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New York Notes: Ryan, Hart, Nets, Simmons, Clowney

November 13th 2024 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Veteran sharpshooter Matt Ryan played non-garbage-time minutes on Tuesday for the first time since joining the Knicks, as head coach Tom Thibodeau expanded his rotation to nine players in a win over Philadelphia, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Ryan went 0-of-3 from the field and was a minus-six in nine minutes of action, but Thibodeau sounds prepared to give the 27-year-old more opportunities to prove he deserves regular playing time.

“I almost (played him) last game,” Thibodeau said. “But he just got here and because we had six of seven on the road, there hasn’t been a lot of practice time. It’s going to take him a little bit of time for him to get up to speed. But he’s smart and he’ll pick it up quickly. It’s good to have that.”

As Bondy notes, in addition to inserting Ryan into the rotation, Thibodeau got guard Cameron Payne back on Tuesday after he missed four straight games due to a hamstring strain. The duo joined Miles McBride and Jericho Sims as rotation reserves vs. Philadelphia.

While the starters still saw plenty of action, OG Anunoby was the only one to log more than 38 minutes after four starters surpassed that threshold in Sunday’s loss to Indiana.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York-based teams, the Knicks and Nets:

  • After struggling to find his fit in the Knicks‘ new-look lineup during the preseason, Josh Hart is off to a career-best start, notes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Hart’s 9.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game would be career highs, while his average of 13.8 points per game is well above his career rate. The do-it-all guard/forward also leads the NBA with a 76.8% shooting percentage on two-point attempts.
  • Ben Simmons appears to be getting comfortable after returning to his natural point guard position in the Nets‘ second unit, writes Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Simmons had a season-high 12 assists in 22 minutes off the bench in Monday’s win over New Orleans, as head coach Jordi Fernandez has staggered Simmons’ and center Nic Claxton‘s minutes in order to avoid spacing issues. “I believe that if we have Ben in the Cleveland game we win the game. That’s obvious,” Fernandez said of Saturday’s five-point loss to the Cavaliers, which Simmons missed due to lower back injury management. “We have a ball-handler, a player that’s been there, a player that plays fast. We stopped running in the second half and Ben is the best at throwing the ball ahead and making us run. So it’s good to have him back, for sure. He’s going to help with those things.”
  • After playing well during the final few weeks of his rookie season, Nets big man Noah Clowney had gotten off to a slow start this fall, averaging 5.6 points per game on 31.9% shooting through his first eight outings. As Lewis details, Clowney enjoyed a breakout game on Monday when he scored a season-high 15 points and knocked down 5-of-10 three-pointers. “Noah, one thing he’s done consistently is just continue to let it fly and it’s how it works, like you do not control if it’s gonna go in,” Fernandez said. “You can control if you take a good shot. He kept taking a good shot after good shot after good shot. Like 5-for-10, it’s what we want to see. And I want him to keep shooting every time.”
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