The New York Knicks are in sixth place for the Eastern Conference playoff picture, led by the strong play of their starters.
Julius Randle has become the leader of this team, scoring 24.4 points and hauling in 10 rebounds per game.
Jalen Brunson has taken a big scoring role since joining the Knicks this offseason, posting a career high in scoring so far.
The rest of the starting lineup is rounded out by the strong play of RJ Barrett, and the role playing of Mitchell Robinson.
However, when you look beyond the starters, the Knicks begin to drop off.
Immanuel Quickly has been the team’s best option off the bench, averaging over 11 points per game.
Tom Thibodeau on Immanuel Quickly
“I love when he shoots… I feel like every time he shoots, particularly 3’s, they are going in.”
— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) October 31, 2022
Beyond that, there is not much depth with the Knicks.
In their Friday night win over the Toronto Raptors, the Knicks only used five players off the bench, with a lack of production from most of them.
While Quickly and Miles McBride played well, the Knicks need more if they hope to compete in the playoffs.
With the trade deadline looming, expect that to be an area of focus for the Knicks.
Players like the Utah Jazz’s Malik Beasley should be on the Knicks’ radar.
Most 3s off the bench this season:
114 — Malik Beasley
[gap]
82 — Georges NiangOnly Buddy Hield and Donovan Mitchell have made more 3s this season. pic.twitter.com/uiwokMk9lL
— StatMuse (@statmuse) January 6, 2023
He would give the team a reliable scoring option on the bench.
This is as players like Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier have underproduced this season.
If the Knicks want to become legitimate contenders, they need to look at the available role players on the market.
Their starters are prepared to carry most of the load offensively.
However, finding the right contributing pieces could help the team tremendously.
