New York Knicks: 3 Adjustments the team needs to make right now
By Adam Kester
New York Knicks: Obi Toppin needs a larger role
To be 100% honest, this is not something I foresaw happening this season.
It has felt like everything has been stacked up against Obi Toppin since he joined the New York Knicks.
Playing the same position as last season’s NBA’s minutes leader, his teammate, Julius Randle. His limited positional versatility. His lack of defense on a Tom Thibodeau-coached team. Being more comfortable in transition than in the halfcourt on a team that plays at a slower pace.
Yet, all Obi Toppin has done is work on his weaknesses and find ways to assert his playstyle and his skillset every time he’s on the court.
Good players can only be so limited by their team’s philosophy. Talent always shines through, and that’s exactly what is happening with Obi Toppin this season.
He is far from a finished product, but his assertiveness, focus, and impact on any given game is light-years from where it was last season.
The New York Knicks’ offensive efficiency when Obi Toppin is on the court increases by +16.2 points per 100 possessions. Their defensive allows 11 fewer points per 100 possessions with Toppin on the court.
Yes, part of that is how good the Knicks’ 2nd unit has been overall, but even when Toppin has shared the court with some starters, his presence has been felt.
Thibs has been reluctant to have Toppin and Randle on the court together. He likes the rotation of Nerlens and Taj as the backup, bruiser centers.
I get sticking to your philosophy, but if something unfamiliar is working, you have to just throw yourself into that new territory as an adaptable coach.
Toppin is the Knicks’ most devastating rim runner. It seems as though every time he’s running off-ball, he’s getting himself wide-open and you can hear the air being sucked from the audience as they prepare for an alley-oop.
He is a key contributor to this team and brings elements of basketball that really no one else on the Knicks has. However it happens, he needs to be incorporated more.