The New York Knicks fell to the Detroit Pistons 124-119 tonight. New York has struggled all season to beat good teams, and the loss versus Detroit continued that showing.
The Knicks are 5-9 versus teams with 20+ wins, and that’s not good for a team that’s supposed to be championship contenders. They are also 0-5 versus the top two seeded teams in each conference.
Investing too much into a starting five can hurt a team in the long run. New York has one of the best starting units in the association, but there has to be a balance from the bench.
Why It’s Not Completely Working
The starting core of Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges is one of the most effective in the league. They can score and defend against anybody. The issue is, who is there to bail them out?
New York traded away some depth in order to get Towns and Bridges. So far, it’s been a blessing and a curse.
The blessings are obvious, as the Knicks can score at will and light up opposing defenses. The ultimate curse is the lackluster ability of the second unit.
Deuce McBride, Cam Payne, Precious Achiuwa and Landry Shamet provide the most minutes off the bench for the Knicks. This is simply not a good enough rotation in order to contend for a championship.
The Torture of Thibodeau
Tom Thibodeau is considered one of the best coaches in the association, but he’s known for playing his guys many, many minutes.
In last year’s playoffs, this potentially was a factor in why many of the Knicks players suffered injuries. The workload amongst the team was vital, and that same impact could happen again this season.
New York cannot afford an injuries to a team that’s already struggling with depth. If a main component to the team goes down, they will struggle against any great team in the league.
Thibs may not have an option to play his guys less minutes though. The Knicks bench is so weak that the starters have to play nearly the entire game.
Karl-Anthony Towns has played his most minutes per game since the 2017-18 season, and for a first year guy on a new team, this says a lot. The other new addition Mikal Bridges is logging his highest minutes per game by far at 38.9 (!).
Josh Hart is logging his most minutes ever per game at 37.5. He is the x-factor for the Knicks, so he must be treated with caution.
Looking Forward
The Knicks have a lot of thinking to do. Mitchell Robinson is on pace to return soon, and that would be huge for New York’s depth.
Trading for a bench piece by the deadline would be ideal as well, but the Knicks don’t have too many hot assets to offer teams.
Investing into your starting five is key to win, but going overboard could hurt you in the long game.
