Manager Tom Thibodeau has often noted that most teams will reduce their rotation in the playoffs, but the Knicks lost their last two games against the 76ers after veteran backup Bojan Bogdanovic went down with a foot injury in Game 4. Only seven players were used in the match.
In recent days, Thibodeau responded with his usual “yes,” when asked if he expected to expand his rotation (possibly adding Precious Achiuwa) starting with Monday’s series opener against the Pacers at The Garden. answered.
Achiuwa played four minutes in the first half as the Knicks’ eighth man, but Thibodeau once again relied on his starters to win Game 1, 121-117.
Josh Hart played the full 48 minutes in his third complete game of the playoffs, while Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Donte DiVincenzo each played over 42 minutes.
Before the series started, Thibodeau said of the Pacers, “We have to look at who they play as well.” “They’ve also gotten closer, so it’s all about competition.”
The Pacers finished with a 46-3 advantage in bench points.
According to The Ringer, the Knicks’ top seven players (five starters plus Mitchell Robinson and Miles McBride) played 94.5 percent of the total minutes in the first round.
That’s the 13th highest percentage among the 400 teams participating in the playoffs since 2000, according to the study, and is higher than the league average of 88 percent so far in this year’s playoffs.
The Knicks’ numbers are also the highest of any NBA team in a playoff year since the 2014 Bulls, also coached by Thibodeau.
In the first-round loss to the Wizards, 95.8 percent of the minutes were allocated to the top seven players.
However, it’s worth noting that the Nuggets relied on their top seven rotation players almost as much as last year (93 percent) to win their first NBA championship in franchise history.
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Veteran guard Alec Burks played just 30.7 percent from the field in 23 games with the Knicks after being traded from the Pistons in February and didn’t play at all against the Sixers.
Still, center Myles Turner will likely play on the perimeter as a stretch five, and Achiuwa believes he will be available against the Pacers.
With Robinson out for Game 4 in Philadelphia and Isaiah Hartenstein in foul trouble, Achiuwa had four blocked shots in 20 minutes but came off the bench for the final two games of the series. There wasn’t.
Hart played the full 53 minutes in Game 5, and DiVincenzo was on the court for all 48 minutes in the decisive Game 6. Hart (46 minutes), Anunoby (45 minutes) and Brunson (43 minutes) also remained a big part of the win. . Robinson (18 minutes) and McBride (9 minutes) accounted for the only minutes off the bench.
“It sounds like a line, but it’s not.” [matter]” DiVincenzo said. “I think Thisbus does a good job of staggering his timeouts and doing certain things where he sometimes loses track of time.”
Added Hart: “I think it’s conditioning. We’ve played a full season so we’re conditioned, but we’ve got to give our bodies a chance to function at the highest level possible.”
