The Knicks went out tattered and bruised against the Hawks. What began as a tight series turned suddenly in Game 3, and the Knicks lost each of the final three games by double digits. It was an unceremonious and ugly end to what had been a previously optimistic season. It still is that, but it’s hard to take the stink away of the last two weeks.
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The playoffs are obviously illuminating. Teams learn what works there versus what is just a regular-season thing. The Knicks are no exception, and they leave the playoffs with a few key questions and observations they’ll have to think over. Here are six big things worth paying attention to from this series.
1. What happened to Julius Randle? That’s the question the Knicks will linger on coming out of this series. If Julius Randle were his regular-season self or even a little worse than that, this would have been a different series. The Knicks would have had a decent chance to win it. Instead, Randle averaged 18 points, 11.6 rebounds and four assists per game while shooting just 29.6 percent from the field. New York was bounced out quickly. He’ll take a sour taste with him into the offseason, though it doesn’t undo how good he was in the regular season. The Knicks must now find a way to help Randle next year and put more shooting and help around him. The Hawks did their part to slow him down, but Randle also missed a number of open shots and sometimes was too tentative, passing up on open looks when Tom Thibodeau wanted him to be more decisive. These are all lessons, and he’s shown he can take constructive criticism and come back better.
2. The Knicks relied too much on Derrick Rose. Derrick Rose was the Knicks’ best player this series, consistently providing an offensive spark. He led the team in points (19.6 per game) and assists (5.0) while ranking second in minutes per game — playing nine minutes more a night than in the regular season. That’s probably not how the Knicks wanted it to go against the Hawks. He was moved to the starting lineup in Game 3 out of necessity after Thibodeau could no longer stomach Elfrid Payton’s ineffectiveness and overall played fewer than 33 minutes in just one game in the series. Maybe predictably, he broke down by the end, sitting the entire fourth quarter of Game 5 because of a knee injury. Coincidentally, the series also flipped when the Knicks moved Rose to the starting lineup, losing some of their strength during their bench minutes and not gaining enough when each team’s starters were on the court as the series collapsed on them. All of that is a referendum on the play the Knicks received from their guards and from Randle. Rose will be a free agent this summer, and while it would seem like the Knicks would want to bring him back, Rose said he’s not so sure that he’s in their plans. If he is back, it’s probably in their best interest to formulate a roster that’s not so Rose-dependent.
3. Taj Gibson was a life-saver. Who could have predicted that the 35-year-old big who wasn’t even on the roster on Opening Night would turn out to be the Knicks’ best big in the playoffs? Probably Thibodeau, actually. But Taj Gibson was very good for the Knicks in this series, averaging 27.6 minutes, 5.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals and a block per game. He became the starting center when Nerlens Noel suffered an ankle injury that diminished his performance and his minutes. He was an astute defender and team defender and even forced a few turnovers with his lively hands. Would this series have gone differently had Noel been healthy and able to offer more rim protection? That’s a counterfactual for another day, but it’s hard to say Gibson was some big contributing factor to New York’s loss. He has his limitations, but he seemed like a valuable add in the postseason. Gibson will be a free agent this summer and has played well enough to earn another contract.
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4. Was the defense not as good as it seemed this season? This is a bit of a first-world problem since the Knicks didn’t come apart until the playoffs, but it’s where they are right now. New York had a top-five defense in the regular season — and then Trae Young tore it apart. He controlled every game and got whatever shot he wanted. Obviously whatever worked for the Knicks for the first 72 games didn’t do as well for the next five. The Hawks averaged 109.7 points per 100 possessions but torched New York in their two swing games in Atlanta, which leaves some food for thought when putting together next season’s roster. While a willingness to just grind through every possession is seemingly its own skill in the regular season, that may reach a point of diminishing returns in the playoffs. The Knicks need to add more perimeter defenders who can cause problems for players of Young’s ilk — the sort of defenders who, incidentally, are also the hardest to find. That’s a problem to solve, but it’s also kind of a nice problem to solve considering where they were in November.
5. Don’t give up on Obi Toppin just yet. The Knicks rookie had a rough initiation into the NBA between his uneven play and there only being so many minutes available for him behind Randle. But he played well against the Hawks and gave the Knicks good minutes without Randle on the court, something that was a real concern heading into the series. The Knicks were plus-4 with him on the court, just one of two rotation players to have a positive plus-minus this series. Not only did Toppin look comfortable on offense as a spot-up shooter and occasionally attacking the rim, but he was also not out of place defensively. He also gave New York a threat in transition, which is definitely not a strength teamwide. In short, even in was a small sample size, he provided a look at what made him the No. 8 overall pick. Toppin now heads into the offseason on a high, and the Knicks now must figure out a way to keep developing him for next season.
6. How many of New York’s issues this series was personnel-driven and how many were coaching-driven? It is anathema to say a bad word about Thibodeau right now. Makes sense, as he might win Coach of the Year for the work he has done this season. He deserves all those flowers for that — but this series did raise some red flags. Was Randle’s inability to break out of Hawks jail an individual problem or the coach not being able to spring him into better looks? Why didn’t the Knicks try to go small at times and give Atlanta different looks? Were the Knicks unable to attack Young more potently when they were on offense because Thibodeau was unwilling to orchestrate the right switches or put out a lineup where all five players could hurt Young or because he had no one better to turn to than Bullock? Was Young able to keep burning the Knicks because Thibodeau couldn’t figure out the right pick-and-roll coverages and defense to stop him, or because he just didn’t have the kind of personnel to slow him down? These are all complicated, but when a team goes down in five games, it’s fair to take a constructive look at everyone.
(Photo of Julius Randle and Derrick Rose: Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
