With Mitchell Robinson out nursing a hip injury and Nerlens Noel forced to leave Monday’s game earlier to knee soreness, the Knicks were forced to go small the rest of the way against the 76ers.
Fortunately for New York, both Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris were out for Philadelphia due to COVID-19 protocols, meaning the Knicks’ lack of size wasn’t as glaring in a 103-96 victory.
But if Noel and Robinson have to miss more time, head coach Tom Thibodeau might have to get creative when putting together his frontcourt.
Taj Gibson would likely slide into the starting center role if both Robinson and Noel are unable to go on Wednesday night against the Bucks, when size will be paramount with Giannis Antetokounmpo waiting. But Robinson, who didn’t look like himself in Sunday’s loss to the Cavaliers, was eased back slowly from last season’s foot surgery, and could be handled cautiously again given his injury history. Meanwhile, Noel is just three games into his return from a hamstring and knee issue, which kept him off the floor since the beginning of preseason play.
There is a chance New York will be painfully thin at the rim on Wednesday, so what should Thibodeau do?
The second half of Monday’s win offers somewhat of a glimpse, though the Sixers having their own frontcourt problems meant Thibodeau was able to run out a smaller lineup.
“I thought RJ [Barrett] at the four was really good,” Thibodeau said. “[Andre] Drummond is a load to deal with…we were actually putting Jericho [Sims] into the game, but they took out Drummond, so they really downsized, so we went with five smalls and had Obi [Toppin] in there as well.”
Drummond hauled in 25 rebounds on Monday, highlighting both the 76ers shooting struggles, which opened the door for eight offensive boards, but also the Knicks’ lack of height at the rim. The rookie Sims, standing at 6-foot-9, didn’t see any minutes since Drummond was pulled by Doc Rivers, but he could moving forward if Noel and Robinson miss more time.
Thibodeau has gone small at earlier points in the season, particularly while Noel was out, using Randle and Toppin in the frontcourt, but Thibodeau doesn’t want to rely on Randle against opposing centers, keeping his concern on keeping Randle fresh and ready to play 40 minutes a game.
“If [Drummond] had gone out, Julius would have gone to the center position,” Thibodeau said. “Julius can do it, he’s had good success against the big guys, but I don’t want him to do it for an extended period of time, because it takes a lot out of you physically when you’re banging into that guy time after time after time.”
Will this become a necessity for Thibodeau? Will the Knicks have to construct their frontcourt on the fly in the short term? It all depends on the health of Robinson and Noel, both of whom have been superb rim protectors this season. Noel was ruled out for the rest of the game shortly after Danny Green fell on his knee, after he was already a game-time decision with a sore back.
Thibodeau said the Knicks will have to wait and see on the outlook for Noel’s return.
“I haven’t gotten an update, other than it’s his knee,” Thibodeau said. “We’ll see how he responds to treatment tomorrow.”
Follow Ryan Chichester on Twitter: @ryanchichester1
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