NY Knicks: Can Obi Toppin and Kevin Knox get out of the Thibodeau doghouse?

The NY Knicks have had to make lineups on the fly lately, and yet, Tom Thibodeau’s team has not been able to get Obi Toppin and Kevin Knox significant minutes. Looking at the standings and the way the Knicks have played of late, it’s hard to be too upset with lineup and development problems on the roster. Yet with the team having so many players in and out of the lineup due to injury, it’s left some fans wondering why youngsters Kevin Knox and Obi Toppin haven’t gotten a bigger opportunity.

The win-now mindset of Tom Thibodeau and his staff has gotten The Knicks to where they are today, and really, the uproar for more playing time for Ntilikina, Knox, and Obi Toppin hasn’t been very loud because of the team’s success. The NY Knicks themselves seem to constantly be finding luck on the schedule. It seems like most of the games they’ve played, they’ve gone against teams who have been missing their best players due to injury. Will the tight rotations continue if the Knicks remain shorthanded?

NY Knicks: It’s now or never for Kevin Knox

We have to look at these situations differently for both Knox and Toppin. Toppin is still a rookie and will be under contract for a few years. For 3rd-year forward Kevin Knox, his future is a lot murkier, and the patience is a lot thinner among fans.

The Knicks don’t have a lot of depth at wing. They’ve been playing a lot of smaller lineups that feature multiple guards to compensate for the lack of depth, but maybe Kevin Knox can offer them some solid bench minutes? His skillset can certainly mesh well with the faster-paced 2nd unit.

Even in the team’s last game against the Wizards where Reggie Bullock and Julius Randle were injured, Knox registered just 12 minutes of action, scoring 5 points on 3 shots. Knox was playing more at the beginning of the season, and he certainly can offer the team some help on offense. From Cleaning The Glass, Knox is 86th percentile among wings in corner threes. His shooting is an asset off the bench – Why not experiment with Knox and the high-octane backcourt of Derrick Rose and Immanuel Quickley?

It’s a great opportunity to see where Knox is as a player because the former Rising Star is all but an afterthought at this point. Even if the team is confident he won’t be in the long-term plans (Which seems likely), why not get him on the court at least 15 minutes per game? His trade value has all but plummeted.

NY Knicks: Obi Toppin’s lack of positional versatility

With the All-Star season Julius Randle has had, it makes you wonder how Obi Toppin fits in with the team not only now but long-term. The Knicks have control over Toppin for a few years and there is still a good chance he can become a nice role player for them. There have been moments earlier in the season where Toppin looked like he could fit in with the Knicks’ 2nd unit. The more up-tempo style of play complemented his skillset.

With all of the NY Knicks’ backcourt injuries, it’s hurt Toppin’s ability to produce and be the beneficiary of the Knicks’ playmakers. How do you get creative with Obi Toppin? He’s too small to guard bigs (Which is fine at the stretch-4) but his tight hips and lack of lateral quickness are just not enough to guard wing players. If the Knicks had a lot of minutes to give at the power forward spot, you could see a pathway for Toppin to break through – But that’s the spot where king Julius Randle has thrived and played 37.1 minutes per game.

Is there a way to experiment with a Randle-Toppin frontcourt? Maybe, but that’s essentially giving up all of your interior defense. Maybe it’s some the team will be forced to look at with Mitchell Robinson missing extended time. Either way, it’s not something a Tom Thibodeau team is likely to do.

I think of the two, Kevin Knox has a more obvious route to be inserted into the lineup. The Knicks need scoring on the wing, and they can use Knox in a variety of funky lineups. He showed some strides on defense early on in the season but has now been entirely yanked from the rotation.

For Toppin, he was a draft pick from the current regime and you know they want him to succeed — But they’ll have to be creative in getting him more involved. It may have to wait until next season.

The NY Knicks are going to have some tough matchups against healthy teams in the next month, and they’ve had some veteran role players (Nerlens Noel, Taj Gibson Reggie Bullock) play heavy, heavy minutes. We’ll see if the team awards Kevin Knox and Obi Toppin some more chances to grow on the court.