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It’s Tyler Kolek Time For The Knicks

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It’s Tyler Kolek Time For The Knicks

After all the talk during the offseason, the New York Knicks being just 4-5 to start the season wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card. For all of their talent, the Knicks are basically a middling team. They average 114.4 points per game, 14th in the NBA. They surrender 111.2 points per game, 13th in the NBA.

It’s Tyler Kolek Time For The Knicks

KAT Trade Not Going As Planned

Up to this point, two of New York’s biggest issues have been chemistry and defending the paint. Both of these can be tied to their decision to trade Julius Randle for Karl-Anthony Towns shortly before the season.

Towns is now back at center, and their five-out scheme has helped them rank second in offensive rating (120.1). However, because of the short time they had to prepare, their rotation has had to gel on-the-fly. Furthermore, with Towns at center, old questions about his play have cropped up regarding his defense.

This shouldn’t be front page news, as the Minnesota Timberwolves traded for Rudy Gobert because of Towns’s defensive struggles. Neither he nor Gobert look particularly good when guarding in space. However, Gobert locks down the paint the majority of the time.

He’s Not The Only One

Towns may be the biggest culprit, but New York’s struggles certainly aren’t all on him. Because Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau can’t trust Jalen Brunson to guard his yard, he’s often hidden or roaming. This forces Mikal Bridges to guard much more agile players at the point-of-attack. Though Bridges is typically an above-average defender, everyone has physical limitations.

At the other end, the Knicks have multiple players whose threes are clanking off the rim far too frequently. Bridges is only converting a career-low 31.7 percent of his threes. Josh Hart has never been a three-point specialist but he’s shooting a career-low 29.0 percent from deep.

Fatigue may also be a factor due to their fourth quarter struggles.

In fact, both Bridges (37.8) and Hart (36.7) are averaging career-highs in minutes this season. OG Anunoby is playing 36.0 minutes per game, tied for a career-high.

Why Does Tyler Kolek Matter?

All of these are reasons why the Knicks need rookie Tyler Kolek to replace veteran Cam Payne in the rotation permanently. In fact, they need to give Kolek more minutes.

In doing this, the increasingly aggressive Miles McBride will slide to the two-guard spot more often. More importantly, New York will have two strong backcourt defenders who they can reply upon.

Lastly, giving Kolek more playing time will allow at least one more starter to rest more than they currently are, which could help them execute in the fourth quarter.

To that point, Brunson shooting just 43.8 percent from the field and 30.0 percent from three in the fourth quarter. Anunoby has been even worse, shooting 38.1 percent from the floor and 21.2 percent from deep in the final frame.

Fortunately, for Kolek, his most important supporter may be his biggest advocate.

“Each day he gets better,” Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau says, per the New York Post’s Peter Botte. “He’s got a great feel for the game, and he’s a worker. He’s still learning… with understanding what’s happening with defenses and also as he becomes more familiar with the people that he’s guarding and the teams.

“I think each time out, you can see his confidence growing. We have a lot of confidence in him, and I see it every day.”

As Thibodeau notes, Kolek needs reps to further familiarize himself with opposing team’s players and schemes. That being said, he’s not as green behind the ears as some other players in his class because he’s a four-year college player. His experience and maturity level being what they are, his learning curve may not be too steep.

With the basketball IQ he demonstrated in college, there’s even more reason to believe he can quickly get up to speed. He was arguably the best facilitator in college, a byproduct of his skill and processing ability. If getting steady minutes, his ability to help an offense hum without needing to score will help everyone.

Kolek’s three-point stroke being so pure is relevant when considering Brunson and Anunoby’s outside efficiency in the fourth quarter.

Furthermore, Payne is shooting just 26.7 percent from three in 2024-25, seeming to regress from his past five seasons. For comparison, Kolek made 39.3 percent of his threes in his final two college seasons and has started 2024-25 off shooting 75.0 percent from deep.

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