The New York Knicks have clinched a spot outside of the NBA Play-In Tournament in the Eastern Conference with their victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. What seed they will have in the postseason is anyone’s guess, as everything is still up for grabs beyond the Boston Celtics holding the No. 1 seed.
The Knicks could move as high as the No. 2 seed depending on how the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic finish the season. Milwaukee and Orlando are set to face each other twice to finish out the regular season, meaning the Knicks can gain ground on someone virtually every night.
That is, as long as New York continues handling their business. With games against the Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Bulls to finish out the regular season, we are going to start seeing what the Knicks’ rotation come playoff time could look like.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau will almost certainly cut his rotation down to eight players in the NBA Playoffs with spot minutes for other guys if need be. That means changes will be made, as someone won’t hear their name called.
In the opinion of Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the odd men out will likely be Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic. The Knicks’ big acquisition ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline has not panned out and Bondy believes their spots in the rotation are in danger.
“Creeping up on the two-month anniversary of the Knicks’ deadline deal with the Pistons, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks continue to ride the struggle bus,” Bondy wrote. “And it leaves questions about their future in the potential playoff rotation.”
With OG Anunoby back in the lineup, we have already seen Burks’ minutes disappear. He has been a DNP-Coach’s Decision for the last two games against the Bucks and Bulls. The writing was on the wall for Burks, who has been the least efficient player in the NBA since landing in New York.
Bogdanovic has seen his minutes yo-yo in recent games as well. This is the smallest amount of playing time that he has received in his NBA career and his minutes could disappear even more in the postseason.
Thibodeau seems comfortable playing him in the first half, but on more than one occasion has then not gone back to him in the second half. While he has shortcomings defensively, he is someone Thibodeau needs to turn to whenever Jalen Brunson is on the bench to provide offensive production.
The player who will be joining Burks as a reserve outside of the rotation instead looks to be Precious Achiuwa. He came up huge for the Knicks when they were short-handed, but Thibodeau has gone away from him in recent games.
Achiuwa will likely receive spot minutes in the NBA Playoffs. If New York draws an opponent that plays traditional lineups with multiple big men, Achiwau could see minutes off the bench. But, he will not be a regular part of the rotation, as Thibodeau has shown he will likely go with a 7.5-man rotation with Bogdanovic’s minutes fluctuating depending on the night.
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