The New York Knicks will have to get creative with their rotations early following the injuries to Landry Shamet and Precious Achiuwa. One of the more talked about players when it comes to potentially earning a role in the rotation is rookie second-round guard Tyler Kolek.
The Knicks could include Tyler Kolek in the rotation
It is likely that the Knicks will have to elevate at least one member of their rookie class into the rotation to make it a more complete unit without relying too heavily on the starters. SNY’s Ian Begley said that there is a chance that Kolek earns a spot in the second unit right away given the injury situation.
“With Josh Hart in the starting lineup and Donte DiVincenzo in Minnesota, there was a void in the bench unit. So the Knicks elevated Payne, a veteran with playoff experience. Given that, my best guess is that Payne starts the season as the backup point guard. With Shamet’s injury, maybe Kolek gets elevated to the second unit?” Begley said.
Kolek provides a set of skills that the Knicks could strongly use off the bench
Kolek was very impressive during the preseason, as he averaged 11.5 points and 4.3 assists in four preseason games. The 23-year-old showed that he has a true feel for the game at the NBA level already, and his skill set is something that New York could really use in the second unit.
The Knicks averaged the third-fewest assists per game off the bench last season with just 5.5. They also had the fourth-lowest points per game average with just 28.4, including the lowest points per game average off the bench with 24.8 after Dec. 30, the day that they acquired OG Anunoby and sent Immanuel Quickley to the Toronto Raptors.
Kolek could help fix both the playmaking and scoring issues that the bench unit had last season. However, including him in the second unit might force head coach Tom Thibodeau to make a change to the starting lineup, potentially moving Josh Hart to the bench and elevating Miles McBride to the starting five.
Could Tom Thibodeau make a lineup change to get Kolek in the rotation?
That change would prevent the bench unit from being too guard-heavy while also giving Hart the opportunity to have the scoring chances that were hard to come by for him during the preseason. As of now, Thibodeau hasn’t indicated that such a change could occur, and history would show that he is unlikely to shake up the rotation right away.
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However, as the early part of the season progresses, Kolek could get a look in the bench unit and have the opportunity to possibly earn himself a rotation spot the rest of the way.