3 Terrifying realities opposing teams have to recognize with the Knicks
Teams will be petrified of the Knicks’ Bench
If you take a look at most of the recent NBA champions, something they all have in common is a deep bench. The Bucks had Bryn Forbes and Bobby Portis, the Lakers had Kyle Kuzma and Rajon Rondo, and the Raptors had Fred Van Fleet and Serge Ibaka. The list goes on.
When you look at the Knicks’ roster, it’s easy to see how much this organization values their bench unit. By signing Kemba Walker, it allows New York to keep Derrick Rose as the reserves’ floor general alongside Alec Burks (who shot over 40% from 3 last season), Nerlens Noel (who was top 5 in blocked shots per game last year), Immanuel Quickley, Obi Toppin, and more players who can serve as a spark.
The intimidation factor with this reserve unit is legit. So far this season, the New York Knicks reserves are 5th in the NBA with 39.2 points per game and dish out 8.6 assists per game as well. With workload being a controversial topic on the team last year the reliability of this second unit will keep important players like Julius Randle well rested and really give opposing benches the jitters.
With all of this production, the potential this Knicks team as a whole is really spooky for the opposition and you never know who’s going to beat you. Surely you can mainly prepare defensively for the Randles, Walkers, etc. but the entire NBA is in for a rude awakening and will be biting their fingernails when they see New York around the top of the power rankings throughout the season.
Happy Halloween and Bing Bong!