In an NBA regular season game that ended today, the New York Knicks lost 97-112 to the Milwaukee Bucks, after they had lost back-to-back games to the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors, thus suffering a three-game losing streak, after which the Knicks' record this season has fallen to 12-15. Coupled with the fact that they will face the in-form Golden State Warriors in the next game, it is likely that they will suffer four straight losses this week.
For a team like the Knicks, which was expected to be a playoff contender, now only ranked twelfth in the East, it is definitely not an acceptable start. While that doesn't mean their season is hopeless, after all they're just three wins behind the Philadelphia 76ers, who are sixth in the East, and have 55 games to play, they still have time to make adjustments, but they definitely need to make one or two major changes to do that.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has lost the unhurried coaching style of the past this season, showing a sense of unexpected urgency, and has made several changes to the starting lineup, first kicking starting point guard Kemba Walker out of the starting lineup and putting Alec Burks in the starting lineup; then having Norlens Noel replace Duncan Robinson as the starting center; and finally derrick Rose replacing Burks as the starting point guard in today's game. The Knicks' current starting lineup, which consists of Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, R.J. Barrett, Julius Randall and Noel, has not had the desired effect, losing as much as 13.3 points per 100 possessions, making it one of the Knicks' worst-performing lineups. Apparently, Thibodeau's change of formation has not had any effect, since Walker sat on the bench, the team's record is only 2 wins and 6 losses, and since Robinson was on the bench, the team's record is only 1 win and 3 losses.
1 Starter Emmanuel Quikli pushed Fournier onto the bench
Quakerley, who is just 22 years old, has performed well over the past month, averaging 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in the last 19 games, shooting 42 per cent,37 per cent or 94 per cent, respectively.
Fourniers has been very poor after signing a four-year, $78 million contract in the offseason (the fourth year was the team option), and he has not been able to establish a good chemistry with other players, and the result is that the team has played better this season without him. Although he started all 27 games for the Knicks this season, he didn't play in the fourth quarter in 13 of them, and inaccurate shooting combined with poor defense often led to his abandonment by Thibodeau at the end of the third quarter.
By contrast, Quakely is currently in the lead in terms of playing time and scoring in the fourth quarter, and he has shot 44 percent from three-point range in the fourth quarter of the season, and if Thibodeau has trusted Quirkley instead of Fournier to end the game, then he should also trust Quickley to start the game.
Moving Fournier to the bench is also good for him, and the Knicks' second-team usually adopts a fast-paced, run-and-run offensive style, which may allow him to get back to the rhythm of the game as soon as possible, while also covering up his shortcomings on the defensive end to the greatest extent.
2 Let Obi-Topping start and Noel sit on the bench
If Thibodeau really wants to change the starting lineup, then this could be a high-risk, high-reward option. Noel is an excellent blocker and defender, but his role on the offensive end is almost negligible, which allows opposing defenders to often calmly pinch Randle, which has also led to a sharp turn for Randall's form this season.
The best way to solve this problem is to get Topping into the starting line-up. Topping is the only Knicks player to break expectations this season, averaging 8.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, shooting a whopping 53 percent from the field, which translates to 19.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per 36 minutes played. Topping has improved every game, and in his most recent game, he scored a career-high 19 points and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.
Thibodeau is also getting more comfortable getting to play Topin, who has averaged 19 minutes per game in the last five games, compared to just 15.1 minutes per game in his first 21 games, and it's clear that he may be preparing for a more important role.
At the same time, Toppin also formed an excellent chemistry with Randle, and achieved success in the limited playing time, and in the 90 minutes of the joint presence this season, the Knicks can net outperform their opponents by 5.3 points per 100 rounds, which is higher than any Knicks lineup involving Randle this season. While the Knicks' defensive ability could regress in the absence of a real block threat, the upfront combination of Toppin and Randle could provide enough offensive firepower to overcome any potential defensive missteps.
If the Knicks continue to lose, Thibodeau's position should be in jeopardy, and under pressure he will soon make adjustments to the starting lineup, and I believe that either of these two changes may make the Knicks re-enter the playoffs.