Knicks Playoff Rotation Becomes Clear: Who’s In, Who’s Out, What it Means

The Knicks have one more game in the regular season. Their playoff seed and first-round opponent remain unclear. Their playoff rotation isn’t. At least based on their recent two-game stretch against fellow playoff opponents.

In the Knicks' wins against the Hawks and Celtics this week, their players off the bench have been limited to Mitchell Robinson, Jordan Clarkson, Landry Shamet and Duece McBride. Jose Alvarado, Mohamed Diawara and Tyler Kolek, who were part of the regular rotation throughout the regular season, didn't play in those games and have only played mop-up minutes when the Knicks were blowing out their opponent, or being blown out themselves, over the last few weeks.

That leaves a nine-man rotation of starters Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart, with Robinson, Clarkson, Shamet and McBride coming off the bench.

“Those guys are probably our top nine when you’re talking about the playoffs,” Knicks coach Mike Brown said after the Knicks win against the Celtics on Thursday, “and it’s hard to play more than nine guys [in the playoffs].”

Knicks Players Riding the Pine

Kolek and Diawara, while important during stints of the regular season when other players were injured, were never expected to play big minutes in the playoffs. Alvadaro, who was acquired at the trade deadline, was expected to contribute. As McBride’s minutes have ramped up, however, Alvarado’s have gone down.

McBride played 11, 13 and 11 minutes in his first three games back from injury. Those numbers jumped to 20 and 19 in the Hawks and Celtics games, respectively. Alvarado, who averaged 16.2 minutes over 26 games since being acquired by the Knicks, didn’t play in either of those games.

Knicks On The Court

McBride hasn't been particularly sharp since returning, shooting 6-for-27 (22.2%) from the field and for 6-for-21 (28.6%) from 3-point range. He's a valuable defender, however, and can light up the stat sheet with his streaky shooting from deep.

That pairs best with Robinson, who is best served shutting down the paint on defense, gobbling up boards and being the primary pick-and-roll partner for the point guard on offense. Clarkson has been a pleasant surprise on defense for the Knicks this year as well.

Alvarado will be the first person off the bench if the Knicks are looking for a spark or another guard gets injured. But the Knicks hope neither of those scenarios plays out.

The starting lineup could potentially change based on the matchup or how a series is playing out. The Knicks' playoff seed and opponent remain in flux. The rotation appears to be set.