Tom Thibodeau Hints at Knicks’ Rotation Expanding

Some inflation might do the New York Knicks some good.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau has become notorious for overworking his starters and willingly shrank his rotations to seven men in major minutes in recent showings. But Thibodeau expanded his set during Tuesday’s contest against the Philadelphia 76ers, a 111-99 triumph that saw nine men take the floor.

While each of the Knicks’ five starters played at least 35 minutes, the Knicks had some new faces land on the statsheet: Matt Ryan got to play nine minutes in a close game while Cameron Payne matched him in his return from a hamstring issue. Speaking after the 111-99 win over the Sixers, Thibodeau hinted that the nine-man set could prove permanent, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

“He just got here and because we had six of seven on the road, there hasn’t been a lot of practice time,” Thibodeau said of Ryan, the top pick of the G League draft earlier this fall. “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, a White Plains native, previously got six minutes of mop-up duty in Friday’s win over Milwaukee. Many expect him to help shore up the Knicks’ outside game, as he has shot over 40 percent with an extra point on the line in prior NBA endeavors with Boston, Los Angeles, Minnesota, and New Orleans. Ryan was 0-for-2 from deep on Tuesday but the Knicks will likely appreciate his trigger-happy nature: entering Wednesday night play, New York ranks 23rd in three-point attempts.

That skill could come in handy if the Knicks value a return trip to the NBA Cup’s knockout round: last season saw them secure the Eastern Conference’s wild card seed basked on point differential, the top tiebreaker in group play efforts. New York (5-5, 1-0) is tied for first in the East’s Group A, though their fellow leaders from Orlando hold the advantage thanks to a 25-point win over Charlotte on Tuesday.

Viewers have an instant opportunity to see if the Knicks’ expanded rotation sticks, as a four-game homestand at Madison Square Garden opens on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).

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