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The New York Knicks will be playing to avoid elimination on Wednesday night when they welcome in the Atlanta Hawks to Madison Square Garden. After the series was even at 1-1 heading to Atlanta, the Hawks took both games in rather commanding fashion to take a huge advantage in this best-of-seven matchup.
While the Knicks don't need to make a bunch of huge changes across the board, clearly things aren't working in this series as they stand. Derrick Rose was inserted into the starting lineup for Game 3 and Game 4 and has been brilliant for New York. Oddly enough, he and the Knicks will be better suited with Rose coming off the bench in Game 5.
New York's starting point guard issue is one that had gotten worse and worse as the regular season went on. Tom Thibodeau continued to start Elfrid Payton and he continued to underwhelm in a major way. It took back-to-back downright unplayable performances from Payton in the postseason for Thibodeau to make the move to Rose.
Rose responded by putting in 48 points in the last two games as the starting point guard. What's missing though is the burst and the spark for the second unit.
The Knicks second unit consisting largely of Rose, Immanuel Quickley, Alec Burks and Obi Toppin had really started to gel at the end of the season. Spearheaded by Rose, the bench became one of the overriding strengths of the Knicks. With Rose in the starting lineup the last two games against the Hawks, the bench has fizzled out.
In Games 1 and 2, the Knicks bench combined for 64 and 55 points, respectively. In the latter two games of this series, with Rose starting, the Knicks have scored just 28 points in both games. It's a far cry from what they did most of the regular season and at the outset of this series.
Switching Rose back to the bench certainly comes with its disadvantages but in this case, the advantages outweigh all of it.
Not many will clamor for Elfrid Payton to return to the starting lineup or the rotation and that isn't the suggestion here either. Instead, Thibodeau should roll with Frank Ntilikina or Alec Burks in the starting five tonight.
Yes, Burks is apart of that bench mob group but his contributions and worth to the group don't stack up to Rose. The reality of the situation is that Burks has struggled too without having Rose in that second group.
Starting Ntilikina wouldn't signal that Thibodeau is expecting 30 or more minutes from the seldom used guard who brings a good defensive presence. The Knicks more so need a buffer at that spot to bridge the gap between the first segment of the game and when Thibodeau unloads the second unit. Starting Frank would be a good bridge between the two.
It won't be surprising if Derrick Rose starts Game 5 for the Knicks. It's very possible Thibodeau still believes it's the best course of action for the Knicks and he may be right. But given how poor the bench has looked the last two outings, it might be better if New York puts Rose back in with that second unit where they can truly excel.
