The final moments of a challenging third quarter were ticking away inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. With the New York Knicks already trailing by 13 points in Saturday`s crucial Game 6, forward Josh Hart pushed the pace on a 3-on-1 fast break, aiming to narrow the deficit before the last period.
Knicks reserve guard Deuce McBride had just stolen the ball from Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and passed it to Hart, who needed to make a smart decision to secure points. However, in a play that seemed to capture the Knicks` struggles that night, Hart threw a hopeful lob toward Karl-Anthony Towns that hit the backboard, giving Indiana a reprieve.
Just as they had throughout the game, the Pacers capitalized on the miscue, turning it into a rapid fast break opportunity. Haliburton sprinted down the court and finished with a dunk in just three seconds, extending Indiana`s lead to 15 points entering the fourth quarter. The Eastern Conference champions then decisively closed out the game.
It was a frustrating night for the Knicks, who, after a nearly flawless Game 5 performance to avoid elimination at home, were uncharacteristically careless in Game 6. This kind of defeat – both the specific game and the series outcome – is likely to linger with the team and its fans throughout the summer.
Yet, despite the missed opportunities against the Pacers, including a collapse in Game 1, it`s undeniable that the Knicks exceeded expectations in their first season with a revamped core. The clear shift in strategy in New York, following two major trades – acquiring Mikal Bridges in July and Towns just before training camp – led to an unexpected postseason breakthrough.
Now, the focus for the Knicks will be on how they can build upon this run to reach the NBA Finals for the first time since 1999. Here are three key areas likely requiring attention for them to achieve that goal.
Consider a Permanent Starting Lineup Adjustment
In one of the season`s more surprising statistics across the league, the Knicks` starting five – by far the NBA`s most utilized lineup – was outscored by nine points from January 1st through the end of the regular season.
Despite this, New York still came remarkably close to reaching the Finals, which was unexpected. However, fueled by Jalen Brunson`s clutch scoring and the team`s resilient late-game execution, the Knicks repeatedly managed to win games, often masking the starters` slow starts and concerning data.
While the current starting five has potential for growth after their initial season together, coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks should be open to modifying the group, especially given that Thibodeau experimented with changes late in the postseason. Josh Hart himself reportedly suggested a lineup tweak – increasing center Mitchell Robinson`s minutes – near the end of New York`s series win over the Boston Celtics.
We saw a preview of what starting Robinson might look like this past week: the Knicks immediately became a much stronger offensive-rebounding team, and Towns gained a rim protector capable of moving well enough to contest shots even out to the three-point line. On the other hand, replacing Hart with Robinson makes the Knicks slower in transition, an area where Hart typically excels, and potentially more vulnerable to Robinson being intentionally fouled due to his poor free-throw shooting.
Strengthen and Deepen the Bench Rotation
Tom Thibodeau made some effective decisions during the Eastern Conference Finals. A particularly successful move was integrating guards Delon Wright and Landry Shamet into the rotation, which paid off almost instantly as the Knicks started generating stops against a previously unstoppable Indiana offense.
But for all the credit the coach deserves, if these two players could perform effectively under the intense pressure of the NBA Finals doorstep, then Thibodeau might have benefited from relying on those reserves more consistently throughout the regular season.
This observation isn`t meant to question Thibodeau`s job security this summer. He should be praised for finding ways to achieve such significant playoff success, even if there were alternative paths he could have explored during the regular season. Mikal Bridges, the NBA`s current iron man, essentially made this argument in March, stating that while players love to play, there was room for others on the Knicks roster to absorb more minutes.
Still, considering the immense minute load placed on New York`s starting five of Brunson, Hart, Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Towns, the end-of-season data hinted at potential diminishing returns at a certain point. This suggests that more players deserved playing time in those available minutes.
The Knicks face limitations in significantly improving their bench through traditional means, aside from hoping highly-regarded veteran free agents prioritizing a championship might sign for less expensive deals. New York`s reserves played the fewest minutes and scored the fewest points of any team this season. A staggering 93% of the team`s salary cap is dedicated to its top six players (the starting five plus Mitchell Robinson).
After Deuce McBride, who is under contract, the team`s eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh players – Wright, Shamet, Cameron Payne, and Precious Achiuwa – are all set to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
Find Ways to Better Leverage the Brunson-Towns Dynamic
After finishing just two wins shy of an NBA Finals appearance in their inaugural season together and both earning All-NBA selections, it might seem counterintuitive to critique the Brunson-Towns partnership.
However, maximizing this pairing`s effectiveness will be crucial for determining the team`s ceiling next season. Their initial integration was somewhat challenging. Towns saw the fewest shots per game among the starters in the first few contests. After this was highlighted following a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Brunson made a point of feeding Towns the ball more in the subsequent game against the Miami Heat. Towns responded with 44 points in that game, and his shot volume was rarely a topic of discussion during the rest of the regular season.
What was frequently discussed was the nature of the shots Towns was getting. Around the midpoint of the season, opponents began guarding Hart with their centers due to his shooting struggles. Conversely, opposing teams deployed guards and wings to defend Towns because they were better equipped to contest him on the three-point line.
The first round series against the Detroit Pistons, where Towns was guarded by Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren, provided perhaps the clearest illustration. Similar to the regular season, Towns performed better when defended by traditional big men compared to stronger wing players. Incorporating Deuce McBride into the lineup could potentially aid the offense by preventing teams from collapsing into the paint as they do against lineups featuring Hart.
However, the defensive side of their pairing was consistently exposed throughout the conference finals. It is incredibly difficult to construct an elite defense with Brunson, who is undersized, at guard and the foul-prone Towns anchoring the center position. While this might have been anticipated from the start, the point was emphatically driven home at times in the East Finals, when either Brunson, Towns, or both found themselves in foul trouble after being relentlessly targeted in pick-and-roll actions.
Whoever ultimately fills the final spot in the starting lineup would provide either more support at the rim for Towns (if someone like Mitchell Robinson is chosen) or help guarding the perimeter alongside Brunson and Bridges (if the fifth spot goes to someone like McBride). It`s telling that a defense featuring an elite wing defender like Anunoby and a former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in Bridges still frequently struggled to get stops. This highlights the inherent defensive limitations imposed by the guards and centers at the top and bottom of those specific defensive alignments.
