Knicks coach Mike Brown believes players' minutes are not set in stone
Knicks guard Tyler Kolek dribbles the ball up court against the Chicago Bulls in the first half of an NBA basketball game at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Knicks already were pulling away at the end of the first quarter Wednesday night against the Bulls, with no mystery left to the outcome. The one bit of intrigue came when Mike Brown lifted Jalen Brunson to start the second quarter after his 22-point explosion in the opening 12 minutes and inserted Tyler Kolek.
Just two days earlier, Brown had maintained that a player doesn’t lose his spot because of an injury, but after sitting out four games with an ankle issue, Jose Alvarado returned on Monday and was ineffective against the Nets. Now Kolek was getting the call ahead of him; Alvarado didn’t enter the blowout win over Chicago until 9:08 was left in the game.
“Every position coming off the bench is a competition all the time,” Brown said afterward. “You know, nobody’s minutes are set in stone.”
While the Knicks are finding their footing through the early portion of the season, what has become clear is that the scripted minutes chart that Brown takes into a game means little compared with what he’s seeing night by night on the floor.
He has maintained that the members of the starting five are given grace to find their way and that off the bench, Landry Shamet has attained a status in which he too will get his minutes no matter what he’s going through on a given night.
After that, it’s up for grabs, and that might be a good thing. While coaches like to form a steady rotation, Brown has let his players know a simple truth: Get the job done and you’ll play. And if not, enjoy the show.
That has meant that Andre Drummond has shifted from hero on opening night to a second-half benching on another night. Alvarado might be heralded as one of the heroes of the NBA Finals on one night and then watch a blowout from the bench on another.
Even Dalton Knecht, who was picked up after being waived by the Lakers on the eve of the season, might have played his way into an opportunity with a solid debut Wednesday in which he contributed 10 points and seven rebounds in 16 minutes.
“It’s a gut feel,” Brown said. “He’s on my quote unquote minute sheet, he’s down for zero minutes. It’s just a gut feel to throw him in at the end of that first half. He’s a scorer. He’s not just a shooter. A lot of people think he’s just a shooter because he’s white. I said it for you. I hope I don’t get in trouble.
“He can go get it. He can shoot from range, he’s got a medium game, he can get to the rim and he can pass. He’s got to work defensively, and I thought tonight he tried to play within himself and contributed the best way he could. There were a couple things defensively that he can do a little better, and that’s what he really has to concentrate on, but I thought he gave us a nice little lift, especially offensively when he played towards the end of the first half.”
Drummond went from 24 minutes on opening night to seven in each of the next two games. Jordan Clarkson totaled 16 minutes through the first three games and didn’t play at all in the next game or the first half of the fifth game before playing 16 minutes in the second half that night. Kolek didn’t get off the bench in the first two games but has 31 assists and two turnovers in 73 minutes since then.
It’s not only the coaches who like to know a set minutes pattern. Players like to know when they are getting into a game. But it’s hard to argue with Brown, as the performances have been as inconsistent as the minutes. Alvarado wasn’t pushed down the bench for any reason but the zero-point, zero-assist performance in just under nine minutes against the Nets.
“Obviously, you looking at a guy like Landry, he may have a little bit more leash than Pac [Dadiet],” Brown said. “Landry’s as close to being a starter as you can imagine for us. Everybody else, they have to play, and even the starters and Landry, they do, too.
“But you know, Jose had the first opportunity [against the Nets] and then I gave Tyler an opportunity in the second half and Tyler played well. So I go with Tyler, and if I feel I need to make a change, Tyler’s not getting it done in my eyes, I’ll go back to Jose.
“Both of those guys helped us win at a high level. Tyler helped us win the NBA Cup against San Antonio in Vegas and Jose helped us win in the Finals, so either one of those guys we feel can help us in a lot of good ways at any time. So they just have to both stay ready and make sure that they continue to do what they’re doing. When they’re not playing, they’re both doing a heck of a job cheering for their teammates and trying to uplift everybody.’’
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
