But they slipped to 17th in three-to-mid-range ratio in 2013-14, and then to 25th in '14-15, the season in which Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher installed the triangle offense (or "triangle principles"). And they've remained in the bottom six for four straight seasons. Even with the departures of both Jackson and Carmelo Anthony (who attempted 1,511 more mid-range shots than threes in his 6 1/2 seasons with the Knicks), the team barely saw a budge in its ratio, which, at 1.03, was about 1/6 that of the Houston Rockets (6.17).

In fact, the Knicks actually took a lower percentage of their shots from 3-point range last season (27 percent, 29th in the league) than they did the season prior (28 percent, 25th). They were one of two teams - San Antonio (26th, 27th) was the other - that ranked in the bottom five in both 3-point percentage (27th) and the percentage of shots that came from 3-point range (29th). They just saw a big increase in shots in the paint.

The Knicks were actually a decent shooting team last season, ranking 12th in field goal percentage at 46.4 percent. But because of their low rate of threes, they ranked 24th in effective field goal percentage (51.0 percent). Only Minnesota had a smaller differential between the two percentages.

How will the Knicks' 2018-19 season play out?

Last season, Kristaps Porzingis led the league with 9.0 catch-and-shoot jumpers per game, but only 49 percent of his catch-and-shoot jumpers were from beyond the arc. League-wide, 81 percent of catch-and-shoot jumpers were threes, and Porzingis was one of only nine players who attempted at least *200 catch-and-shoot jumpers, with more than half of them coming from inside the arc.

* In total, 134 players took at least 200 catch-and-shoot jumpers, according to Second Spectrum tracking.

As the table above clearly illustrates, the league has quickly realized the relative value of 3-pointers and mid-range shots. Over the last three seasons, the league has shot 36 percent from 3-point range, yielding a value of 1.07 points per attempt. At the same time, it has shot 40 percent from mid-range, yielding a value of just 0.80 points per attempt.

Last season, having a league-average three-to-mid-range ratio (1.77) instead of the league low (1.03) would have been worth an additional 133 points for the Knicks. That translates to a jump from 24th to 17th in offensive efficiency and an additional five wins.

Five additional wins wouldn't have got the Knicks anywhere close to playoff position. And, without Porzingis for at least a couple of months, it's doubtful that they'll be competing for a spot in the postseason this year. But the time is now for new head coach David Fizdale to build a foundation for how the Knicks are going to play on both ends of the floor.

It was five years ago that Brett Brown did just that in Philadelphia, and the Sixers jumped from 28th to third in three-to-mid-range ratio in his first season (more than doubling the team's rate of the season prior). Suffering from a lack of talent, Philly proceeded to rank 30th in offensive efficiency in each of Brown's first four years, but the Sixers had the league's most improved offense last season and look like a perennial Eastern Conference contender, playing the same way (with pace and space) that they've been playing since Brown took over.

In Fizdale's first season in Memphis, the Grizzlies jumped from 23rd (0.87) to 12th (1.51) in three-to-mid-range ratio, so we can expect the Knicks to at least climb out of the basement this year.

Note: The above table is based on true possession counts. Other efficiency stats here are based on possession estimates (typically higher than true possession counts).