the season, they were at 45 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

“By all means, I’m not taking anything from [the Celtics’] defense,” Felton said. “That’s a well-coached team over there. That’s a good defensive team. But we’re just missing shots. We’re just really missing shots.”

Kidd said he thinks the Knicks have been getting the shots they want. They’re just getting more clangs than swishes.

“We’re getting good looks,” he said. “We just haven’t made them. Some of those looks that we got in the first three games went down and the last two they just haven’t.”

Iman Shumpert said the isolation plays are not the reason the team is losing.

“The playoffs, of course you’re going to have a lot more [isolation plays] sort of at the end of the game,” he said. “But that’s just us going to our superstars. That’s why we’ve got them. We still believe in them. We didn’t make shots [in Game 5]. That’s what it comes down to.”