Philadelphia has put together a starting group that will sell a lot of tickets. I’m more interested in what the Knicks can do when Joel Embiid sits and that expensive group needs help from an unsettled frontcourt.
The opportunity is on the glass. New York should test the smaller combinations with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond, while keeping enough players back to avoid turning an offensive rebound attempt into a Maxey fast break. Attacking that matchup doesn’t mean everybody gets permission to chase the ball.
The Knicks have a specific opening inside
Philadelphia used Jabari Walker at center extensively during preseason, with injuries complicating its reserve options. Adam Aaronson’s Monday reporting also identified defensive rebounding as an unresolved concern and relayed Nick Nurse’s emphasis on finishing possessions before facing New York.
The availability question still matters. Adem Bona and Dean Wade were listed as questionable Monday, not confirmed out. The Knicks shouldn’t prepare as though Philadelphia has already lost every alternative. They can prepare to identify and attack the smaller group if Nurse uses it.
Towns averaged 11.9 rebounds last season. In Thursday’s preseason finale, he collected 15, including three offensive boards, while Drummond added eight rebounds with two at the offensive end. New York finished with 15 offensive rebounds as a team. Those are examples of available size, not a prediction that the same totals will carry over against Philadelphia.
0What do you think?Post a comment.Make the smaller lineup pay without feeding its speed
I’d stagger the centers so New York can keep testing the reserve frontcourt rather than automatically play Towns and Drummond together. A two-big group is available as a short experiment, but it can also crowd the floor and make transition recovery more difficult.
When Towns has a smaller player attached to him, an early seal or a decisive trip toward the rim can force help. Drummond’s job in his own minutes can be simpler: make someone put a body on him and force Philadelphia to commit more than one player to the rebound.
Know when to send everyone back
The alternative is to prioritize spacing and get everybody back, especially if James is repeatedly finding runners behind the defense. I wouldn’t chase second chances stubbornly after the cost becomes obvious. Nor would I assume Walker can’t compete simply because he is smaller than New York’s centers.
Watch how many Sixers have to stay home to finish the possession. If Towns and Drummond make Philadelphia send help to the glass, New York can slow the very transition attack that makes the new starting lineup so dangerous. That would be a useful way to make all that star power spend part of the night doing less comfortable work.
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