Not long ago, it looked like Tyler Kolek might be the New York Knicks’ backup point guard of the present and future. Though he has since flamed out of the rotation, if Mike Brown remains bent on playing lineups without both Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, it might be time to dust him off.
The notion is absurd upon first, second, and third consideration. Kolek has not been part of the non-garbage-time rotation since mid-January, and was very clearly not part of the postseason plan before it tipped off.Â
Reintegrating him now, when the stakes are rising, would be ridiculous. You know, almost as ridiculous as continuing to play a lineup that has neither KAT nor JB nor anyone bearing resemblance to an offensive initiator.Â
Mike Brown’s no-star lineups need a changeÂ
Despite struggling to generate offense in Game 2 against the Atlanta Hawks when leaving Brunson and Towns on the bench to start the second and fourth quarter, Brown intimated that he’d continue leaning on similar no-star looks moving forward. This is to some extent admirable.
While the Knicks’ offense is league-worst material for the year without either KAT or JB in the game, the overarching returns later in the year. And if there’s anything we know about March and April basketball in the NBA, it’s that you can absolutely trust it.Â
Even if you do trust it (please don’t), success is more predicated on the defense than the offense. That’s why Brown’s pet no-star lineups are heavy on OG Anunoby, Deuce McBride, and Mitchell Robinson. He has most recently rounded them out with Jordan Clarkson, and Landry Shamet.
You’ll notice there isn’t a primary playmaker in the bunch. You’ll also notice every single one of those players gets the majority of their buckets off assists. They aren’t built to be efficient self-starters, or lifelines for others.Â
Brown did pepper in Jose Alvarado during Game 2 as an alternative to Shamet or Clarkson. That didn’t do the trick, either. The Knicks’ OG-plus-bench units averaged 0.56 points per possession—so disastrous it’s impressive.
By god, that might be Tyler Kolek’s music
If Brown continues down this path, Kolek might as well get a look. He isn’t a premier scorer or reliable shooter, and his turnovers can be painful. But he’s more likely to run quality offense than Alvarado, or McBride, or Shamet, or Clarkson, or—well, you get the point.
Kolek’s playmaking alone would be a welcomed infusion under these circumstances. He knows how to find bigs on the move, push the tempo, find shooters off live dribbles, the whole shebang.Â
Yeah, if he was a sure thing, he'd already be in the rotation. Still, the offensive numbers when he plays without Brunson or Towns aren’t any worse than what we’re seeing now.Â
Plus, the Knicks can’t get bogged down by sure things when no-JB-and-KAT lineups are inherently anything but. Kolek at least has the vision no one else does. Not long ago, remember, he was considered the potential antidote to Towns’ fluctuating offensive involvement.
Make no bones about it, the Knicks shouldn’t be turning to a break-in-case-of-emergency option. Not now. Re-staggering Brunson and Towns would be safer. If they wanted those two to be a package deal, they should have traded for a truer floor general at the deadline.Â
They didn’t. The personnel they have now is it. In all likelihood, this will force Brown to shift his rotation. If it doesn’t, though, rolling the dice on Kolek reps shouldn’t be out of the question.
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