Landry Shamet Isn't the Only Knick Who Will Be Fighting for ECF Playing Time

Landry Shamet is just one of the Knicks reserves hoping to play a role in the conference finals. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

With the Knicks finally playing basketball again, on-court hypotheticals carry more weight again. One of the hypotheticals the team must consider deeply is who among the reserves will play, especially if star OG Anunoby comes back in top form for Game 1.

Second-unit minutes will be huge in this series, yet New York's bench has underwhelmed several times this playoffs. This means several guys could emerge as a favorite for this rotation or be relegated to the bench if they don't generate trust with the coaching staff.

Landry Shamet

Landry Shamet is the Knick whose role has fluctuated the most during this playoffs. He went from mainstay of the rotation in the regular season to being demoted to the garbage time crew during the first round.

But Anunoby's injury against Philadelphia opened up a new opportunity for Shamet, who seized it, scoring 27 total points (including 6-of-9 shooting from deep) over Games 3-4.

This performance has likely put him back in the conversation for early reserve minutes, though he'll have a tight leash even if he does return to his usual role, considering how ugly things were earlier this postseason. There will be less playing time up for grabs, assuming Anunoby is good for Game 1, so Shamet has to make the absolute most out of his opportunity whenever Brown calls his number.

Miles McBride

Though Miles McBride is being treated as the top bench option, his play leaves room for a reduced role if things continue to slip.

He's putting up a lackluster 7.5 PPG in the playoffs after averaging 12.0 during the season, and his postseason average is boosted by a 25-point showing in Game 4 when the Sixers got ran off the court. Meanwhile, he's logged efforts of four, three (x2), and zero (x2) points, making up five of his 10 appearances in the postseason.

Miles McBride needs to show Knicks a little more in playoffs. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

McBride got the nod to start the two games Anunoby was out, likely mainly because of his defense. That'll come in handy against Donovan Mitchell and James Harden. But if he drops off on that end while continuing to disappoint on offense, there's a chance he's benched to give another player a chance to show they'd do more with the opportunity.

Jordan Clarkson

Jordan Clarkson clearly has a place in this rotation, though it's also one that tends to differ based on the game.

In the first round, Clarkson played around 11 minutes three times, but then crossed the 16-minute mark three times as well, including 20 minutes in Game 4. In the second round, he played 13 minutes twice, but logged just eight minutes in the closest contest of the series, Game 2.

As a former starter and even Sixth Man Award winner, Clarkson is fully capable of playing his fair share of minutes. Yet Brown has kept Clarkson's usage mostly capped with a few exceptions. With his scoring, the vet realistically could take hold of a larger role, but he also needs to make that happen. Clarkson hasn't notched double-figure scoring even once in the postseason.

His reputation and reliable (although modest) contributions have helped him be a clear part of this playoff run, yet that's not at all guaranteed to continue if others start to play better. He's simply on the more favorable end of an unimpressive bench spectrum, so he has to earn his time on the court or risk seeing the starters cut into his playing time even more.

Jose Alvarado

Jose Alvarado represents the final consistent spot for minutes off the bench, but that's a scary position to be in. Brown could shrink his rotation any game now, with the stakes only growing, to get his best players even more court time. This means Alvarado has to make it hard for the coaches not to find a way to play him.

He already did that earlier this postseason, as the spark he provided against the Hawks following a Game 1 DNP kept him from riding the bench again. Despite many thinking the energetic guard's time would increase as these playoffs go on, he's played fewer than 10 minutes in the majority of outings.

Jose Alvarado is on the Knicks minutes bubble. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

In fact, his three highest totals were against Atlanta in the first round and then the Game 4 blowout against Philadelphia. That signals someone who'd be first on the chopping block if a bench reduction were made. Alvarado can delay that, however, by making his impact felt against Mitchell or Harden whenever he is given an opportunity in the conference finals.

...Mikal Bridges?

There remains a possibility that Mikal Bridges slips back into the diminished form he found himself in when these playoffs first began. While he broke out of that slump with a huge game to close out the Hawks and kept that going against the Sixers, a long delay between series also puts a pause on any good momentum he built up.

That leaves the door open for any of the aforementioned players to see a playing time bump should Bridges go off the rails again. It also means he still needs to prove that funk is 100% behind him, especially as Brown tries to determine which guys he thinks give this team the best chance to capture a title.

While Bridges' talent and level of performance when at his best aren't touched by any secondary option New York has on hand, he needs to put them to use. Or he may face another demotion after already being stuck on the bench midway through the Atlanta series.