The New York Knicks don’t know when Jalen Brunson will return, so the entire team needs to embody the next man up mentality.
The New York Knicks entered last week on a nine-game win streak. However, they would then go on a three-game skid before defeating the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, which kept them in the sixth seed and on pace to avoid the play-in.
But during this stretch, we’ve seen the value of having Jalen Brunson in crunch time. Although, if you’ve followed the team this season, there should’ve never been any question as to why Brunson is the most valuable player on this roster. His instant and efficient high-octane scoring is needed, and his cool, calm, and collectiveness are critical for this team to close out games.
Brunson is that guy who keeps this team organized throughout the matchup and late in the fourth quarter. Sure, Randle has his strong first quarter starts, Mitchell Robinson is a defensive force in the paint, and Immanuel Quickley and Josh Hart provide sparks off the bench. But New York has struggled throughout this five-game stretch because they don’t have their cold-blooded assassin. This team lost close battles to the Charlotte Hornets, Sacramento Kings, and Los Angeles Clippers because they didn’t have their crunch time closer.
But even though the Knicks are going through a rough patch, that doesn’t mean fans should sound the alarms and be in panic mode with New York currently in the sixth seed. The Brooklyn Nets now have the fifth seed because of their win percentage (they’ve played one game less than the Knicks), and the Miami Heat is 3 games behind the Knicks for the sixth seed.
On top of that, we don’t know how long Brunson will be sidelined. We know that he’ll miss tonight’s game against the Portland Trail Blazers. But that makes sense because New York doesn’t need to rush Brunson back since he’ll be most valuable for the playoffs.
Also, the Knicks are 4-4 when Brunson misses the entire game. So New York isn’t completely lost when Brunson misses matchups.
All the Knicks need to do is figure out how to stay afloat without Brunson, and there is a simple solution for how they can make that happen:
Guys need to step up. Plain and simple.
New York was able to rise to the challenge against the Lakers. But they’ll need to continue their next man up mentality while Brunson is on the mend.
So which Knicks need to step up in Brunson’s absence?
Immanuel Quickley
The first player I’m looking at is Immanuel Quickley. Since Brunson is out, IQ is now the much-needed floor general. And so far, we’ve seen Quickley perform in Brunson’s absence.
If IQ really wants to make a mark for Sixth Man of the Year, then he’ll need to continue to be as consistent as he has been since the Warriors game back in December. He doesn’t need to go off every night like he did against the Celtics (although that would greatly help), but he needs to be dependable on offense. Instead of settling for threes, he must continue to show off his versatility by attacking the lane, using his midrange jumper, and utilizing the pick-and-roll.
In terms of defense, we know Quickley has always been solid on that end.
RJ Barrett
As for RJ, he needs to show why he’s considered the third option on the team.
Now, he demonstrated that trait against the Lakers with his relentlessness and crafty finishing around the rim. But while we know his ability to drive to the hoop has improved, he needs that three-pointer to fall once again.
Currently, opponents are sagging and allowing him to shoot because he is shooting 28.4 percent from three (on 5.4 attempts) through the past 15 games. Once he can knock the three-ball down, the floor will open up for his game and allow his teammates to attack the paint. And sure, we’ve seen some midrange jumpers (even turnarounds) from him, but I’m not expecting that nightly.
RJ’s playmaking needs to be better as well. Too many times we see him barreling into the lane without looking for his teammates to kickout to on the perimeter. Of course, we’ll see some kick out passes from time to time or the occasional lob to Mitch. But more often than not, he isn’t finding his teammates this season.
As for Barrett’s defense, he has slightly improved through the last couple of weeks. His effort on rotating and contesting shots has been better. But it’s still not as consistent as last season.
Quentin Grimes
Quentin Grimes is another guy that needs to get going. We witnessed an excellent second half against the Kings and a solid opening performance against the Clippers. However, both showings raise concerns about Grimes and Tom Thibodeau.
First, let me start with Grimes. He must be more aggressive in Brunson’s absence and even when he returns. Quentin tends to defer, which causes him to fall to the wayside. But without Brunson, New York will need Grimes’ scoring and playmaking to stay in games.
As for Thibodeau, he needs to call some plays to get him going. Either that, or Thibs needs to recognize when Grimes is in a groove and tell his players to continue to find him. Too often, even recently against the Clippers, Grimes is forgotten about in the offense. He scored 7 points (3/6 from the field) in 12 minutes and, for the remainder of the game, had one shot attempt in the second and third quarter.
(As much as I appreciate Thibs’ good work, his failure to dictate the offense and recognize when guys are cooking continues to be one of his downfalls.)
Julius Randle
But the most significant need is for Randle to be himself. Thankfully, he was able to bounce back against the Lakers, but there are still parts of his game that need to change if he isn’t shooting the lights out.
For starters, New York should allow Quickley and the other guards to run the offense while Randle gets to his spots. As is typical for Julius when he is the primary playmaker for the entire game, he sets himself up for failure because he puts himself in poor positioning on the floor (backing down opponents from the three-point line instead of getting on the block) or he dribbles too much instead of making quick decisions to pass to an open teammate or attack the basket.
Secondly, Randle can’t allow bad games to detract him from how impactful he can be on the court. We have already seen him get frustrated against the Hornets, Kings, and Clippers.
As Ty Lou mentioned, the Clippers were looking to shake Randle and throw his game off from the jump. From the onset, Randle should know he will draw several double teams all game, especially with Brunson. So instead of getting himself activated, Julius should’ve recognized to get his teammates rolling early. Because if everyone else were scoring, then the double-teams would’ve occurred less frequently, giving Randle the looks he wanted. But instead, Julius forced a lot of shots to get into a rhythm, which was one of the many gripes with his inefficient play last season.
But the difference for this season is that we know Randle can ball out without Brunson. As I mentioned earlier, the Knicks are 4-4 in games without Brunson, and New York won those four games because Randle recognized the double teams. Now, you could say that New York faced weaker opponents for the most part (Spurs and Rockets), but the Spurs did defeat them the first time, and Randle balled out against the Celtics, a top team in the East. In the end, we are still talking about NBA talent, so any team can get served on any given night.
Now some are probably wondering why didn’t include Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart, and the rest of the bench. Well, those guys have limited expectations either because they’re not included in the offense enough (Miles McBride and Obi Toppin) or because they’ve already shown up every night (Mitch, Hart, and Hartenstein).
We should be patient to have serious concerns about the Knicks because of their current rough patch. All teams around the league have tough stretches at some point or another. But since the trajectory of New York has changed from the beginning of the season, these losses are magnified, considering how tight the fourth and fifth seeds are.
Let’s see if the Knicks can get this win against the Portland Trail Blazers. But as long as Brunson’s injury doesn’t keep him sidelined for too long and the Knicks can figure out how to keep their offense chugging along while he’s on the mend, this team should be well-positioned come playoff time.
Stay tuned to KnicksFanTV.com for the latest Knicks news, rumors, and recaps throughout the NBA season. And in case you missed it, check out CP’s interview with Hall of Fame Broadcaster, Mike Breen!
