Is our bench better than we’ve been led to believe?

[Loaded_Hollows]

Have we been brainwashed into believing the bench is ass because Thibs never plays them? Or does Thibs never play them because they’re ass??

In game 3: Delon and Shamet looked good. We’ve already seen McBride provides much needed offense. And we’ve seen precious can be helpful in spurts (no idea why he never gets minutes).

So what say you? Is the bench equivalent to Lizzo’s bath water? Or has Thibs grossly mismanaged the bench all season? Or both?

[TKKnicks1]

The bench has some excellent individual contributors that are one trick ponies but when played collectively together they give solid minutes which more importantly gives rest to the starters to be more effective to close games.

[Jalen Bluntson]

Thibs issues with the bench have gone on his entire career. It has been going on forever.

[NYKnickerbocker]

I did find it kinda puzzling that thibs didn’t take a liking to a 6’5 defensive minded guard like Wright. It’s not like he played bad when Brunson was hurt.

I just don’t understand why it takes us having our backs against the wall to use other guys who have been solid players their whole careers lol

[Meat]

no our bench isnt good, it's just that indy's isnt either, thibs forgetting they suck and cant play defense

[NoDopeOnSundays]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

[Capn'O]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

Right, it's about the mix and adding scoring to scoring can have diminishing returns. When you have a guy who can defend and hit shots like Shamet or defend and lead an offense like Wright they have value next to a guy like KAT. Next to Precious Aciuwa... not as much. So you manage lineups accordingly.

[Iron Mantis]

Yes we were lied to.

It's about player combinations that are effective and complement each other.

If it's all out hockey subs, then of course the bench looks terrible...individually they're not talented as playmakers.

But If you have some bench players mixed in with our more prolific scorers...then the bench player's strengths like unselfishness/ball-movement, hustle/defense, spot up shooting, become catalytic and their individual playmaking/scoring deficiencies are not so pronounced.

[Enzo954]

You can't expect the bench to improve if you never give them real game play to improve and sharpen their skills. Only playing them in garbage time with 2 mins left in a blowout doesn't do anything positive. That's been the issue throughout the season.

[Deeeez Knicks]

Just always have KAT or Brunson out there and the bench can be good.

Bench is +1.3 per game with a +2.7 net rating. They have done well

[Gravy]

Well Josh Hart was on the bench again so its good now

[robillionaire]

It’s pretty bad. But with the lineup change McBride and Hart aren’t too bad off the bench. But our other guys are not good. Many of them unplayable. We don’t have a real type of bench spark you’d hope to see out of a championship team. I’d say it’s closer to trash.

[seren]

Most of the bench players we have contributed to deep playoff run teams in the past. This is a choice by Thibs. Dude is really bad at in game coaching. He doesn’t know what buttons to push, when to take a timeout and when to sub players. Due to these shortcomings, he would simply ride the starters whoever they may be and live with the results. This is a coach who would start a guy like Nate Robinson when injuries hit and run him to the ground only to bench him and don’t give him any time when his team is healthy. Remember that it took injuries for Jimmy Butler to start getting meaningful time under Thibs. Dude is simply clueless who he’s got or how to use them.

[NYKnickerbocker]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

Right, it's about the mix and adding scoring to scoring can have diminishing returns. When you have a guy who can defend and hit shots like Shamet or defend and lead an offense like Wright they have value next to a guy like KAT. Next to Precious Aciuwa... not as much. So you manage lineups accordingly.

Wright and shamet both have gotten heavy minutes on playoff rosters. Didn’t understand treating them like the rookies. Especially with Cam Payne playing like a deer in headlights the entire playoffs outside of game 1 against Detroit. Like you said, have to mix and match them properly with the starters

[RHODEY]

Our bench is somewhere between Trash and Mid. An excellent coach like Spoelstra could maximize it,. But even then its just not great. The bench guys with skill all lack size or athleticism, and the the few with size lack skill. The 2 exceptions to this might be Dadiet - who is years away, and Mccullar who may be solid or better given the reps.

[8516knicks]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

I don't know enough to judge but Carlisle pretty much said this at the press conference yesterday.

[ctorres]

Delon Wright is for sure. I don't know what happened with him this year with the Bucks where his numbers were really bad. His playoff numbers have been solid his entire career. He has played on 9 teams in 6 years since leaving the Raptors. Maybe the optics are that he gives you the bare minimum of what is needed from an NBA player, but doesn't provide enough for any team to want to invest in him.

When it comes to Shamet, he hit his highest 3pt percentage in 6 years. Still, I'm guessing with him, the optics are that at 6'4 with a 6'7 wingspan, so he is almost exclusively a shooting guard and cannot offer much positional versatility. He's carrying a ton of injuries that have limited him to where he can't be as good of a player as he used to be. So even though he is 28 years old, he may be a much older 28 years old.

Achiuwa would play if Mitch was injured. Thibs is dead set on the two of them being unable to share the court due to spacing. Achiuwa has been a 27% 3pt shooter for a long time. If he was at least a 33% 3pt shooter, I think you'd see Achiuwa out with Mitch.

[ctorres]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

I don't know enough to judge but Carlisle pretty much said this at the press conference yesterday.

Is Carlisle telling it like it is, or do you think he WANTS Thibs to plays those guys because he is ready to expose them?

[8516knicks]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

I don't know enough to judge but Carlisle pretty much said this at the press conference yesterday.

Is Carlisle telling it like it is, or do you think he WANTS Thibs to plays those guys because he is ready to expose them?

Well, there's the objective fact the 2nd half score was Knicks 61 Pacers 42. So I tend to think he was telling the truth. If he was waiting to expose them, that's saying he's as delayed-decision making as Thibs. (what was he waiting for?)

[NoDopeOnSundays]

It's good defensively and has been all season, but people only value scoring.

I don't know enough to judge but Carlisle pretty much said this at the press conference yesterday.

The bench had the 5th best net rating on the season and best DRTG, they struggle to score, but when they're in the opponents also have trouble scoring.

It never ever made sense not to play guys like Shamet and Wright, they physically matchup well with all the Pacer guards. Nobody is asking for Kolek, 3pac or Ariel to play in playoff games, but the vets who have playoff experience? Yeah they should play.