Thousands of factors, large and small, contributed to the New York Knicks’ ridiculous comeback win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1.
But the cherries on top of the comeback were Landry Shamet’s late 3-point makes, which sealed things in the Knicks’ favor.
Those shots, including the improbable bounce that changed MSG’s groans to cheers, wouldn’t have happened without New York’s utilization of the G-League as a way to stay under the league’s scary salary cap aprons. It was a perfect example of the team's front office's madness – and just how far it can carry them.
Knicks' G-League hijinks wound up saving their ECF chances
New York’s front office has never shied away from unconventional moves, with their trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns and firing of Tom Thibodeau representing their most risky.
But getting crunch-time contributions from Landry Shamet, perhaps the most improbable closer on Tuesday, represented the rewards of an underratedly insane (and shrewd) move from the team's braintrust, led by Leon Rose and William Wesley.
In the sharpshooter’s first season with the Knicks, he suffered a shoulder injury that put the team in a precarious situation given their proximity to the salary cap’s first apron.
The team’s front office, in a move that screamed cap-strategist Brock Aller, acquired the top two picks in that year’s G-League Draft – and used both on Shamet and Matt Ryan, allowing them to remain “in the green” without losing the pair of veterans.
Shamet was able to continue his recovery as a member of the Knicks organization. And eventually rehabilitated his shoulder, allowing him to return after missing several months.
While Shamet didn’t end up playing much of a role after that return, he definitely put enough on tape to impress Mike Brown. The coach was seemingly enamored with Shamet’s contributions the year before, pushing for him to make the roster this year as a result.
Brown even went as far as to joke(?) after Shamet got hurt this year that he’d cover his salary himself, just to keep the veteran around. And fans saw exactly why throughout the season, when Shamet contributed regularly to the team's rotation and even logged a new single-game career-high of 36 points.
His role in the Knicks' gigantic comeback on Tuesday was the ultimate vindication of the Knicks' front office's core belief that no margin is too small to dominate. It helped them exorcise the demons Tyrese Haliburton left in their building after the same game – of the same round – last season. And it might continue to be key to how they handle the challenges the Cavaliers can present.
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