To expand or not to expand: The Knicks’ rotation question

Several back-to-backs await the Knicks in the countdown to the playoffs. Should anything change in the meantime?

In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, the Knicks are on shaky ground.

Since Jalen Brunson walked off the floor with an ankle injury in an overtime loss in Tinseltown, the Knicks have gone 4-4. Does it feel like it’s been worse?

Thanks to a brutal travel schedule and the lack of their stabilizing point guard, the Knicks took embarrassing double-digit defeats at the hands of two teams playing Capture The Flagg.

In San Antonio, the Knicks (after an early KAT run) fell asleep at the wheel and saw themselves down nearly 30 points before violently storming back within eight, only for Seton Hall alum Sandro Mamukelashvili to have the best game of his life.

In Charlotte, their offense was stuck in neutral for 48 minutes as they limped through the second game of a road back-to-back without Brunson or a resting Mitchell Robinson.

After the game, Alan Hahn criticized Tom Thibodeau for playing an eight-man rotation in those circumstances:

Unfortunately for the Knicks, the race to the finish will be similarly brutal.

Starting on Tuesday with the war-torn Mavs visiting the Garden, the Knicks will be 12 games in 19 days to end the season, including four sets of back-to-backs.

After the clash with Dallas, the LA Clippers head into town the next day. A week later, the Knicks host Philly and play in Cleveland the next night. Just three days after that, they play one night in Atlanta and head home to play Phoenix the next day. Another four days later, they visit Detroit before heading home to host the Cavs.

In a span of 17 days, the Knicks have four sets of back-to-backs, with three involving late-night plane ride.

In all four sets, Mitchell Robinson will likely sit one of the games. With Ariel Hukporti appearing to be a no-go until the playoffs (if that), that leaves just eight rotation players, which could be untenable.

With the season winding down and their seeding still in comfortable shape, it’s fair to wonder whether the Knicks should spend the last 12 games of the season prioritizing getting to the playoffs in one piece.

We’ll look at both sides of the argument.

Expand the Rotation

This isn’t just about not playing eight when Mitchell Robinson is unavailable, of course.

It’s about managing the minutes of the three borderline overused wings in the Knicks’ rotation.

Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges all average at least 36.6 minutes per game, sitting top-six in the NBA. They are 1st, 3rd, and 11th in total minutes.

At some point, a breaking point may be reached, especially with Anunoby close to his first 70 game season since he was a rookie and just 44 minutes shy of a career high in total minutes.

The reason for this has been a substantial lack of depth at the wing position. Of course, the team has wings on the roster, but all appear unlikely to be positive contributors on a playoff team.

It’s not just the wings. The Knicks could play smaller and feature rookie point guard Tyler Kolek more, who dished out eight assists in Saturday’s win against the league-worst Wizards. However, with Deuce McBride banged up, it appears Kolek is getting his audition for next season anyway.

Speaking of next season, two-way rookie Kevin McCullar Jr. could challenge for a rotation spot next season now that he’s healthy. Back-to-back triple-doubles with the Westchester Knicks have brought him back into the public eye. Why not give him or Pacome Dadiet a look at these back-to-backs? What about two-way wing MarJon Beauchamp?

Here, I’ll lay it out for you.

In this upcoming doubleheader, the Knicks will need Mitchell Robinson in the back half against Ivica Zubac, who feasted on the boards in the first meeting without him.

If you rest him for Tuesday against a severely shorthanded Mavs team, it’ll open the door for opportunities for somebody to fill wing minutes with Achiuwa sliding to the five.

Same thing in the Sixers/Cavs back-to-back. Adem Bona is the current big man for the shorthanded 76ers compared to the Allen/Mobley duo. Rest Mitch for the first half, give opportunities to the young guys and go full throttle in the challenge in Cleveland.

Despite the Pacers’ five-game winning streak, the Knicks still sit 2.5 games clear of them for the third seed with the tiebreaker. They lead the Bucks by four games with the tiebreaker for home-court advantage. The magic number for the playoffs is three.

There’s minimal risk to giving young guys a shot, especially if it means letting the workhorses catch a breather or two.

Giving some of the rookies and other young guys some run can be beneficial towards giving them experience as they challenge for playing time next season.

Sprint to the Finish Line

Even from this vantage point, I can’t really defend an eight-man rotation in back-to-backs. Somebody has to step in to eat a few minutes.

That said, there’s a reason things are as they are right now.

A common misconception is that Tom Thibodeau does not play his bench, regardless of the level of talent on it.

In reality, Thibs has been more than willing to play into depth when it is a strength of the team. Just look at the box score from Opening Night 2023.

Back then, you had Donte DiVincenzo and Immanuel Quickley as your backup guard tandem. Today, it’s Cam Payne and Deuce McBride. Against the Hornets, the bench was as abhorrent as I’ve ever seen.

People have tried to compare the Knicks’ rookies to other contender’s rookies, saying there’s no excuse to not give them run, but both Ajay Mitchell and Jaylen Wells can fit into a role better than any of the Knicks’ rookies can.

Tyler Kolek has looked good in limited action, but that’s predominantly because of the level of competition. Do we seriously think he can play like this against a playoff team?

Pacome Dadiet would be in France if he didn’t take the 80% rookie scale. Kevin McCullar just got back from a year-long knee injury. They don’t play for a reason.

Further, the Pacers are red hot and the Knicks can’t afford to just give games away. If they finish strong, they can spend the last couple games resting everyone not named Brunson and Mikal (for the iron-man streak) once they lock up the third seed, giving rookies extended run.

What many people believe is that teams shouldn’t be afraid to mix things up when they’re struggling, which is true. However, you run the risk of living with the growing pains of young players impacting game performance. We’ve seen how one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch in lineups all season.

Just ride it out, play guys when necessary, and hope Brunson gets back healthy, which looks to be somewhat soon.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.