With two preseason games in the books, Knicks fans got a promising first look at their new squad following the shocking trade for All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns.
While we’ve yet to see regular season play, which comes with further questions and adjustments, their expected opening night rotation is starting to take shape.
With that in mind, let’s project the lineups and players head coach Tom Thibodeau is expected to run with to start this new season.
The starting five appears set in stone. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Josh Hart and Towns started the first two preseason games and will likely be the opening unit in Boston.
There are plenty of reasons to back these five. It arguably includes New York’s five best players, allows for seamless, stifling switching between the two and four spots, and pairs Brunson with two of his former Villanova teammates and Towns at center, spacing the floor.
Still, there could be modifications made down the line to watch out for if things don’t click like they’re supposed to. Miles McBride is the current sixth man, but he certainly has a case for taking Hart’s spot given his superior three-point shooting.
McBride can be switched around defensively, but inserting him could hurt the Knicks on the defensive boards — and takes a primary screener out of the lineup. While some fans are calling for this change now after two quiet offensive outings from Hart, they shouldn’t expect one until a solid 10+ games into the regular season.
Another look could be sliding Towns to the four and putting a traditional rim-protector at center. But with Mitchell Robinson out until December or January and their next choices being Jericho Sims and Ariel Hukporti, this will likely remain a situational look more than any kind of permanent solution.
So with the first five in tow, McBride will be first off the bench after a breakout year and playoffs, which carried into a 22-point opener in the preseason. While he subbed in for Bridges the first game, Brunson was the first seated on Wednesday night. But with McBride sidelined due to an illness it was Cameron Payne who took his place.
It will be interesting to see which starters Thibodeau decides to play heavily with the bench unit. He would commonly let one of Brunson or Julius Randle play out the entire first quarter last season, saving the other for an early second quarter substitution and minimizing minutes played without either star.
New York has a bit more optionality this year with Bridges, Anunoby, and Towns being capable of lifting backup units for stretches. Towns got his taste when Thibodeau played him for the entirety of the third quarter last game.
Their two wings aren’t going to have their usual scoring volumes next to Brunson and Towns, so expect them to get solid opportunities with the bench. Bridges is the NBA’s iron man and Thibodeau won’t be afraid to utilize him as such.
Smart money would be on Brunson or Bridges playing the entire first quarter and the back half of the second. Then Towns or one of the other starters would do the same in the second half.
Depending on if Thibodeau wants to run an eight or nine-man rotation, Hart could see a chunk of minutes in filling in gaps with both units. That will also determine how many reserves we’ll actually see on game night.
After McBride, Precious Achiuwa looks to be the go-to big man, able to play either the four or five. Thibodeau can opt for size and a more traditional center in Sims, but Achiuwa is the more developed piece at the moment, and units with both will look clunky.
With two all-but-locked-in bench players, it will be either or both of Payne and Landry Shamet filling out the lineup. Thibodeau spoke highly of both veterans coming out of training camp and he gave them major minutes in two preseason games.
Tyler Kolek is complicating matters after a couple of notable performances, though. His play is reminiscent of a rookie Immanuel Quickley sneaking up and stealing a rotation spot in 2020-21 — something Kolek is capable of doing if this keeps up.
The answer to this bench rotation may just end up being who’s rolling and who the Knicks are playing in a given matchup. They have the optionality to go big with Achiuwa and Sims, or small with the former and three bench guards.
Preseason and training camp are the only samples available thus far, but the real weight will be on the regular season. If a reserve isn’t playing up to par, Thibodeau won’t hesitate to nix them from the rotation in favor of someone who might.
Of course, injuries start to make an impact, too. So even if there’s a preferred rotation already in mind, anything can upend it at a moment’s notice. This is a projection, though, so here is the best guess off what we’ve seen so far:
PG: Brunson 35 | Payne 13
SG: Bridges 22 | McBride 26
SF: Anunoby 27 | Bridges 13 | Shamet 8
PF: Hart 35 | Anunoby 8 | Achiuwa 5
C: Towns 35 | Achiuwa 13
We’ll ultimately see what the Knicks go with, but this much is clear: their starting five is one of the best in the league, and they have some optionality around them. The pieces are there, but can Thibodeau maximize them to become a championship-winning team?
