OG's Back...What Now?
With OG coming back, the Knicks might be able to trim their rotation. But who should stay and who should go?
Good morning! The Knicks got some good news yesterday when OG Anunoby was upgraded to QUESTIONABLE for tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz. We’ll see if he actually gives it a go or holds off until Sunday’s bout with the Magic. In other news, Giannis Antetokounmpo avoided disaster on what first appeared to be a potentially serious injury, and he’ll be out for 2-4 weeks. On the trade front, it’s anyone’s guess as to whether the Knicks will be a significant player if and when the Bucks cross the rubicon of making him available. In the meantime, the Jazz await.
OG’s Back...What Now?
Today’s question comes to us from Elan Rosenblat, who asks:
Can you look into Kolek and Clarkson as a bench unit? The eye test to me seems like it leads to terrible second quarters with no defense. Is it Kolek or Clarkson? Or both? It does seem crazy to me to see Clarkson, Kolek and either JB or Deuce - three small guys - all on the court at the same time.
Given that the Knicks have been outscored in second quarters by a collective margin of 102-64 over the last three games, this seems like a very worthwhile topic.
And yet…
Going into the Toronto game, the Knicks were the best second quarter team in the NBA!
Now…
To give you an idea of how badly the last three second quarters have gone, New York has fallen from first to 7th over the last five days thanks to a negative 58.1 second quarter net rating (not a typo) in that time.
Turning to Elan’s presumed culprits, Kolek and Clarkson played together for 17 total minutes over the last three second quarters and the Knicks have been outscored by 14 points in that time.
Before you get too mad at them though, they aren’t nearly the worst two-man combo when it comes to getting waxed recently. Lineups featuring Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges have been outscored by 27 points in 19 second quarter minutes since Sunday, while the combo of Kolek and Bridges has been outscored by 20 in just five total second quarter minutes this week.
Looking at a sample size of larger than 17 minutes, the early returns on the Kolek/Clarkson backcourt aren’t great.
