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The New York Knicks are nearing the end of another successful season and heading to the NBA playoffs. They've secured their second-straight 50-win season, and they are on the verge of locking down the third seed. But there are still issues to solve. And many of those issues were on full display in New York’s recent heartbreaking overtime loss to the Boston Celtics.
Granted, there were always going to be things to learn about this team—even at this late point of the season. Why? Because their core hasn’t played many games together. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges are still relatively new to coach Thibodeau’s system. And Mitchell Robinson, who remakes the team’s defense, has been back for only 16 games, in which time he’s logged just 16.1 minutes per game.
And let’s get this out of the way: This Knicks’ loss wasn’t that bad—if we ignore Bridges' late fumble on an opportunity to potentially tie the game in overtime. They competed against a nearly complete—albeit slightly banged up—Celtics team. They had momentum in the first half. But first-half leads are rarely safe in the modern NBA. New York played a great fourth quarter, except for a poor decision to not foul Jayson Tatum before he launched a late three-pointer, and they looked equally confident in overtime.
But a loss is a loss. And this particular one brings the Knicks to 0-4 against Boston this season. They have one more shot to register a win against one of the top two teams in the East (Cleveland Cavaliers). Otherwise, they’ll be 0-8—an ominous sign for a deep playoff run.
Knicks must arrive at a consistent rotation
And as alluded to above, there are some things to fix. And the team’s rotation and how it uses its role players is a main one. Coach Thibodeau’s philosophy of relying on his starters makes sense, especially for a team with this much talent. But playing your starters between 37 and 47 minutes is just too much. Knicks starters played an average of about 41.5 minutes, whereas Celtics starters played about 37.5 minutes each. That's noteworthy.
But the fix isn't as simple as playing bench players more. It's about the mix of guys on the court. Granted, Robinson needs to get more than 15:44—unless he's not entirely healthy (but he looks significantly healthier than he did after returning from an injury last season).
However, Thibodeau needs to remember that he doesn't need starters on the floor together at every possible opportunity. He can put Miles McBride in for Brunson and let Bridges get more touches, like he did in Brunson's absence. He can use Robinson and Towns together, which he hasn't done much so far. But no matter what he does, he needs to figure out how to better use his bench—which is admittedly easier said than done.
Knicks role players must step up
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While the rotation will be vital, it won’t matter if the team’s role players don’t play well. And that was the case against Boston, at least offensively.
Bridges scored only 14 points on six-for-15 shooting, which continued his poor play against elite competition. But it was about more than just Bridges.
McBride scored five points on two-for-five shooting. Josh Hart had 10 on five-for-14 shooting. And OG Anunoby scored 13 on 5-for-13 shooting.
To clarify, that’s a combined 18-for-47, or 39% from the field. That won’t get it done. It puts far too much pressure on Jalen Brunson and Towns. At least one, if not more, of those guys must score. And they must do so more efficiently. Otherwise New York becomes too easy to defend.
Granted, Thibodeau can put them in better positions to get going, which (also) relates back to rotations. But it’s hard to blame the coach for poor shooting across the board.
Ultimately, the recent loss to Boston wouldn't be seen as such a disaster if not for the fact that the Knicks are now 0-7 against the East's elite. New York played well and showed a good deal of grit, fighting back in the third quarter after surrendering an early lead.
Yes, the Knicks have to figure out how to match up with the Celtics. However, Robinson might be the key—and maybe Thibodeau is simply trying to keep him healthy for the playoffs.
Either way, the Knicks have two big tests remaining, which means two opportunities to make these fixes. The first comes on Thursday against the Detroit Pistons, and the next is a Friday night home game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. How New York responds to this recent loss will speak volumes.
