The New York Knicks seem to have abandoned the glorified seven-man rotation and expanded it to nine players. In their last game against the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday, head coach Tom Thibodeau played nine guys serious rotation minutes, which helped them secure the win by a score of 111-99.
Knicks add Matt Ryan to the rotation
The most notable addition to the rotation was sharp-shooter and New York native Matt Ryan, who saw eight minutes of action off the bench against the 76ers. Ryan did not record any points, but the fact that Thibodeau trusted him to play serious minutes to give starters a rest is a good sign.
“I almost [played him] last game,” Thibodeau said via Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “But he just got here and because we had six of seven on the road, there hasn’t been a lot of practice time. It’s going to take him a little bit of time for him to get up to speed. But he’s smart and he’ll pick it up quickly. It’s good to have that.”
Ryan was signed by the Knicks last week after their G-League affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, selected him with the first overall pick of the G-League draft. This is Ryan’s fifth NBA team, splitting time with the Celtics, Lakers, Timberwolves, and Pelicans.
Ryan could provide electric shooting prowess off the Knicks’ bench
Last season with the Pelicans, Ryan shot 45% from three in 28 games. He averaged approximately 14 minutes in those games played, and it is possible that he could see a similar workload with the Knicks until they get some of their injured players back on the court.
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Ryan is also a career 41% shooter from outside the arc. He could provide the Knicks with lights-out shooting off the bench as well as depth at the wing position. New York’s bench is rather guard-heavy with Miles McBride and Cameron Payne in the backcourt, so Ryan, who is 6-foot-7, could give them some extra size to match up with opposing forwards.
The Knicks’ next matchup is back home against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Given that it is the second half of a back-to-back, there is a good chance that Ryan sees more minutes in that game to give them some extra rest of the rotation some additional rest.
