The New York Knicks find themselves up against it heading into Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Miami Heat in South Beach Monday evening.
New York is coming off a disheartening blowout loss to the Heat on Saturday and find themselves down 2-1 in the series. A loss Monday night would pretty much put an end to the Knicks’ hopes of a conference title.
In speaking to the media ahead of Game 4, New York Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau wouldn’t rule out rotation changes. That includes bringing the likes of deep bench options such as Derrick Rose and Evan Fournier into the rotation.
“Everything’s on the table. We’ll see how it unfolds,” Thibodeau told reporters.
In addition to some struggles on the part of an obviously injured Julius Randle, the Knicks’ bench has struggled big time through the first three games of the series.
Prior to suffering an ankle injury in Game 3, NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist Immanuel Quickley wasn’t himself. He’s shooting just 36% from the field while averaging nine points. Obi Toppin is shooting 39%. Meanwhile, reserve center Isaiah Hartenstein is averaging just 1.7 points despite ranking in the top six on the team in minutes played.
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We’re not really sure what Rose and Fournier will be able to bring to the table against one of the best defenses in the NBA.
Rose, 34, has played less than five combined minutes since he was taken out of the rotation back on January 2. The former league MVP averaged 5.6 points on 38% shooting during the regular season.
A big-ticket free agent signing back in 2021, Fournier saw action in 27 games during the regular season. Outside of New York’s meaningless final four games during the regular season when they had the fifth spot locked up, Fournier hasn’t seen the court since mid-February.
With all of that said, New York’s ability to overcome a 2-1 series deficit will be dependent more on the stars than deep bench options. Jalen Brunson (27% from three) and Julius Randle (37% shooting) need to up their specific games.
As for Quickley, Thibs noted that the guard is day-to-day with the ankle injury he suffered on Saturday. It will be interesting to see his status before tip-off from Miami at 7:30 PM ET Monday evening on TNT.
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