With Mitchell Robinson sidelined and Karl-Anthony Towns eventually fouling out during the New York Knicks’ Wednesday night loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, head coach Mike Brown quickly decided to roll center-less during the minutes without the latter. And it paid off.
Entering the tilt versus Oklahoma City, New York had logged 23 total minutes without a center all season. Against the Thunder, the Knicks totaled roughly 6.5 minutes of no-bigs action alone. They ended up winning those stretches by a total of eight points—a huge deal in a game they lost by three points.Â
Three separate units populated these small-ball groups. First, there was Jalen Brunson, Jose Alvarado, Landry Shamet, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart. That fivesome didn’t look so hot. After them, Brown used Brunson, Shamet, Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Jeremy Sochan to close the final 98 seconds of the third quarter. That quinteet promptly rattled off a 5-0 run, with Sochan taking on the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander assignment.
Finally, the Knicks deployed Brunson, Shamet, Bridges, Anunoby, and Hart for nearly three minutes in the fourth quarter. They, too, outscored the Thunder by five while forcing two turnovers on Oklahoma City’s five total offensive possessions.
A few minutes of action isn’t enough to demand this look become a staple. But it’s a highly useful tool to have in the ever-experimental Mike Brown’s belt for two massive reasons.
Mitchell Robinson may empower the Knicks to go small
First and foremost, we have the Mitchell Robinson of it all. He has not played back-to-backs all season. Those will not be an issue in the playoffs. There’s also no guarantee his maintenance program pans out. Robinson is no stranger to injuries. It’s not a stretch to envision him getting banged up while playing more minutes, or in an extra-physical environment.
It isn’t just about his health, either. It’s his foul shooting.Â
Robinson is converting under 40 percent of his free throws. Coaches other than Joe Mazzulla may consider intentionally fouling him early in hopes of removing him from the game.Â
If he’s not making his gimmes, the Knicks will have to pull him. And if that happens early enough, they are unlikely to overtax Towns, or lean heavily upon Ariel Hukporti. Turning to combos with Hart or Sochan as the de facto 5 could be a solution—particularly in matchups and opposite lineups that don’t pit the Knicks against dual-big frontcourts.
Playing without a center could be a necessary change of pace
Aside from Robinson, New York also has a starting-lineup problem. Despite notching better numbers than last season, the opening five has proven solvable on too many occasions. Defenses continue to treat Hart like a non-factor, which can gum up the works even when he’s making shots, and the Brunson-KAT defensive combination is forever at risk of being highly flammable.
Red flags are most pronounced against the league’s best teams. After finishing a minus-10 against Oklahoma City, the Knicks’ starters are now have a net rating of minus-8.5, with a lamentable 102.1 offensive rating, versus top-five squads—two of which, the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons, are located on the Eastern Conference side of the playoff bracket.
Small-ball won’t be a viable alternative against virtually any Pistons lineup. It could be a useful weapon when the Celtics don’t have Nikola Vucevic on the court. Similar looks may have value versus the Cleveland Cavaliers when they go with Evan Mobley-at-the-5. This could work against most Miami Heat combinations as well. Or any Philadelphia 76ers lineup without Joel Embiid.
The list of situational utility goes on. The point of it is not to suggest the Knicks have to play small. It’s to illustrate that, when it comes down to it, they can. They proved as much against Oklahoma City, the gold-standard for title contenders. You never know when or where it’ll come in handy again.