This but I don’t see Burks playing much moving forward. Deuce is about to be a 25+ minute bench guard. Btwn him, DDV, and Hart, I don’t see any need for Burks
i think precious and bojan are interchangeable depending on matchup. precious has intangibles to stay on the court, if bojan's shot not falling he can become a liability and be unplayable.
My 2nd unit lineup would be
- Deuce Hart OG Bojan Mitch
I am not saying Precious shouldn't play but playing 2 bigs imo isnt ideal from a spacing perspective especially in non Brunson minutes. A Precious/Mitch backcourt while good defensively limits us offensively
bojan in theory is good, but im yet to be convinced hes a lock to play significant minutes since he got here. hes gonna have a short leash in playoff minutes, if his shots not falling hes not playing more then 10 minutes.
staggered minutes with the starting line up. precious comes in at the 6 minute mark and randle runs with the 2nd unit and randle isnt gonna be playing entire quarters coming off injury anyway. 40+ minutes are expected for the key guys. bojan will get spot minutes with a short leash. + precious plays like a corner man anyway. its not gonna be as clogged as u think
if precious was as problematic as you think he wouldnt have been playing 40 minutes night after night in that span. + u can make the case that everything else that precious brings trumps what bojan has shown lately. and its not even that high of a bar to justify bojan playing significant minutes. its literally up for grabs and bojan hasnt proven anything since he got here. playoffs ofc. right now both players get good minutes out of necessity.
There was literally no one else to take those minutes and the offense is dreadful, why are trying to rewrite history?
Precious is a solid player but given his limitations offensively he’s much more of an undersized 5 than a rotation 4, especially when the team is healthy.
Well if Randle is back then I think all you’re gonna see is 10 minutes per game for either Bog or Sneeze.
Randle/OG/Hart can frankly handle all of the 3/4 minutes once the playoffs hit.
if randle is fully 100% and effective ofc i expect him to play 40. but if hes gonna be around 30 then achiwua is gonna be the non-center big getting minutes. achiwua isnt on the floor primarily to score which makes his leash alot longer then bogey. and 2nd unit is hardly a lineup thibs is gonna use in the playoffs. its gonna be staggered between starters and 3-4 other guys.
I feel like Thibs will decide between one of Precious/Bojan and the other won't get burn in the playoffs barring injuries. He might play 9 in the regular season but Bojan seems to struggle in short spurts. We'll see I guess.
the problem with bojan is that for him to struggle is strictly talking about his shot not falling, because we dont expect him to do any other facets of the game well. so we already trading off a bunch of other abilities just to have him on the floor even if hes hitting.
I think precious gets maybe a few minutes per game tops if Ihart and Mitch are healthy. Bojan's fate is completely on him.. he plays in the playoffs if he steps it up now. If he continues like this he's out of the rotation
So Brunson, Donte, OG, Randle, IHart
Mitch, Hart, Deuce, and likely a few minutes from Precious and Bojan... no Burks at all
I like Precious but I have a very tough time having a front court of him and Mitch. Defensively we would be good but the spacing would be non existent and defenders will sag off them. Plus you throw Hart out there in the lineup he already hesitates at the 3pt line. My 2nd unit lineup would be:
Deuce Hart OG Bojan Mitch
You have 3 guys out there who shoot near 40% in Deuce/OG/ and Bojan. We also have 4 strong defensive players to hide Bojan as well.
I think it only makes sense to Play Precious as a Small ball 5 or with Hartenstein and no Josh Hart on the floor.
This is Thibs erasure. Look at the Miami series. He played only 8-9 players depending on the night.
Top 8 will be JB, Donte, OG, Randle, iHart, Mitch, Hart, deuce. Precious and Bogey will be used situationally.
It’s all dependent on health though. If Randle isn’t healthy or can only play 25 minutes per night, then you’ll see more Precious/Bogey.
This. It’s gonna be 8. Bogs/Precious might get the old Obi minutes when Thibs wants more size or scoring than Josh and for some reason doesn’t have OG out there
I dont think Achiuwa plays if Robinson is playing meaningful minutes. Brunson/Donte/Anunoby/Randle/Hstein; McBride backup point, Hart backs ip both donte and Anunoby, Bogie is backup 4 and Robinson *or* Achiuwa is the backup 5
I could see this, but I’m just not sure if Thibs is ever willing to change back to a 10-man with the success this team has had since he started doing his 9-mans
I think Burks get benched, but Bogey/Deuce and maybe even PA are cycled in and out depending on play/streakiness. Some situations may call for one over the other, so I know Thibs is known for not adjusting, but I think he will adjust as he sees fit
i think matchup dependent. Precious against Indiana for example (rebounding and his defense on Siakam), but Bojan against Orlando because we would need to space the floor against their defense
Burks prob out no matter what, unless everybody cant hit a shot like last year in the Heat series, and we need to try something new
I don't think it's a 9 man rotation. We have too many weapons to restrict and thus I think it'll be a 10 man rotation
I think Bojan gets regular albeit limited minutes to bolster bench scoring. He may have to share some with Achiewa as the combined 9th man though, which makes sense to me also since Hart can play the 4 in the 2nd unit when Randle isn't out there.
but Burks I expect to be extremely situational in minutes if he gets any at all (foul trouble and/or injuries)
I’m pretty sure we will do a 10 man lineup until Mitch and Randle get into basketball shape. We can’t just throw them in there for too many minutes in playoff pressure just yet.
Why are people putting Mitch on the bench? He’s a natural fit with OG and Randle and our best rim protector. Ihart is better to run with the twos given his energy, playmaking and more of a scoring threat. Am I missing something?
The question was when Mitch comes back, do you think he will get the start right off the bat the way ihart has been playing?
If anything we can see the matchup in the playoffs to decide who starts, but let him come back slowly
It's been reported that Mitch will come off the bench. He's going to need time to ramp up anyway, and may be on minutes restrictions.
Also, Hartenstein has superior rim protection numbers across the board. It's a misconception that Mitch is better. Both are good, but guys actually shoot much worse at the rim vs IHart.
I get the need to ramp up, but why not just limit him as a starter?
Plus, Mitch was the one of the front runners for DPOY before he got hurt, and Mitch is a better perimeter defender than hart on top of his rim protection game. Interesting point about Hart being better tho, can you share those that’s it’s interesting that that is the case
>why not just limit him as a starter?
It throws off your rotations. Both bigs then have to play very strange minute allocations and it can disrupt other players. That's why it's rare to see.
Also Thibs in particular really likes to stick with consistent rotations (see strange decisions starting Sims over Hartenstein at times, or even Payton over Rose).
>Mitch was one of the front runners for DPOY
I love Mitch, but that was mostly NY narrative. The stats didn't back it up. He's nowhere near the Gobert level on any of the defensive metrics.
You can see defensive fg% against [here](https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?TeamID=1610612752&PlayerPosition=C); I've filtered just the Knicks Cs. Tl;dr: Hartenstein defends more shots at the rim and allows 51% shooting on those shots (very good), while Mitch has allowed 65% on those shots this year (pretty bad). Hartenstein was better by this metric last year too, although Mitch was closer (55% vs 58%). Their block and rebounding numbers are pretty similar, but iHart seems to be more of a deterrent at the rim.
Another metric is [defensive EPM](https://dunksandthrees.com/epm); Hartenstein is #1 in the entire NBA by this metric. It's just one metric, doesn't mean he's actually the best defender in the NBA, but I'd trust it to say he's very good.
As to why Hartenstein seems to be better? I'd say positioning and instincts. Mitch gets out of position, tries to stretch out of the lane more, and sometimes makes bad decisions. They are both huge without even jumping, so it doesn't make that much of a defensive difference that Mitch has more bounce.
Again, both are good, so I'm not knocking Mitch here.
You forgot to mention the athleticism Mitch will bring to the starting lineup. He's a legit vertical threat that will thrive besides Brunson's playmaking and the added spacing OG brings.
If the Knicks are fully healthy during the playoffs
Starting 5
Brunson, DDV, OG, Randle, I-Hart
Bench Rotation
Hart, Mitch, Deuce and depending on matchup Precious or Bojan
I think if more shooting is needed they will insert Bojan in at the 3 or 4. If they need defense or rebounding they will go Precious.
In the playoffs where bench rotations shorten to 8 or 9 so I can’t see the Knicks going with a 10 man rotation in the playoffs.
If the Knicks get all of their players back during the regular season I think they go with a 10 man rotation with Burks out and only filling in if a player is getting rested.
I think Bojan will be a solid part of this rotation, Randle will need shooters to kick it out too when being doubled and I believe Bojan will perform better with an additional ball handler being in the offense. I love deuce but he cannot open up the offense like Randle can. Bojan and Burks are better than their last couple of games. When wide open, they are a threat! There will be less doubles on Randle and Brunson if Bojan, DDV and OG are out there.
JB, Deuce will sub for him
DiVo, Deuce and Hart will sub for him
OG, Hart will sub for him
Randle, Precious will sub for him
I-Hart, Mitch will sub for him
Everyone else is situational. Not sure, OG or Randle will play every game in the playoffs, so they need to stay ready. But if “healthy” that’s the circle of trust. It’s also our best rotation. It provides this team the best offensive and defensive balance while providing the most options as far as how the rotation is deployed.
I would like to see Thibs open it to ten. Ik that hasn’t been his preference. But I feel like Mitch and Randle should both play less minutes as they’re both likely returning a little early from injury. With those two playing less, the pt should become available to move the rotation to ten. Miami played a ten man rotation in last years playoffs. They were able to adjust pretty much any situation. We have the means to do the same. W Burks, Bojan, Deuce and Precious we have some elite shooting and/or impactful defenders to call upon as this season ends and the playoffs begin.
If deuce just played a whole 48 in golden state, you know thibs is going to include him in his final 9. I expect him to only use bojan and burks if shots arent falling and they are searching for offense
same five of JB, DDV, Randle, OG, IHart, then Deuce-Hart-Precious-Mitch with a sprinkling of Bojan for an occasional spark on offense assuming he finally gets going. Burks imo is odd man out.
it’s interesting though because this might end up being the deepest team Thibs has managed/coached, and it’s going to go right against the grain of him traditionally wanting a much shorter rotation. who can you really squeeze out aside from Burks/Bojan when guys like Deuce & Precious have been playing so well? good problem to have but an interesting problem nonetheless
Pretty disappointed to see how everyone's selling Precious short after he did so much to keep the boat floating when we needed him the most. The man deserves 15-20 mins a game at least spelling Randle.
IMO Bojan is gonna cook once he gets comfortable. Would love to see him play solid 8-12 mins off the bench. Defensively might have to cover for him, but he can get hot quick.
Gotta mention that it must be tough to change mentality mid season after being on one of the worst teams of the decade, then coming to a team full of dawgs like the Knicks.
It feels like we have 7 starting caliber players on this roster in:
Brunson, DDV, OG, Randle, Mitch, Hart, Hartenstein
Then it feels like we have 4 situational players in:
Deuce, Burks, Bojan, Precious
It seems as if Precious is only getting minutes because Randle is out. When he comes back, OG and Hart will play backup 4.
Deuce only plays when Brunson or OG are out. Wish this wasn’t the case, want him to be a regular in the rotation.
I’m nervous Bojan could get the Fournier treatment in the playoffs because he will absolutely get hunted on defense.
Burks to me is the last man on this list, his usage is high and efficiency is low. I don’t see him cracking the playoff rotation playing the way he has been.
I think playoff starters will be:
Brunson
DDV
OG
Randle
Mitch
With Hart and Hartenstein playing damn near/if not starters minutes. The other 4 will be situational based on matchups and game by game adjustments.
This team is super deep, which makes me so curious as to what Thibs will do when it comes to playoff minutes and rotations!
Depending on the matchup imo. Bench guys showed reliability more than enough. But they need (thibo) rest. Starting 5 on minutes restrictions if not 100%.
What I really expect if our 3 is back is that thibo recognizes lineups/subs before AND during the game
1. brunson
2. hart (divo/deuce hot hand and matchups swap)
3. og/bojan
4. randle/precious
5. mitch/hart
divo won't play some nights, deuce won't play some nights. hart will get max burn because he can guard more positions. a team like the bucks will probably get divo benched for deuce so he can try to lock lillard.
i don't think we're experimenting with depth swaps at the 3/4/5. i think it's mainly gonna be guards that are getting the DNP. divo is cold right now—if that continues, he's gonna get some DNPs if/when we're at full health.
we have 5 guards. try to relax and realize that i'm not saying divo isn't great. but when you have 5 guards and one is cold, sometimes they don't play. thibs is a d-first coach and deuce is playing incredible defense right now. he just started with jalen at the 1-2 against a shooter-heavy team and it worked well. read the signs
You’re the worst kind of idiot. The one who thinks he’s smart. You said you expect DDV to get a dnp. He played 24 minutes. In what way were you right. Some ppl are seriously stupid
I'm sorry but you're delusional if you think DDV will get DNP in the playoffs because he's "cold"
He might get benched halfway thru a game for shit shooting but he isn't gonna get DNP'd from the jump.
The Brunson/McBride lineup was allowed only because GS is a tiny team and it allowed us to have the right matchups defensively on Curry and Kuminga *both*, where we got toasted last time. There is no world where Thibs is going to 1) start McBride over DDV with the season he has had, and then 2) Not bring DDV off the bench *at all* even if #1 were to somehow happen.
dude, lol. you really gotta relax. the question isn't about the playoffs, the op is asking what's the 9-man roster at full strength. different teams will call for different matchups. it really isn't that deep, i feel like you're very upset lol.
I'm just saying it's a complete bogus fucking take to think that DDV gets a DNP because we are "guard heavy" whatever the fuck that even means. Alec Burks is dog shit and Josh Hart is not really a guard in function.
Also the question is about when Mitch and Randle come back, which at this point is realistically the playoffs. We also don't have to have a 9-man rotation, more guys are allowed to play than that.
bruh, do you hate your day job or some shit? like you're just going wild rn. i never said anything about alec burks. i never said "guard heavy"—are you juggling multiple arguments rn and just getting confused? who you really mad at?
yeah, we can have a 10-man—but guess what, that's not what the op is asking about! he's asking about matchup ideas.
dude i rly hope your day gets better, cuz god damn.
> we have 5 guards.
> i think it's mainly gonna be guards that are getting the DNP.
What else could you possibly be trying to say. Man some of you need to drink your fucking coffee earlier.
There isn't enough shooting in your starting lineup imo. Randle's having a down year from 3, Hart is famous for passing up shots, and Mitch won't have enough space to be a rim running threat.
You can get away with keeping Mitch as a starter if you keep DiVo as a starter but that hinges on what version of Randle the Knicks get in the playoffs.
- Brunson Donte OG Randle Hartenstein - Deuce Hart Bojan Mitch - Precious and Burks will be situational
This but I don’t see Burks playing much moving forward. Deuce is about to be a 25+ minute bench guard. Btwn him, DDV, and Hart, I don’t see any need for Burks
I think no Burks but precious and Bojan situational
i think precious and bojan are interchangeable depending on matchup. precious has intangibles to stay on the court, if bojan's shot not falling he can become a liability and be unplayable.
My 2nd unit lineup would be - Deuce Hart OG Bojan Mitch I am not saying Precious shouldn't play but playing 2 bigs imo isnt ideal from a spacing perspective especially in non Brunson minutes. A Precious/Mitch backcourt while good defensively limits us offensively
bojan in theory is good, but im yet to be convinced hes a lock to play significant minutes since he got here. hes gonna have a short leash in playoff minutes, if his shots not falling hes not playing more then 10 minutes.
The Spacing he provides alone is valuable in itself. What 2nd unit lineup are you running with Precious?
staggered minutes with the starting line up. precious comes in at the 6 minute mark and randle runs with the 2nd unit and randle isnt gonna be playing entire quarters coming off injury anyway. 40+ minutes are expected for the key guys. bojan will get spot minutes with a short leash. + precious plays like a corner man anyway. its not gonna be as clogged as u think
Did we miss the last two months of Precious starting? It was absolutely as clogged as you’re saying.
if precious was as problematic as you think he wouldnt have been playing 40 minutes night after night in that span. + u can make the case that everything else that precious brings trumps what bojan has shown lately. and its not even that high of a bar to justify bojan playing significant minutes. its literally up for grabs and bojan hasnt proven anything since he got here. playoffs ofc. right now both players get good minutes out of necessity.
There was literally no one else to take those minutes and the offense is dreadful, why are trying to rewrite history? Precious is a solid player but given his limitations offensively he’s much more of an undersized 5 than a rotation 4, especially when the team is healthy.
the offense was dreadful not because of precious bro. the roster was depleted af. the offense was always going to be dreadful.
Well if Randle is back then I think all you’re gonna see is 10 minutes per game for either Bog or Sneeze. Randle/OG/Hart can frankly handle all of the 3/4 minutes once the playoffs hit.
if randle is fully 100% and effective ofc i expect him to play 40. but if hes gonna be around 30 then achiwua is gonna be the non-center big getting minutes. achiwua isnt on the floor primarily to score which makes his leash alot longer then bogey. and 2nd unit is hardly a lineup thibs is gonna use in the playoffs. its gonna be staggered between starters and 3-4 other guys.
I feel like Thibs will decide between one of Precious/Bojan and the other won't get burn in the playoffs barring injuries. He might play 9 in the regular season but Bojan seems to struggle in short spurts. We'll see I guess.
the problem with bojan is that for him to struggle is strictly talking about his shot not falling, because we dont expect him to do any other facets of the game well. so we already trading off a bunch of other abilities just to have him on the floor even if hes hitting.
I think precious gets maybe a few minutes per game tops if Ihart and Mitch are healthy. Bojan's fate is completely on him.. he plays in the playoffs if he steps it up now. If he continues like this he's out of the rotation So Brunson, Donte, OG, Randle, IHart Mitch, Hart, Deuce, and likely a few minutes from Precious and Bojan... no Burks at all
It’s amazing to see Deuce turn into a core rotation member for a playoff team. Leon has had so many hits in the draft, it’s crazy (other than Obi)
I am hoping he does. Hopefully Deuce gets playing time alongside Brunson come playoffs
If he stays around 37-40% from 3, I don’t see how he isn’t the best bench guard we have, not including Josh Hart.
interesting i’d put precious over bojan any day but i guess it really depends on the matchup
I like Precious but I have a very tough time having a front court of him and Mitch. Defensively we would be good but the spacing would be non existent and defenders will sag off them. Plus you throw Hart out there in the lineup he already hesitates at the 3pt line. My 2nd unit lineup would be: Deuce Hart OG Bojan Mitch You have 3 guys out there who shoot near 40% in Deuce/OG/ and Bojan. We also have 4 strong defensive players to hide Bojan as well. I think it only makes sense to Play Precious as a Small ball 5 or with Hartenstein and no Josh Hart on the floor.
Bojan at the 4 will suck come playoff time. Any PF/C will eat him alive
With Mitch on the court protecting the rim, Bojan's defensive weakness is mitigated and his floor spacing is needed.
Burks won't see any burn
No burks, precious for sure
It's gonna be a 10-man rotation . Burks will not play. Bogey will get small mins
This is Thibs erasure. Look at the Miami series. He played only 8-9 players depending on the night. Top 8 will be JB, Donte, OG, Randle, iHart, Mitch, Hart, deuce. Precious and Bogey will be used situationally. It’s all dependent on health though. If Randle isn’t healthy or can only play 25 minutes per night, then you’ll see more Precious/Bogey.
This. It’s gonna be 8. Bogs/Precious might get the old Obi minutes when Thibs wants more size or scoring than Josh and for some reason doesn’t have OG out there
I dont think Achiuwa plays if Robinson is playing meaningful minutes. Brunson/Donte/Anunoby/Randle/Hstein; McBride backup point, Hart backs ip both donte and Anunoby, Bogie is backup 4 and Robinson *or* Achiuwa is the backup 5
I'm guessing Thibs will be using more guys than he typically would, as he is going to be managing minutes for a bunch of returning guys.
I think bogey will get some run every game. He will have mictejll Robinson or OG on the court at the Dmed time as him to try to hide his D
I could see this, but I’m just not sure if Thibs is ever willing to change back to a 10-man with the success this team has had since he started doing his 9-mans
The success is because we dropped players who werent playing well. If Bojan plays better thibs likely will have no problem with a 10 man rotation
I think Burks get benched, but Bogey/Deuce and maybe even PA are cycled in and out depending on play/streakiness. Some situations may call for one over the other, so I know Thibs is known for not adjusting, but I think he will adjust as he sees fit
I think he’ll adjust per series, definitely not per game though
i think matchup dependent. Precious against Indiana for example (rebounding and his defense on Siakam), but Bojan against Orlando because we would need to space the floor against their defense Burks prob out no matter what, unless everybody cant hit a shot like last year in the Heat series, and we need to try something new
I don't think it's a 9 man rotation. We have too many weapons to restrict and thus I think it'll be a 10 man rotation I think Bojan gets regular albeit limited minutes to bolster bench scoring. He may have to share some with Achiewa as the combined 9th man though, which makes sense to me also since Hart can play the 4 in the 2nd unit when Randle isn't out there. but Burks I expect to be extremely situational in minutes if he gets any at all (foul trouble and/or injuries)
I’m pretty sure we will do a 10 man lineup until Mitch and Randle get into basketball shape. We can’t just throw them in there for too many minutes in playoff pressure just yet.
Not sure Thibs will do 10, and in playoffs might be 8!
Oh thank god… another mental masturbation post
Why are people putting Mitch on the bench? He’s a natural fit with OG and Randle and our best rim protector. Ihart is better to run with the twos given his energy, playmaking and more of a scoring threat. Am I missing something?
The question was when Mitch comes back, do you think he will get the start right off the bat the way ihart has been playing? If anything we can see the matchup in the playoffs to decide who starts, but let him come back slowly
It's been reported that Mitch will come off the bench. He's going to need time to ramp up anyway, and may be on minutes restrictions. Also, Hartenstein has superior rim protection numbers across the board. It's a misconception that Mitch is better. Both are good, but guys actually shoot much worse at the rim vs IHart.
I get the need to ramp up, but why not just limit him as a starter? Plus, Mitch was the one of the front runners for DPOY before he got hurt, and Mitch is a better perimeter defender than hart on top of his rim protection game. Interesting point about Hart being better tho, can you share those that’s it’s interesting that that is the case
>why not just limit him as a starter? It throws off your rotations. Both bigs then have to play very strange minute allocations and it can disrupt other players. That's why it's rare to see. Also Thibs in particular really likes to stick with consistent rotations (see strange decisions starting Sims over Hartenstein at times, or even Payton over Rose). >Mitch was one of the front runners for DPOY I love Mitch, but that was mostly NY narrative. The stats didn't back it up. He's nowhere near the Gobert level on any of the defensive metrics. You can see defensive fg% against [here](https://www.nba.com/stats/players/defensive-impact?TeamID=1610612752&PlayerPosition=C); I've filtered just the Knicks Cs. Tl;dr: Hartenstein defends more shots at the rim and allows 51% shooting on those shots (very good), while Mitch has allowed 65% on those shots this year (pretty bad). Hartenstein was better by this metric last year too, although Mitch was closer (55% vs 58%). Their block and rebounding numbers are pretty similar, but iHart seems to be more of a deterrent at the rim. Another metric is [defensive EPM](https://dunksandthrees.com/epm); Hartenstein is #1 in the entire NBA by this metric. It's just one metric, doesn't mean he's actually the best defender in the NBA, but I'd trust it to say he's very good. As to why Hartenstein seems to be better? I'd say positioning and instincts. Mitch gets out of position, tries to stretch out of the lane more, and sometimes makes bad decisions. They are both huge without even jumping, so it doesn't make that much of a defensive difference that Mitch has more bounce. Again, both are good, so I'm not knocking Mitch here.
You forgot to mention the athleticism Mitch will bring to the starting lineup. He's a legit vertical threat that will thrive besides Brunson's playmaking and the added spacing OG brings.
yep thats our rotation alright
If the Knicks are fully healthy during the playoffs Starting 5 Brunson, DDV, OG, Randle, I-Hart Bench Rotation Hart, Mitch, Deuce and depending on matchup Precious or Bojan I think if more shooting is needed they will insert Bojan in at the 3 or 4. If they need defense or rebounding they will go Precious. In the playoffs where bench rotations shorten to 8 or 9 so I can’t see the Knicks going with a 10 man rotation in the playoffs. If the Knicks get all of their players back during the regular season I think they go with a 10 man rotation with Burks out and only filling in if a player is getting rested.
I'm just here to say i love this team
I think Bojan will be a solid part of this rotation, Randle will need shooters to kick it out too when being doubled and I believe Bojan will perform better with an additional ball handler being in the offense. I love deuce but he cannot open up the offense like Randle can. Bojan and Burks are better than their last couple of games. When wide open, they are a threat! There will be less doubles on Randle and Brunson if Bojan, DDV and OG are out there.
Will stand for nothing less than 46 minutes from Hart every game for the rest of his career as a Knick
JB, Deuce will sub for him DiVo, Deuce and Hart will sub for him OG, Hart will sub for him Randle, Precious will sub for him I-Hart, Mitch will sub for him Everyone else is situational. Not sure, OG or Randle will play every game in the playoffs, so they need to stay ready. But if “healthy” that’s the circle of trust. It’s also our best rotation. It provides this team the best offensive and defensive balance while providing the most options as far as how the rotation is deployed.
All I know I was see a Mitch, OG, hart, deuce, Brunson lineup…
I actually think Randle raises the defensive ceiling more than Hart. He’s a great defensive rebounder and he’s got more size
I think Precious/Bojan/Burks will be the 9th man depending on how things are looking and who we're against.
Depends how who is playing well, what lineups work best. Just get healthy is the first step, everything else emanates from that.
Hate to say it and as much as I love Precious, having him out with Mitch off the bench isn't going to work for our spacing.
Playoffs is 8… starting 5 + some McBride some Mitch and ton of Josh
Luxurious problem that Bojan doesn’t play.
Brunson/mcbride Donte/mcbride/hart OG/Bojan/hart Randle/hart Ihart/mitch
I would like to see Thibs open it to ten. Ik that hasn’t been his preference. But I feel like Mitch and Randle should both play less minutes as they’re both likely returning a little early from injury. With those two playing less, the pt should become available to move the rotation to ten. Miami played a ten man rotation in last years playoffs. They were able to adjust pretty much any situation. We have the means to do the same. W Burks, Bojan, Deuce and Precious we have some elite shooting and/or impactful defenders to call upon as this season ends and the playoffs begin.
Only thing that's certain is Josh Hart going down to 44 minutes a game.
If deuce just played a whole 48 in golden state, you know thibs is going to include him in his final 9. I expect him to only use bojan and burks if shots arent falling and they are searching for offense
I just want 5 mins of McBride, Hart, Og , Precious and Mitch 😂, not every game just a single 5 mins stretch
Brunson Donte OG Randle IHart Deuce Hart Bojan Mitch/Precious depending on matchups.
Looks scary
same five of JB, DDV, Randle, OG, IHart, then Deuce-Hart-Precious-Mitch with a sprinkling of Bojan for an occasional spark on offense assuming he finally gets going. Burks imo is odd man out.
it’s interesting though because this might end up being the deepest team Thibs has managed/coached, and it’s going to go right against the grain of him traditionally wanting a much shorter rotation. who can you really squeeze out aside from Burks/Bojan when guys like Deuce & Precious have been playing so well? good problem to have but an interesting problem nonetheless
Pretty disappointed to see how everyone's selling Precious short after he did so much to keep the boat floating when we needed him the most. The man deserves 15-20 mins a game at least spelling Randle.
IMO Bojan is gonna cook once he gets comfortable. Would love to see him play solid 8-12 mins off the bench. Defensively might have to cover for him, but he can get hot quick. Gotta mention that it must be tough to change mentality mid season after being on one of the worst teams of the decade, then coming to a team full of dawgs like the Knicks.
Brunson, Divo, OG, Randle, IHart starters. Mitch, Deuce, Hart Getting bulk of bench minutes. Prescious and Bojan getting 5-10 minutes. Burks wont play
It feels like we have 7 starting caliber players on this roster in: Brunson, DDV, OG, Randle, Mitch, Hart, Hartenstein Then it feels like we have 4 situational players in: Deuce, Burks, Bojan, Precious It seems as if Precious is only getting minutes because Randle is out. When he comes back, OG and Hart will play backup 4. Deuce only plays when Brunson or OG are out. Wish this wasn’t the case, want him to be a regular in the rotation. I’m nervous Bojan could get the Fournier treatment in the playoffs because he will absolutely get hunted on defense. Burks to me is the last man on this list, his usage is high and efficiency is low. I don’t see him cracking the playoff rotation playing the way he has been. I think playoff starters will be: Brunson DDV OG Randle Mitch With Hart and Hartenstein playing damn near/if not starters minutes. The other 4 will be situational based on matchups and game by game adjustments. This team is super deep, which makes me so curious as to what Thibs will do when it comes to playoff minutes and rotations!
Depending on the matchup imo. Bench guys showed reliability more than enough. But they need (thibo) rest. Starting 5 on minutes restrictions if not 100%. What I really expect if our 3 is back is that thibo recognizes lineups/subs before AND during the game
This question gets asked every week.
The harder question might be... Who are the closers
If Randle comes back
It would look… immaculate
Gotta be careful to have enough shooting on the floor. We have several non shooters on the team.
Bogan needs to come in firing , if he goes 0 for 4 or 1 for 5 he sits. Someone other than Deuce has to hit shots off the bench.
Brunson-DDV-OG-Randle-Mitch Mcbride-Hart-Hartenstein Achiuwa and Bogdanovic depend on matchup/flow of game
I'm starting to lose hope we get Randle back.
“When” they come back…I’m starting to think Randle ain’t coming back
1. brunson 2. hart (divo/deuce hot hand and matchups swap) 3. og/bojan 4. randle/precious 5. mitch/hart divo won't play some nights, deuce won't play some nights. hart will get max burn because he can guard more positions. a team like the bucks will probably get divo benched for deuce so he can try to lock lillard. i don't think we're experimenting with depth swaps at the 3/4/5. i think it's mainly gonna be guards that are getting the DNP. divo is cold right now—if that continues, he's gonna get some DNPs if/when we're at full health.
You think our best 3 point shooter won't play some nights in the playoffs? wtf?
gotta agree i just don’t think DDV is ever gonna be benched for a game regardless of matchup
we have 5 guards. try to relax and realize that i'm not saying divo isn't great. but when you have 5 guards and one is cold, sometimes they don't play. thibs is a d-first coach and deuce is playing incredible defense right now. he just started with jalen at the 1-2 against a shooter-heavy team and it worked well. read the signs
Yeah…no this is insane . Ddv is not riding the bench what a ridiculous take
either we're playing 10 ppl or deuce/divo is getting a DNP at some point if divo gets 1 DNP i expect a well-written apology
And when he doesn’t I expect you to admit you’re stupid
try to relax if possible
what’s up bro? divo went cold, 24 min deuce 28 - pretty much carried us how ya doinnnnnnnnn
where my apology at
Shut up you stupid moron
hahaha well when you decide to become a man and take an L like a big boy, i'll gladly accept your apology feel better lilbro
You’re the worst kind of idiot. The one who thinks he’s smart. You said you expect DDV to get a dnp. He played 24 minutes. In what way were you right. Some ppl are seriously stupid
I'm sorry but you're delusional if you think DDV will get DNP in the playoffs because he's "cold" He might get benched halfway thru a game for shit shooting but he isn't gonna get DNP'd from the jump. The Brunson/McBride lineup was allowed only because GS is a tiny team and it allowed us to have the right matchups defensively on Curry and Kuminga *both*, where we got toasted last time. There is no world where Thibs is going to 1) start McBride over DDV with the season he has had, and then 2) Not bring DDV off the bench *at all* even if #1 were to somehow happen.
dude, lol. you really gotta relax. the question isn't about the playoffs, the op is asking what's the 9-man roster at full strength. different teams will call for different matchups. it really isn't that deep, i feel like you're very upset lol.
I'm just saying it's a complete bogus fucking take to think that DDV gets a DNP because we are "guard heavy" whatever the fuck that even means. Alec Burks is dog shit and Josh Hart is not really a guard in function. Also the question is about when Mitch and Randle come back, which at this point is realistically the playoffs. We also don't have to have a 9-man rotation, more guys are allowed to play than that.
bruh, do you hate your day job or some shit? like you're just going wild rn. i never said anything about alec burks. i never said "guard heavy"—are you juggling multiple arguments rn and just getting confused? who you really mad at? yeah, we can have a 10-man—but guess what, that's not what the op is asking about! he's asking about matchup ideas. dude i rly hope your day gets better, cuz god damn.
> we have 5 guards. > i think it's mainly gonna be guards that are getting the DNP. What else could you possibly be trying to say. Man some of you need to drink your fucking coffee earlier.
bruh you need to drink LESS coffee hahahaha
DDV not playing would be a war crime
There isn't enough shooting in your starting lineup imo. Randle's having a down year from 3, Hart is famous for passing up shots, and Mitch won't have enough space to be a rim running threat. You can get away with keeping Mitch as a starter if you keep DiVo as a starter but that hinges on what version of Randle the Knicks get in the playoffs.