Knicks in midst of complete turnaround on offensive end

NEW YORK -- In 1,177 games as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, Gregg Popovich had never seen his team allow as many points in regulation.

The Spurs had arrived in New York on Tuesday having played their best defense of the season over the previous four games. And they left New York having given up  128 points to the Knicks.

Asked what it was about Mike D'Antoni's system that made his team look "pathetic" defensively, Popovich had no answer.

"Obviously, I'm the wrong guy to ask," he said. "Because if I knew, I would have done something in the game to stem that sort of thing. And I didn't."

Popovich clearly had a reason to be ticked off about the way his team played on Tuesday. But the Spurs, who ranked seventh in the league defensively going into the game, weren't the first good defensive team to get burned by the Knicks' offense this season.

The Celtics, the No. 1 defensive team in the league and a team that normally plays at a slow pace, played right into the Knicks' hands before escaping Madison Square Garden with a  118-116 win on Dec. 15. The Bulls, now the No. 2 defensive team in the league, gave up 120 to the Knicks in the second week of the season. And the Heat, who rank third defensively, were tied at 57 with the Knicks at halftime on Dec. 17 before locking down in the second half.

Yes, often good offense beats good defense. And right now, the Knicks have arguably the best offense in the league. They currently rank third in efficiency, scoring 108.8 points per 100 possessions. But since their 3-8 start, they've scored 112.1 over the last 24 games. And they've outgunned both the No. 1 offense (San Antonio) and the No. 4 offense (Phoenix) this week.

This is the same offense that Mike D'Antoni ran in his first two seasons in New York, but it's finally been infused with the required talent and athleticism. On a per-possession basis, only the Heat are more improved offensively from last season.

It starts with talent, but the Knicks' offensive success also depends greatly on pace, spacing and aggressiveness.

The Knicks rank second in the league in pace, averaging 99.2 possessions per 48 minutes. They get up and down the floor and take the first available shot. And when they're in a half-court set, they spread the floor better than any team in the league, with four shooters on the perimeter and Amar'e Stoudemire in the middle. The extreme spacing compromises the principles of even the most disciplined defenses.

And while more disciplined offenses may take their time looking for the best available shot, there's absolutely no hesitation with the Knicks. No one is afraid to take any shot in this offense. And because both jumpers and drives to the basket are made quickly and decisively, there's no time for the defense to take a breath.

No matter what you do defensively, the shots are going up. And in many ways, the success of the Knicks' offense comes down to those shots going in. They're 15-1 when they shoot 48 percent or better and 6-13 when they don't.

Seven different Knicks have hit at least 17 3-pointers this season, led by Wilson Chandler, who has already taken and made more threes than he did last season. And while Stoudemire is the MVP candidate and Raymond Felton is the floor general, Chandler may be just as critical to the Knicks' offense as both of them.

Chandler is shooting career highs from the field, from 3-point range and from the line. As an undersized power forward, he's part of the Knicks' starting lineup that has scored 114.3 points per 100 possessions, second best among the league's 24 five-man units that have played at least 200 minutes together. Replace Chandler with Ronny Turiaf and you have a lineup that is much worse offensively (99.5 points per 100 possessions).

Defense is an issue, of course. The Knicks currently rank 21st in the league by allowing 105.5 points per 100 possessions. Though they're good at getting timely blocks and turnovers, they still have a long way to go on that end of the floor.

But when teams can't stop you, you don't have to worry as much about stopping them. And thus far, that formula is working out well for the Knicks. They currently sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, but are within 2 ½ games of third.

"They're a very good basketball team," Popovich said. "They're not a dangerous team. They're a good team. And there's a big difference. A lot of teams can be dangerous on a night, that sort of thing. They're solid."

John Schuhmann is a staff writer for NBA.com. You can e-mail him here and follow him on twitter.

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