Knicks’ offense has exploded since Tom Thibodeau tweaked rotation

It has been the equivalent of a half of an NBA season now, 41 games that no longer can be considered a small or insignificant sample.

The Knicks have gone 27-14 since Tom Thibodeau revamped the playing rotation on Dec. 4, and the offensive results over that span have been particularly staggering, both from team and individual perspectives.

In that stretch, the Knicks rank first in the Eastern Conference in offensive rating — which measures points per 100 possession — at 118.5, behind only the Kings and the Blazers across the NBA. Their net rating (point differential per 100 possessions) of 5.9 ranks second in the league behind the Grizzlies (6.2).

Their 142 points against the Nets also represented their season-best scoring output, and their most since Dec. 17, 2019, against Atlanta (143).

“I think our offense has always been good the whole year, but right now we’re clicking on just a different level. So yeah, it definitely feels good,” RJ Barrett said after Wednesday’s blowout win over the Nets. “Everybody is just locked in on winning. That’s really what it is. Everybody has the same goals. You can really see it out there on the court.

“Now it’s gotten to a point of the season where we’re kind of figuring each other out. So yeah, it’s really working.”

Thibodeau made drastic changes following a blowout loss to Dallas on Dec. 3, sending Derrick Rose and since-vanquished Cam Reddish to the bench, joining veteran guard Evan Fournier, who had been demoted a couple of weeks earlier.

Individually, the numbers thereafter also have been eye-popping.

Julius Randle has appeared in all 41 games — and all 64 overall this season — and he’s averaging 27.2 points with shooting percentages of 46.2 overall, 35.3 on 3-point attempts and 74.8 from the free-throw line.

Including his 39 points on a staggering 15-of-18 shooting from the floor in Wednesday’s rout, point guard Jalen Brunson (37 of 41 games) is scoring 25.6 points per with a shooting slash line of 48.5/45.1/81.9.

Starting wings Barrett (34 of 41 games) and Quentin Grimes (40 of 41) have seen their minutes and stats diminished somewhat with the deadline addition of Josh Hart. But Barrett still has given the team a third 20-point scorer (20.1 ppg) since Dec. 4, with a 44.4/37.0/73.0 slash.

Grimes is contributing 11.5 points on average over that stretch (44.7/37.1/80.0), including 6-for-9 from long range and 22 points Wednesday against Brooklyn. Sixth man Immanuel Quickley also has played in all but one of the past 41 games, netting 14.6 points per appearance while shooting 46.1/38.0/80.6.

And that doesn’t even account for the multifaceted impact of Josh Hart, who is a perfect 7-0 as a Knick since his arrival from Portland ahead of the trade deadline.

“Sometimes these games get to be one or two possessions, and that’s when your attention to detail really kicks in,” Hart said. “If you win a game by two points or you lose a game by two points, they think it’s that last minute or last two minutes of the game. But if you have that attention to detail all the way through for the whole 48, you’re not going to put yourself in that position.

“That’s something as a team that we take pride in. You’ve got to continue to do that, continue to learn, continue to grow, as we’re winning. We want to learn in wins, we don’t want to learn in losses.”

The Dec. 4 game against the Cavaliers kicked off an eight-game winning streak following a 10-13 start. Thibodeau’s surging squad — now 10 games over .500 at 37-27 overall — can match that season-long streak Friday night in Miami.

“This is why we work the way we do,” Thibodeau said. “This is why we study. This is why we study film. This is why we come in and put extra work in. This is why we practice. And then you want to keep improving. There’s always things you can do better.

“So, I still think we have a long way to go. I like where we are in the season in terms of we know the intensity is getting different now. So we have to respond accordingly. And this should bring the best output in us.”