The New York Knicks have been hit by the injury bug, and it’s exposing one of the bigger issues on their team: Depth. Obviously, if everyone on the roster is healthy, then they don’t have much to worry about. But if one, two, or even three players go down, it forces players to step up. And they aren’t very well-prepared for that.
On Sunday night, this issue was clear as day. The Knicks pulled off a 106-100 win over the Orlando Magic, but their bench gave them almost nothing. That was because they were missing Karl-Anthony Towns and Landry Shamet.
After that, there isn’t much depth left on the roster.
Knicks depth could be a big issue in title quest
Now, it sounds obvious that a team would struggle without four of its rotation players. But the guys New York has ready to roll on its bench should be better equipped to fill in the gaps.
Jordan Clarkson is an NBA veteran whom the Knicks signed this summer to help give them decent minutes. Tyler Kolek has shown some promise as one of the Knicks’ sole youngsters.
Guerschon Yabusele was another offseason signing who was projected to be an important part of New York’s rotation. And Miles McBride, who is now also set to miss some time, is a legitimate NBA rotation player.
Yet by the end of the evening, the Knicks’ bench only managed to produce 20 points, shooting only 5-of-20 from the field. That mark includes a 1-of-7 showing from McBride and a 0-of-5 night from Clarkson.
New York should be one of the top contenders to come out of the Eastern Conference this season. The Knicks have one of the best rosters in the NBA, and the East is fairly weak.
But depth has never been more important to hunting a championship than it is right now. Injuries are inevitable, and players at the back end of the roster need to be ready to step up when the time comes.
On Sunday, New York got the win, but it was in spite of their poor bench performance. The backups didn’t give the Knicks what they needed, so what’s that going to look like in the playoffs?
Not having Towns hurt. Losing Shamet to an injury is a tough blow, too, as he emerged as an important piece of Mike Brown’s rotation. But that’s no excuse for how rough the depth has been at times this season.
They averaged the third-fewest bench points in the NBA at 32.0.
If the Knicks want to win a championship, their depth needs to be better.