There is growing buzz that the Knicks will make a key schematic change next season | Sporting News

Tom Thibodeau has almost never played small-ball lineups as head coach of the New York Knicks, but that may be changing this season.

Thibodeau has preferred to have a traditional, rim-protecting center on the court at all times. But following the trade for Mikal Bridges and the free agency departure of Isaiah Hartenstein, the Knicks roster is now better suited — and perhaps might demand — for the Knicks to go “small.”

With a roster that now contains OG Anunoby, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Julius Randle, and Bridges, minutes will be hard to come by for all of those wings and forwards if Thibodeau insists on playing a traditional big man (and a point guard).

The Knicks currently have a glaring hole at backup center. Barring a big trade for another center, their best option may be to re-sign Precious Achiuwa as the backup five. Even then, Achiuwa is a player who can give 10-15 solid minutes off the bench. If Mitchell Robinson, the presumed starter, plays 25-30 minutes per game, that could leave the Knicks with around five minutes per game to experiment with small lineups.

For example, the Knicks could play Randle and Anunoby as the nominal big men on the court. Anunoby has defended centers in the past, even guarding Joel Embiid in Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs (and doing it well). Randle has the size and strength to match up with most big men. And if the Knicks were to play some combination of Bridges, Hart, and DiVincenzo with Randle and Anunoby, they’d have fierce perimeter defenders who can rebound and lessen the need for traditional rim protection.

Or, put more simply, the Knicks might not need a rim-protecting big man if the other team can’t get to the rim.

There is growing buzz that this is an option under consideration for the Knicks. Newsday’s Steve Popper suggested it could be an option for the Knicks and quoted an NBA scout who said the Knicks have the personnel to do it — for short bursts.

“I do think they can,” the scout told Popper of going small, adding: “The argument for it working is, yes, it should work when OG is playing because he’s so versatile and defending all over the place. And there should be somewhere that you can put Randle.”

The Athletic’s Fred Katz said on the “Knicks Film School” podcast that he believes Thibodeau wanted to go small more often with Anunoby last year, but was unable to do it.

“I think during the regular season, [Thibodeau] wanted to use OG as a small-ball, five-ish in reserve lineups more than he did,” Katz said. “And the reason why he didn’t go to that often is because he wanted to integrate OG into that role. He wanted to get him accustomed into a more normal role, in a more regular role, and then he kind of wanted to integrate him into that. And then OG got hurt, and then he came back, and then he got hurt again, and then he came back, and then he got hurt again in the playoffs.”

Katz added: “I don’t think OG is their backup five or anything going into the year, but I could see a world where that’s something they deploy way more regularly than they’ve ever deployed an unconventional five in the Thibs era.”

It could even be the Knicks’ best option to close games (though Thibodeau likely wouldn’t try that until it’s proven to be an effective lineup for the Knicks). A lineup featuring, say, Jalen Brunson, DiVincenzo, Bridges, Anunoby, and Randle could be devastating offensively and have enough length and size to hold up defensively.

Of course, the Knicks roster is incomplete and they might yet add another big man who demands minutes. If so, there will be a minutes crunch across the board that players will just have to accept.

But with a wing rotation that is now among the best in the league, the Knicks now have the option to go with a different look than they’ve used for the past four years.