The New York Knicks are heading to Miami with their Eastern Conference semifinal tied at one game apiece, but if they want to have a chance to win the series, they are going to need more production from their bench.
Production from the Knicks bench doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of points. They haven’t had a high-scoring bench for most of the season, in large part because head coach Tom Thibodeau plays his starters so much. In fact, since settling on their nine-man rotation, the Knicks bench has played just 15.6 minutes per game, which is 29th in the NBA.
This season, the bench scored just 27.6 points per game, good for 28th in the league; yet, their bench had a plus/minus of 1.8, which was 2nd-best in the entire league. They also ranked 3rd in the entire NBA in net rating since switching up the rotation, finishing 15th in offensive net rating and 8th in defensive rating.
That has changed in the playoffs.
In the playoffs as a whole, the Knicks rank 6th out of 10 remaining teams in net rating from their bench and 9th in offensive rating. They are getting 24.6 points and 13.3 rebounds per game from their bench with a 1.4 plus/minus that ranks 6th of the 10 remaining playoff teams.
However, in the two games against Miami, the Knicks bench is averaging 13.5 points, which is dead last of the remaining teams, and 9.0 rebounds, which is 6th. They also have a -0.8 plus/minus, which is also 6th of the remaining teams.
After thoroughly outplaying the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench in round one, it’s now the Knicks bench that has been consistently outplayed by Miami, whose bench is averaging 26 points and 10 rebounds per game in the series.
That’s with Jimmy Butler being out for Game 2 and one of their top bench scorers, Caleb Martin, becoming a starter. Miami’s bench outscored New York’s 30-15 in Game 1 with Butler playing, thanks to 18 points from Kyle Lowry and nine from Martin. In Game 2, the Heat bench outscored the Knicks bench 17-12, behind nine points from Duncan Robinson and six from Lowry.
Some of this lack of production could be that Thibodeau has moved Josh Hart into the starting rotation, removing arguably the most impactful player from the Knicks’ bench.
That decision was partly due to Quentin Grimes battling a shoulder injury but also partly due to the matchup. Thibodeau mentioned before Tuesday’s game that Hart’s ability to rebound “factored into it. His size and physicality I think are important, and the matchup with Butler was a concern.”
“Then, the way the Cleveland series ended, I thought that was our best chance.”
While Hart has been a solid addition to the Knicks’ starting lineup, it has left the bench wanting and nobody has stepped up to truly fill the void in the second unit. In particular, Immanuel Quickley has continued a really poor stretch of offensive basketball that has seen his shot not fall and him commit turnovers due to uncharacteristic indecision.
“We need him,” said Thibodeau after the Game 2 win, stressing that he still does have confidence in Quickley. “I don’t want him overthinking it. Shoot your shots. When he’s aggressive and attacking, he’ll be fine.”
Quickley has played strong defense throughout the entire playoffs, but the Knicks will certainly need him to figure it out a bit on offense with both Brunson and Randle playing at less than 100% with ankle injuries.
As it stands now, only Isaiah Hartenstein has been the only consistent contributor off of the bench, and he’s rarely a scorer. After Obi Toppin had a strong game starting for Randle in Game 1, he struggled in Tuesday’s win, content to fire up shots from deep and consistently late on his defensive rotations while posting zero points and one rebound in 10 minutes.
It’s not like Thibodeau hasn’t given the bench chances. In Game 2, he began the second quarter with a five of RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Grimes, Hartenstein, and Toppin. Yet, the usually up-tempo unit was unable to get points in transition, opting instead to settle for looks beyond the arc. They scored no points in the first three minutes and turned the ball over twice before Thibodeau brought Robinson and Brunson back in.
Despite the second unit’s struggles to start the second quarter, Thibodeau went back to the exact same lineup to start the fourth. While they were able to score more efficiently this time, they were still outscored by Miami 13-9 and had the Knicks trailing 90-85 with eight minutes to play in the game.
Everybody has acknowledged that the Heat series is going to be a grind. In a physical series like this, it’s crucial for your starters to be able to get rest and not run their bodies into the ground. Especially when two of those starters are working hard just to get on the court.
If the Knicks don’t get more from their bench then they may wind up asking too much of Randle and Brunson, who are both already giving everything they can.
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