Let’s get this out of the way first, because I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea from this article. Obviously, Mitchell Robinson is the best center the Knicks have by a significant margin.
And obviously, New York is much better with him healthy and in the lineup. But, there’s an argument to be made that the recent update may actually end up being a blessing in disguise, at least in the long term.
Now, in the short term, heading into the season without their starting center is clearly a negative for the Knicks. They will miss his offensive rebounding, something that the Knicks built their offensive identity around. And his presence as a rim protector, who also has the strength to put up a fight against some of the best offensive centers in the league will be sorely missed. Robinson being out until December, or possibly even January or February will negatively impact the Knicks’ ability to win regular season games to a certain degree. That cannot and will not be denied.
That being said, Robinson’s absence will likely necessitate more small ball minutes for New York, which could be a very useful wrinkle in diversifying their lineups and playing styles. Now, Tom Thibodeau, a coach widely regarded as one of the most stubborn coaches in the league, has gone against logic and been hesitant to adapt to new styles in the past.
We saw him refuse to start an up and coming Immanuel Quickley at point guard in favor of Alec Burks a few seasons ago, which made no sense since Burks himself admitted that he wasn’t a point guard. And before that, he was very hesitant in giving Obi Toppin any kind of real minutes even though he clearly deserved it. And how can we forget about how long it took for him to bench Elfrid Payton when it was painfully obvious that he was hurting the team more than he was helping it? All this to say, Thibodeau, even in light of the Robinson injury update, could still decide not to experiment with going small that much.
But I have hope and fans should as well. One, it’s been reported throughout the off-season that the Knicks’ coach had already been planning on utilizing Julius Randle and OG Anunoby as centers for spurts. If he had already been open to doing so, there’s a good possibility that he’s at least open to the idea of going all in.
Precious Achiuwa started 18 straight games for the Knicks last season.
In those 18 starts, he averaged:
12.5 points (on 52.6% shooting),
9.5 rebounds,
1.1 steals and
1.8 blocks in 36.5 minutes a night.Achiuwa was one of only three players in the NBA to tally 100+ rebounds,…
— Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) September 23, 2024
Two, he doesn’t really have a choice. Sure, if Leon Rose and the Knicks front office go out and pull off a trade for Nick Richards, Walker Kessler, or Clint Capela, this point instantly goes out the window. But right now, Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims are the only real center options. Thibodeau could opt to trust them to start the season, and fans shouldn’t necessarily be against that decision per se.
Achiuwa, despite having clear flaws in his game, averaged 12.5PPG, 9.5RPG, 1.1SPG, and 1.8BPG in 18 starts last season, and proved to be a very useful player capable of filling in. During that 18-game stretch, Achiuwa, Victor Wembanyama, and Anthony Davis were the only players in the league to rack up 100+ rebounds, 30+ blocks, and 20+ steals. And now, with a full off-season and training camp with the team, Thibodeau could potentially get even more out of Achiuwa, as he did with Nerlens Noel, and Isaiah Hartenstein last year, and turn him into an even better player, especially defensively.
And while Sims has been mediocre during his short NBA career, we’ve seen guys like Quickley, Toppin, and Deuce McBride take big leaps as a Knick. It may not be likely, but there’s still a chance that the young center has a breakout season. It also can’t be forgotten that the new defensive tandem of Anunoby and Mikal Bridges should make things a little easier for both Achiuwa and Sims as well.
That being said, if the the team starts to struggle and the combined center duo of Achiuwa and Sims aren’t able to get the job done, I expect Thibodeau to adjust because despite the reputation he’s fairly gotten over his career as a stubborn and slow-to-adjust coach, we’ve all seen some more growth out of Thibodeau over the last couple of seasons. Sure, he still has his philosophies and he can still be slow to adjust, especially mid-game. But over the last two years, we’ve seen him, more than ever, be willing to change rotations and strategies.
And if, and hopefully, when, it happens, New York should get some very valuable experience playing small. Some of those minutes may be imperfect at first. But going through those growing pains in the regular season could set up the Knicks to be an even more dangerous team in the playoffs when it matters, and could eventually be the thing that raises the team’s ceiling.
Robinson should still be counted on to be a crucial part of the Knicks’ playoff success. But having the flexibility to deploy a small ball lineup of Jalen Brunson, Bridges, Anunoby, and Randle, with Donte DiVincenzo, or Josh Hart would be devastating.
Sure New York would be giving up size, and in theory, some rebounding and rim protection. But with this lineup, you still have Randle, who isn’t small per se and is a good rebounder himself, with Hart potentially helping him on the boards. And you still have two elite perimeter and wing defenders in Bridges and Anunoby, with the latter being a solid rim-protecting help defender as well.
And if they went with DiVincenzo, we’d finally get to see Brunson and Randle playing with three other great shooters to space the floor, which should make life for them so much easier on that end of the floor. Just think of the beautiful floor balance that lineup could provide. Brunson at the top of the key with Randle either screening or being the passing outlet around the free throw line. And they’d be surrounded by Bridges and Anunoby in the corners with DiVincenzo on the weakside elbow. It could be the type of lineup that has the potential to consistently keep up with the likes of Boston and Indiana, while still having enough defensive resistance on the other end.
Again, all of this comes down to whether the Knicks make any moves between now and Robinson’s return and if Thibodeau is open to utilizing small ball lineups more. But if he does, there’s a chance that we will look back next June and point to this injury as the catalyst to raise the Knicks from a contender into champions.
