Though the New York Knicks are only a few games into their schedule, they are already facing a dilemma that could define their season: They clearly are not as deep as they thought.
Winning their first two games of the year papered over a smattering of bench-mob struggles. But the Knicks could not overcome those same issues in Sunday’s loss to the Miami Heat.
On a night in which Karl-Anthony Towns struggled, and also delivered too many of his trademark ticky-tack fouls, the back of the Knicks’ rotation wilted—as it has, frankly, for much of the season.
Guerschon Yabusele continues to miss wide-open threes, and get blown by on the defensive end. The Jordan Clarkson signing is so far looking like a mistake. We are seeing why New York didn’t necessarily want to rely on Tyler Kolek for regular minutes. We are also seeing why Landry Shamet, his try-hard defense in mind, couldn’t nab more than a training-camp deal over the offseason.
Chalking the Knicks’ loss to the Heat up to a shorthanded rotation and many missed threes is perfectly fine. Ignoring these issues altogether, though, would be a mistake.
The Knicks are supposed to be built to navigate off-nights
Nothing underscores the fragility of New York’s depth than the stretches it has attempted to log without Towns and Jalen Brunson.
In large part because KAT picked up an early fourth foul, the Knicks tallied six minutes against the Heat without either one of its stars on the floor. Those stints proved untenable. New York was outscored by seven points in those six minutes, which is the equivalent of a minus-55.5 net rating.
This isn’t a one-off issue, either. The Knicks totaled six no-KAT-or-JB minutes through their first two games. While they outscored opponents by a point over this span, the offense has absolutely cratered. New York is averaging under a point per possession (which is terrible!), and shooting sub-34 percent on twos, as well sub-29 percent on threes.
“Small sample” doesn’t even begin to describe the body of work with which we’re working. Twelve total minutes will not define an entire season, and the Knicks, quite frankly, shouldn’t be racking up a bunch of no-star minutes in the first place.
At the same time, effective depth is able to work around curveballs: injuries, foul trouble, off-nights, etc. New York isn’t checking enough of those boxes when the majority of the top of the roster is anything less than awesome.
New York doesn’t need to sound the alarm just yet
The good news for New York: It’s still early. Its depth can turn around.
Josh Hart will continue to work his way into game shape after missing much of the preseason with a back issue. Yabusele will (hopefully) play himself into shape. Clarkson will hit more shots. Kolek will have a higher baseline. Deuce McBride will be back. Mitchell Robinson could be nearing his regular-season debut, too.
Let’s also not forget the Knicks are implementing a brand new offense. Growing pains are part and parcel of that process. To that end, head coach Mike Brown deserves credit for not overly concerning himself with winning a road game in October.
He could pull Yabusele or Clarkson from the rotation entirely, and not receive much push-back. Continuing to play them will benefit New York by the end of the season. Either they don’t pan out, in which case the Knicks will know it for sure. Or they’ll work themselves out of this rut, in which case the team will be deeper, and just generally better off.
Evaluating New York with an iron stomach, an open mind, and within the context of who they’re missing is important. Even amid imperfections, the Knicks have the look and feel of a contender. Their pain points may resolve themselves over time. There’s also the chance they don’t.
It’s paramount to track them, to spotlight them, until we know for sure.