The New York Knicks are cornered.
As the team prepared for Game 5 of its second round of playoffs against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, The Athletic met with an Eastern Conference assistant coach for another team, who was granted anonymity so he could speak freely. Leading 3-1, Miami is one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the third time in four years.
Here’s our chat with the assistant coach, who touched on potential Game 5 rotation changes, Julius Randle’s volatile postseason, guarding Jimmy Butler, how the Knicks can attack the Heat’s more vulnerable defenders, and more:
(Note: This conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity.)
OK, let’s get to the technical side. The Knicks have frequently played doubles teams with Butler, but he rarely fights doubles teams. He gives up the basketball often, which causes the Knicks to spin and causes Miami to swing the ball around the edge of the field for three seconds. Do the Knicks just have to live with that? Do these rotations need to be crisper? Should they stop doubling Butler altogether?
I would definitely double Butler. I don’t think the problem was dual. I think the problem, as you said, is in the rotations behind it.
These are hard rotations. He’s tall and can go over the top, but they must be attached to a cord ready to move. As soon as the double happens, the next person must already be moving. If not, they are too late and then they get into trouble. They were behind on their rotations. I still think playing him in doubles is the right thing to do to get the ball out of his hands, but if you’re not crisp in your rotations it’s going to look bad.
What adjustment would you make in Game 5?
I only play Randle at Five. I know they didn’t (in the regular season). I thought they found something at the end of Game 3 (when head coach Tom Thibodeau played Randle and Obi Toppin at the end of a 19-point game). You could say it was a blast, but I thought they had a good run with Toppin on the four and Randle on the five. I’d rather investigate this quickly. I know it’s not necessarily how they play, but I would explore.
I just don’t know if they do.
You did it. You made it at the end of game 3.
Yes, but they only do that when they end games way down.
Total. Yes, they do when they’re on the ground. You’re right. But it’s the playoffs. You don’t do it at all unless you at least maybe think about it. Watching Game 3 again this morning, I thought they found something there. They did. I think there is a purpose in trying it and I would try again. I don’t think Mitch (Robinson) or Isaiah (Hartenstein) were particularly good.
The rebound fight is completely even in this series so far. And it’s not just the big men who get boards. By the end of Game 4, the Heat were hitting long offensive rebounds. Miami’s guards outperformed the Knicks by far. The Knicks can’t afford that. How are the Heat doing it and how can the Knicks fix the problem?
It’s a full team effort. You see these rebounds in the free-throw line area. I think the guards need to intervene.
It’s interesting to watch because they did such a good job in the Cleveland (Cavaliers) series against a good rebound team and it’s almost like the same thing happened to them that they did to Cleveland and stuff didn’t they play all season. I thought what Julius said at the end of the game – maybe they wanted it more. It certainly seems so. I think rebounds, loose balls and frantic plays are good indicators.
What I would preach is that it only takes one person to get the group going. So I don’t know who that will be, but it only takes one. You saw what Lonnie Walker IV did (in Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers second round series).
Could Evan Fournier do that for you? Could Derrick Rose make it at home in the garden? I know they haven’t played well all season, but it only takes one game to change the momentum of a series. I don’t think they’re at a point where they can just do the same thing and expect a different result. I know that’s how they play. I have the utmost respect for Thibs and the way he coaches the team. I just think they need to try something different. I can say that easily. I just wouldn’t go in there with the same group of people, especially if (Immanuel) Quickley (who is ruled doubtful with a sprained ankle) is out.
What other changes would you make?
I think one thing they didn’t do well, which I think they did great in the Cleveland series, is use bad defenders in pick and rolls. I think they’ve dropped that in this series. I know they’re going after (Kevin) Love while (Mitchell) Robinson is guarding him, and that’s a good way. If you want to just lean on (Jalen) Brunson at the pick and roll, which I think is a good idea, it has to be against love.
I thought there was one thing they didn’t do very well: when Duncan Robinson comes into play, he needs to be used in pick and rolls. That’s obvious. It looked like they were trying, but they couldn’t. Gabe Vincent does an excellent job handling pick and rolls. But when (Max) Strus bets on (Quentin) Grimes, it’s up to Grimes to better set and hold the screen to force the switch.
You Watch (Game 4). Robinson, he’s in the game. Brunson is not against him at the pick and roll. Why did you beat Cody Zeller with Hartenstein? In the Cleveland series, they picked and rolled bad defenders whenever they were on the field.
In this scenario, Randle can also perform a pick and roll. You’ve had success when he’s managed and you’re drawing poor defenders to the attention of him. I know the Heat are showing but driving and attacking still gives him an advantage. Against Bam (Adebayo) he has no advantage at the post. You tried to get there. I don’t see that as an advantage. But what I see as an advantage is that he handles it and then they set up screens with different players and try to get (Duncan) Robinson and Strus to get into him and give him an advantage to go downhill and Make moves for himself and his teammates.
If Duncan controls the game, he has to be there for every pick and roll against Brunson. Now it’s the playoffs. It’s called matchups, matchups, matchups. That’s the way it has to be.
The weird thing is, like I said, they just did a great job on the Cleveland series. They just ran Quickley into the pick and roll and he either flipped it over or he just stayed up and Brunson attacked the poor defender downhill in the middle of the field. You can do it. You have the recipe for it. I assume they will in Game 5. It could be too little and too late.
These guys are draped all over in Brunson. You have to get good defenders out of him, even for a split second, to create angles. Caleb Martin is draped – thanks to Vincent. He plays amazing. I know they’re not going to totally attack Brunson, but you just have to give him a little perspective. They’re all over him, and overall he’s doing a good job.
So many offensive possessions by the Knicks have evolved the same way: someone runs into the paint, defenders fall on the driver, and then the driver kicks the ball back to one of his teammates, who is driving into the same crowd. You have distance problems. What is the solution for this? Take more 3? Do you keep driving hoping to get fouls? Other staff? Different lineups?
They had possession in Game 4, they pushed into the crowd and the next man clipped just to make room and they got an open 3 from that. I think cutting alleviates some of those distance issues and too open shots can lead, especially against a team that packs the paint. But I think you have to be confident and shoot the ball. They have good shooters who have to be ready to shoot, shoot the ball with confidence and then live with the result. But multiple trips into a crowd won’t get them what they need. I think as far as the process goes, you just have to get the color, spread out the shooters and shoot the ball. In that sense, it’s easy.
What do you think of Randle’s postseason? Does it change your attitude towards him as a player?
For me it is not. I would understand the frustration of the Knicks fans. I still think he’s a good player and explosive goalscorer. he fights I think some of the effort bothers some fans. But for me I’d try to play him more on the five and I’d try to let him handle, just get him going. I think I’ll try to show him the first play of the last game – I get what they’re doing. They try to overload it, overdo it and give it more space. But they put Bam on him, and I wouldn’t attack Bam like that. I just wouldn’t do it. I think he has to play better. He needs to play a little harder. But I think there are a few situations I’d like to see him in to see if he can take advantage of that.
I was going to ask you if you would play Toppin in Game 5 after he was benched last game, but it sounds like you’re going to do that because you’d be undersized with him and Randle, right ?
Yes I would. I would play him in Game 5. I think he played well at home. I think role players play well at home. In the Cleveland series he, Hartenstein and Quickley played a big role.
I would play either Rose or Fournier (in game 5). I just think they need a different energy. And how lovely and poetic would it be if Rose helped them get back on track in the playoffs at home at the Garden? With Brunson playing that many minutes, I don’t really see why Miles McBride should get those other minutes. And again, I’m a big fan of Thibs and the coaching staff. It’s always easier to step into my shoes and just say it than to live it. So I add this caveat. But I just think Fournier could give them the space they need and I think Derrick Rose – I would play both. I think both could be helpful.
(Photo by Julius Randle and Jimmy Butler: Eric Espada/Getty Images)