The Knicks have won two in a row and many people including myself believe it has to do with the new rotation that has been implemented. Typical guys like Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, and Cam Reddish do not see the floor anymore, and guys that typically don't see the floor, like Deuce McBride, are getting key minutes.
The thing that Tom Thibodeau stresses the most is defense, and since he has made these changes to the lineup, the defense has stepped their game up. Against two of the most prominent offenses in the east in their last two games, the Knicks allowed 81 points to the Cavs and 89 points to the Hawks. Before those two games, there had not been one game all season where the Knicks opponent scored under 100 points in a game.
It also makes it so the entire 9 man rotation that the Knicks are running out there is incredibly young. My whole mentality with this Knicks team, if they weren't going to trade for a star, is to give the young guys a chance and this is their chance and they've handled it well so far.
Now with all good things, there is always some negatives. You can't have two guys who sit on the bench and never see the court be making $32 million combined and just be sitting there. You have to find a way to trade these guys and unfortunately it may be hard to do. Sure, Derrick Rose used to be one of the best players in the NBA, but now he is getting older and is always hurt.
Also, no team wants to eat Evan Fournier's annual salary of $18 million. The only appealing asset out of the three players that have been benched is Cam Reddish. Reddish showed some glimpses of what he can do this season, and to be honest I don't know why Thibs benched him.
The Knicks traded a first-round pick for him just last year and this year he is finally showing you what he can do, and you just decide to bench him? Unless the Knicks are trading him and getting a good half of the deal then this move makes no sense. The Knicks are definitely overcrowded with talented guards, but at least let Reddish cool off and start to struggle before you bench him while he is playing good basketball.
That was the case with Rose and Fournier, they were struggling this season and weren't providing any boosts to this team, so they found their seat on the bench. If Rose and Fournier do not find their way back into the rotation, they need to be traded because there is no point in paying players a combined $32 million to watch the games courtside.
In the end, I am happy with what Tom Thibodeau is doing in letting the young guys play. If you don't let them play, then you might not know how good they really are and we are just figuring out what they can provide to this team now.
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