The New York Knicks need to take advantage of having an elite defensive presence in Jeremy Sochan. He signed a deal with them for the rest of the season, and he can be a real difference maker on defense.
Knicks need to use Jeremy Sochan more
The problem that arises is how he will be utilized. Head coach Mike Brown said before the end of the All-Star break that he was going to prioritize Sochan over rookie Mohamed Diawara in the rotation, but that appeared to be different in the first half against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday.
Sochan’s only action in the first half was a brief, situational play at the end of the first quarter. Diawara, meanwhile, got his usual rotation minutes, sticking with him mostly still.
Sochan got another chance in the second half, and he was the only Knick to offer some resistance to Cade Cunningham, who dropped 42 points and completely walked down the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Sochan also blocked a Cunningham layup attempt at the end of the third quarter.
“He hadn’t played in a while, but most of the time that he was on the floor and guarding Cade, there was a physicality to it, and we liked that. We need it,” Brown said (h/t Posting and Toasting).
Sochan can make a real difference on the defensive side
Had he been deployed sooner, perhaps the result may have been different. The Knicks wound up losing to Detroit by double digits again, 126-111. They were outscored by 84 in the three games versus the Pistons this season, and they don’t appear to be on their level at all right now.
They will need to see what they can get out of Sochan before the postseason. If he is able to replicate the defensive performance against the Pistons on a nightly basis, he could become a truly impactful piece down the stretch and into the playoffs.
Sochan will have a good opportunity on Saturday against a Houston Rockets team with a lot of length. Perhaps Brown will deploy him much sooner.
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