The New York Knicks are seemingly getting things back on track after a four-game losing streak that had fans worried. That bounce-back has included the team getting rotation players healthy, having their top-eight fully available for the first time in months. Unfortunately for players like Jordan Clarkson and Tyler Kolek, that's resulted in them spending much less time on the floor. While the Knicks clearly value Kolek and his big-game performances, one thing is becoming clear: he's not part of Mike Brown's rotation when the team is at full strength.
Brown's rotation excludes Kolek when top-eight are healthy
Although the Knicks lost in embarrassing fashion on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to the Dallas Mavericks, Kolek barely got any run during the game. He played just three minutes total, scoring two points on three shot attempts in that time. It should be no knock on him as a player that he came in aggressive to a game that his team spent much of down by 30 points.
But even in Wednesday night's record-setting win over the Brooklyn Nets, Kolek only saw nine and a half minutes of playing time. It's fair to say that the entire second half of that game was worthy of a "garbage time" designation, but the Knicks played their core guys in the third quarter. Kolek didn't play until the fourth, when he was on the floor for the majority of the period with the team's younger group.
The second-year guard has come up huge for New York too many times for it to be a fluke. He was key to their NBA Cup Championship win over the San Antonio Spurs in Las Vegas, where Jalen Brunson made sure to credit him. His 3-pointers and nose for the ball helped the home team gift fans a Christmas Day win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
For a Knicks team that came into the season focused on playing as many players as possible and leaning into their depth as a way of getting to the postseason with as much health and data underneath them as possible, Kolek is a great fit. He's a clearly capable guard that provides ball-handling relief for Brunson, makes quick decisions with the basketball, makes the right decisions with the basketball, and understands that he needs to defend hard to stay on the floor.
For right now, he might not be part of their immediate plans. That's because of their second four-game losing streak of the season, a slump that made Brown and his core players hunker down and rediscover their love for the little things.
As the Knicks find their level, though, guys will need rest and rotation spots will open. It's on Kolek to continue to seize those opportunities, the way he has thus far. The team doesn't need to move him at the trade deadline by any means, unless they feel it's a necessary sacrifice for their championship window over the next few seasons.