Landry Shamet

Knicks Notes: Thibodeau, Brunson, Hukporti, Rotation

Asked ahead of the Knicks‘ first-round series about speculation that head coach Tom Thibodeau will be on the hot seat if New York doesn’t make a deep playoff run, star point guard Jalen Brunson referred to himself as a “big Thibs supporter” and strongly backed his coach, as Jared Schwartz of The New York Post writes.

“He means a lot,” Brunson said on Friday (Twitter video link). “Individually, he’s meant a lot to my career. I’d say he’s meant a decent amount to (Karl-Anthony Towns), coaching KAT in Minnesota and here. There’s a lot of players who can say they’ve definitely benefited from Tom Thibodeau in his career.

“But I think as a team, we’re always in a position where we can compete in the postseason since I’ve been here. He’s very prepared. He’s a very prepared individual. He’s done a lot for my career, so I’m always going to be a supporter. Always. Even when he annoys me. Always.”

Thibodeau has faced criticism over the years due a perception that he overworks his top players, and three Knicks ranked among the top six players in the NBA in minutes per game this season. But New York will enter the 2025 postseason with nearly all of its players – including everyone who’s part of the rotation – fully healthy, as Stefan Bondy of The New York Post notes.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Rookie center Ariel Hukporti, who has been out since February 26 while recovering from surgery on his left meniscus, was upgraded to questionable for Game 1 of the Knicks’ first-round series vs. Detroit and practiced on Friday, tweets Bondy. According to Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link), Thibodeau referred to Hukporti as a game-time decision, though it seems unlikely that he’d be part of the team’s rotation even if he’s healthy enough to play.
  • In a separate story for The New York Post, Bondy weighs the case for and against expanding the Knicks’ playoff rotation beyond seven players. As Bondy outlines, Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson are locks to see regular minutes off the bench, but it’s unclear whether Landry Shamet, Precious Achiuwa, or Cameron Payne will get off the bench. If Thibodeau does use an eighth man, Bondy believes Shamet is the best bet for that role.
  • Even after the Knicks added Towns and Mikal Bridges as offensive weapons last offseason, Brunson still led the team and ranked fifth in the Eastern Conference with 26.0 points per game. The Knicks will need him more than ever in order to make a playoff run this spring, says James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Knicks Notes: Rotation, McBride, Robinson, Towns, Bridges, Brunson, Toughness

How low will coach Tom Thibodeau go? In this instance, we’re talking about his rotation.

Thibodeau sliced his rotation to eight players in last year’s playoffs, then cut it to seven when injuries struck. The New York Post’s Stefan Bondy anticipates that Thibodeau will rely heavily on his starting unit once again in the opening-round series against Detroit.

Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson appear to be the only locks to get steady playing time off the bench. Landry Shamet, Cameron Payne and Precious Achiuwa are the other reserves who could be called upon but it’s likely only one will get rotation minutes, according to Bondy, who recommends that the hot-shooting Shamet should be the choice.

Here’s more Knicks news:

  • It’ll be the first postseason with the Knicks for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the front office’s two major acquisitions to become a championship-level team. The pressure will be on that duo to produce, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post opines. “I think for me and Mikal, we just wanted to show our value to the team,” Towns said. “And I think that throughout the year, we’ve had the opportunity to do that, to our fans and our teammates and our coaching staff.”
  • Jalen Brunson, who returned from an ankle injury this month to play four games, says that past playoff experiences will help the club navigate this postseason, Peter Botte of the New York Post writes. “I think for us, it’s, like any other season, it’s a roller coaster every year, there’s gonna be ups and downs, and it’s all about how you manage it,” Brunson said. “But now that the regular season’s over, it’s all about how we can move on and be better the next day. I know it’s a term that people don’t like to hear, but we learn from what we did in the past, good and bad, and move on and get better. That’s the name of the game at this stage of the season. … So we’re just focused. We still got a long way to go with preparation, still got a long way to go making sure we’re ready to go for Saturday. We’ll be ready.”
  • The talent is there but are the Knicks tough enough to make it past the physical Pistons and other potential opponents? Newsday’s Steve Popper explores that topic in a subscriber-only story.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, Anunoby, Rotation, Durant

Jalen Brunson was rusty in his return on Sunday after missing 15 games with a badly sprained ankle, but he did enough to help the Knicks close out a win against Phoenix, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. Brunson scored 15 points on the night, with seven of them coming in the final two minutes to shut down a late Suns rally.

“I could be better, could be worse,” Brunson said. “A lot of room for improvement on my end, obviously. I’m surprised about the conditioning part. I thought that would be a lot worse, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Mentally … just making sure I can trust myself in the things that I do. Everyone always talks about the physical part (of coming back from injury), but mentally, it’s about trusting your movements, the way you play and not second-guessing yourself. That was a huge adjustment, but I’m feeling a lot better.”

The Knicks now have a fully healthy rotation for the first time as they head into the final week of the season. At 50-28 and with the No. 3 seed virtually locked up, coach Tom Thibodeau wants to use that time as early preparation for the playoffs.

“As you head down the stretch, you want to check boxes,” Thibodeau said. “You want a winning record at home, winning record on the road. Fifty wins is good, and you want the highest seed possible. And then you want to be playing well. We’re going step by step. We’re not skipping over anything. This is the approach that we’ve taken all season long, so we’re not going to change now. We feel like this will help prepare us for what’s down the road.”

There’s more from New York:

  • Brunson’s return didn’t slow down the scoring tear that OG Anunoby has been on, Edwards adds. Anunoby shredded the Phoenix defense for 32 points while shooting 13-of-17 from the field and 6-of-9 from three-point range. He’s averaging 24.9 PPG over the last three weeks.
  • Miles McBride also returned Sunday after missing eight games with a groin injury. With Brunson back and Cameron Payne recently returning from a sprained ankle, Edwards notes that the Knicks suddenly have an abundance of guards and Thibodeau faces some difficult decisions regarding playing time. He used a nine-man rotation on Sunday, with Landry Shamet filling the final spot. Delon Wright, who filled in as a starter while Brunson and Payne were sidelined, didn’t play, nor did Precious Achiuwa, who has seen regular minutes as a backup big man for most of the season.
  • The Knicks should resist any temptation to trade for Suns star Kevin Durant, who is expected to be shopped this summer, advises Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscription required). Durant remains an elite scorer at age 36, but Vaccaro notes that he spurned the Knicks in free agency in 2019 and likely wouldn’t be worth the price it would take to acquire him.

Knicks Notes: Brunson, McBride, Payne, Anunoby, Hart, More

Jalen Brunson, who has been out since March 6 with a sprained ankle, is with the Knicks on their current two-game road trip and is expected to participate in the team’s next practice, which could happen on Friday, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

Given where Brunson is in his rehab process, it’s logical to assume he could return to action for one of the Knicks’ two games this weekend, either on Saturday in Atlanta or on Sunday back home vs. Phoenix, Bondy writes. Ian Begley of SNY.tv made a similar prediction, suggesting that he anticipates seeing Brunson play in one of those two games based on his current recovery trajectory.

The Knicks have six games left on their regular season schedule, so if Brunson is back in action for one of the next two contests, he’d have a week to get his feet back under him before the playoffs get underway. A weekend return would also put him in position to play the four games he needs to meet the 65-game minimum and qualify for end-of-season award consideration.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Brunson isn’t the only Knicks guard nearing a return from an injury. Miles McBride, who has missed seven games with a groin issue, and Cameron Payne, sidelined for the last four with a sprained ankle, are both close, head coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters on Wednesday. “Deuce and Cam should be any day,” Thibodeau said, per Bondy.
  • OG Anunoby is playing some of the best basketball of his career as of late, averaging 23.3 points per game on .476/.394/.843 shooting with his usual lock-down defense over the past 17 games. The key for the Knicks will be to see if they can keep getting this version of Anunoby after Brunson returns, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic, noting that the forward is driving to the basket and getting to the free throw line more effectively than ever. “He’s got a great mix going right now with attacking the rim, getting to the line and high-volume threes … he’s not hesitating,” Thibodeau said. “It’s really, really good basketball. And his defense is elite.”
  • The construction of the Knicks’ roster “fits me like a glove,” forward Josh Hart tells Bondy (subscription required), explaining that the healthy version of the starting lineup allows him to be the best version of himself. “We have three guys who can be No. 1 options (Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges). And you got OG, who can be a 2-3 option. So for me, it’s a benefit. Because I always got the worst defender,” Hart said. “And then if it’s a small guy on me, he got to worry about me crashing the boards. If it’s a big, we’re not hiding him. He’s going to be put into the action, and that allows me to kind of get into space and play my game.”
  • Begley checks in on where things stand with Mitchell Robinson‘s conditioning and talks to veteran wing Landry Shamet about the role he’s playing for the Knicks.
  • It would behoove the Knicks to lock up the No. 3 seed in the East sooner rather than later, according to Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscriber link), who notes that the team would benefit from getting its regulars some rest (or at least reduced minutes) in the final games of the season. New York’s magic number to clinch the No. 3 spot is down to three.

Knicks Notes: Tucker, Roster, Shamet, Wright, Robinson, Towns

The Knicks added P.J. Tucker on a standard two-year contract but they could still add another player to the 15-man roster within the next couple weeks, Ian Begley of SNY TV tweets.

There’s enough wiggle room under the second apron to add another veteran free agent on a minimum deal before the end of the regular season. However, the team would need to waive a player in order to create room on the roster to sign another free agent.

We have more on the Knicks:

  • Delon Wright and Landry Shamet are getting steady minutes with Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride and Cameron Payne on the mend. Wright, a defensive stopper, and Shamet, an offensive threat, could still play roles as the backcourt gets healthier, Andrew Crane of the New York Post writes. Wright started his third consecutive game on Tuesday against Philadelphia, while Shamet has delivered double-digit scoring off the bench in three of the last four games. Coach Tom Thibodeau appreciates Wright’s defensive prowess. “He’s got great size at his position,” Thibodeau said. “That’s his gift, is his defense, and he gets a lot of deflections.” Both players are on expiring contracts.
  • The return of Mitchell Robinson from ankle and foot injuries has impacted the defense, according to Begley and Robinson’s teammates. The team had the sixth-best defensive rating in March, its best ranking in any month this season. “The last month and a half, he’s been a monster defensively,” Josh Hart said. “Blowing up screens, blowing up handoffs, like a free safety on that backside.”
  • Robinson got a chance to start on Tuesday as Karl-Anthony Towns was ruled out due to a knee injury, Fred Katz of The Athletic tweets. Towns has appeared in 67 of 75 games.

Atlantic Notes: Shamet, Nurse, Tatum, Fernandez

Landry Shamet dislocated his shoulder during the preseason and could have opted for season-ending surgery. The Knicks guard instead chose to rehab the injury and so far, that decision is paying dividends, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post writes.

Shamet was waived in October, then re-signed with the club in December. The veteran guard is currently getting steady minutes due to injuries and scored a season-high 13 points against Sacramento on Monday.

“Yeah, knock on wood. I’m in a good spot,” Shamet said. “I attacked the rehab, took it very seriously. Frankly, that’s not much of a thought I have. I feel good, I’m in a good spot.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

  • Sixers head coach Nick Nurse came to dread reports from his medical staff as the team’s once-promising season disintegrated, he told Michael Grange of Sportsnet. “It was really, really difficult at times,” Nurse said. “What made it most difficult is when you’d actually go on a run and think you’re making some progress, and then you get hit again (with another injury). I remember having one really good win, I can’t remember who it was against, and after the game — I always get a report from the medical team — and he came in and I was like, ‘Please just let me get to the next game, we just played really good.’ And he’s like, ‘Uh, I don’t know what to tell you.’ You kept thinking you were going to get these guys back… and guys kept going down.”
  • In the Celtics‘ six-point loss to the Thunder on Wednesday, Oklahoma City shot 35 free throws while the Celtics only had 12 attempts. “Yeah, it’s tough,” Jayson Tatum said Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “You’re not going to keep them off the line. They’re very intentional about that, and they have been all season. You’re not going to be the first team where they shoot five free throws or something crazy like that. But there is a balance between that and 35 free throws. Granted, some of them were fouls. Some of them we’ve got to be better at. But I’m not saying that’s why we lost or that’s the ref’s fault or anything like that. That’s how it’s going to be in the playoffs.”
  • Nets first-year head coach Jordi Fernandez is drawing high praise from opposing coaches as well as his current and former players. Lucas Kaplan of NetsDaily.com examines why Fernandez has made such a strong impression.

Thibodeau Denies Having Conversation With Bridges About Starters’ Minutes

Knicks forward Mikal Bridges, the NBA’s leader in total minutes played this season, said on Wednesday that he has spoken to head coach Tom Thibodeau about the idea of dialing back the starters’ minutes to some extent and leaning more on the bench. Asked later in the day about that discussion, Thibodeau denied that it happened.

“We never had a conversation about it,” Thibodeau told reporters, including Stefan Bondy of The New York Post and James L. Edwards III of The Athletic.

Bridges, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby are all among the top six in the NBA in terms of minutes per game, with Hart and Bridges occupying the top two spots on that leaderboard. Jalen Brunson ranks 19th, while Karl-Anthony Towns is 24th. Thibodeau, who has faced criticism over the years for the heavy workloads he assigns his top players, defended his approach ahead of Wednesday’s game in Portland.

“The facts are the facts. When you look at our team, and the way it works, Jalen plays 35 minutes, and I think he’s 20th or 21st in average minutes played,” Thibodeau said. “(Towns), who is a primary scorer, plays less than Jalen. He’s like 25th in the league in average minutes.

“Your wings play more, right? They’re matched up with primary scorers. The way it works, if Jayson Tatum is in the game or Jaylen Brown is in the game, OG will be in the game and Mikal will be in the game. When those guys go out, (our) guys go out. When they come back, (our guys) come back. We try to keep them matched up. If you look at the league, all those guys are playing 36, 37 minutes — whether it’s Durant, Tatum, Brown. The wings are going to play more. They are primary wings defenders. That’s the way it works.”

Thibodeau also pointed out that Bridges’ minutes have come down as of late. The veteran forward played 39.3 minutes per night through his first 35 games of the season; entering Wednesday, he had averaged 35.5 MPG in his previous 21 outings. While Wednesday’s contest vs. the Trail Blazers represented the seventh time Bridges has played 40-plus minutes since February 1, five of those games went to overtime.

According to Thibodeau, his starters’ playing time will likely remain a little below where it was during the first couple months of the season because the reserves are healthier at this point, with Mitchell Robinson and Landry Shamet among those now playing rotation roles.

“We’ve started the season with Landry hurt and (Miles McBride) not 100 percent. So our wings did play more,” Thibodeau said. “So are they playing a little bit more than I would like? Yeah. Probably 35 or 36 (minutes), and that’s where Mikal is if you look at the last 10 games — he’s playing 35 minutes per game and four of those games are overtime games. So that’s the reality. Now that Deuce is healthy, those minutes are going to come down. So that’s the way it is.”

Although Thibodeau didn’t sound thrilled to have to revisit the discourse about his player usage, the day ended on a positive note for both him and Bridges, who scored a team-high 33 points on 13-of-21 shooting and nailed a buzzer-beating three-pointer in overtime to give the Knicks a 114-113 win (Twitter video link).

“He was huge, huge,” Thibodeau said, per Edwards.

Knicks Notes: Robinson, Anunoby, McBride, Hart, Towns, Shamet

The return of Mitchell Robinson and OG Anunoby to today’s practice gave the Knicks a fully healthy roster for the first time all season, writes Peter Botte of The New York Post. This was Robinson’s first time participating in a full practice with contact since undergoing offseason ankle surgery, while Anunoby missed the last five games before the All-Star break with a sprained right foot.

New York has already declared Robinson out for Thursday’s game with Chicago, but it appears his season debut won’t be far away. Coach Tom Thibodeau is looking forward to having his defensive anchor back on the court.

“You have to anticipate that the game’s gonna be different, so we’ll see where he is once he’s out there,” Thibodeau said. “He’ll need a little bit of time. But the things that he can bring, the hustle, the ability to see things early, play pick and roll, rim-protect, offensive rebound; those are things he’ll bring right off the bat.”

Thibodeau added that Anunoby was able to heal during the week-long All-Star break. Miles McBride was also back at practice today after a rib issue forced him out of last week’s game with Atlanta.

“It means a lot. Obviously after the break you want everyone to be ready to go,” Jalen Brunson said. “I’m excited to get down this stretch. I love this team a lot.”

There’s more from New York:

  • Josh Hart will be held out of Thursday’s game with patellofemoral syndrome in his right knee, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. The condition is also known as “runner’s knee.”
  • The Knicks have been the clear winners of the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns, who has become their best center since Patrick Ewing, contends Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. He states that Towns has been far more productive than Julius Randle, who was sent to Minnesota in the deal, while Donte DiVincenzo has suffered through an early-season shooting slump and a recent toe injury. Vaccaro notes that Towns has also shed any reputation he had of being “soft.” He has been able to stay on the court despite knee issues and a sprained thumb.
  • Landry Shamet appears to be the odd man out of the rotation once Robinson is cleared to resume playing, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. Shamet is averaging 11 minutes per night in 22 games off the bench, but Edwards notes that Thibodeau prefers a nine-man rotation at most and isn’t likely to expand that when Robinson becomes available. However, Edwards expects Robinson to start out on a minutes restriction, so there should still be some opportunities for Shamet.
  • Towns isn’t likely to complain if he has to move from center to power forward to accommodate Robinson’s return, Edwards adds. He points out that Towns’ most successful season came playing alongside Rudy Gobert in Minnesota.

Knicks Notes: Bridges, Towns, Hart, Shamet, Robinson

Traded from Brooklyn to New York over the summer, Knicks forward Mikal Bridges has had to adjust to new roles on both sides of the ball this season, as Chris Herring writes for ESPN.com.

On offense, Bridges is handling the ball significantly less than he did with the Nets, with his touches down nearly 20% and his usage rate easily the lowest it’s been since his last full season in Phoenix. On the other end of the court, he has often served as the point-of-attack defender on guards rather than being assigned to bigger wings, which means he’s spending more time chasing smaller players around screens.

“Teams wanted to try attacking him, because it was a different spot for him; especially early on,” one Western Conference scout said to Herring. “If you got past him initially, you could force all sorts of aggressive rotations because the team was still getting used to having (Karl-Anthony) Towns at the rim. And the collective trust didn’t look like it was there.”

While Bridges’ transition remains a work in progress, his offensive numbers have rebounded following an up-and-down start. Since the start of December, he has averaged 20.0 points per game on .523/.385/.757 shooting. He’ll face his old team on Tuesday in the Knicks’ first visit to Brooklyn this season.

“It’ll be just good to be back,” Bridges said on Monday, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. “To see my teammates and the coaching staff that was there for a couple months before I got traded. See the staff and everybody. Good energy.”

Here’s more on the Knicks:

  • Towns, who missed a pair of games due to a bone chip in his right thumb, was back in action on Monday against Atlanta. Josh Hart was also active after initially being listed as questionable due to a cervical compression that he said had been bothering him for a little while and was aggravated on Friday, according to Bondy. Towns’ injury appeared to be affecting his shot – his 27.8% mark from the field (5-of-18 shooting) was his worst of the season – but both players made it through the contest without setbacks. They’re listed as probable to play against Brooklyn on Tuesday, tweets Bondy.
  • Head coach Tom Thibodeau expanded his rotation from eight players to nine on Monday, with Landry Shamet earning 10 minutes off the bench after a pair of DNP-CDs, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Bridges was the biggest beneficiary of the move, logging just 27 minutes, well below his season average (a league-high 38.7 MPG). “It’s nice, man,” Bridges said, according to Bondy. “We got a lot of players, 1 through 15. So it’s good.”
  • Mitchell Robinson, who said just a few days ago that he was down to 268 pounds, said on Monday that he’s now at 265, according to Bondy, who suggests the big man’s weight is notable due to his struggles with fitness and conditioning coming off injuries. According to Begley, he hasn’t heard anything to contradict the “internal hope/belief” that Robinson could return to action in early- to mid-February.

Knicks Notes: Towns, Thibodeau, Hart, Shamet

Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns missed his third game of the season on Monday. Two of his absences have been related to patellar tendinopathy in his right knee. It’s a very common injury, but that doesn’t mean it can’t become serious down the line, according to a surgeon who spoke to Stefan Bondy of The New York Post.

It’s the most common injury I see in basketball athletes. It’s not even classified as an injury half the time because it just kind of exists and people live with it,” said Dr. Abi Campbell, the director of the NYU Langone Center for Women’s Sports Medicine. “The fact that it’s flared up so severely that he’s had to take time out either points to the fact that it’s cautionary in order to maintain him for the next set of games. Or, it’s having such a severe flare-up that he’s not going to be able to play at full capacity and he has no other option but to come out.

If that’s the case, I think that in the offseason the only option is to have it fully addressed because it seems like it’s been lingering and not getting better.”

Campell, who has not treated Towns or viewed his medical records, told Bondy that patellar tendinopathy is a “microtearing of the tendon” and a “chronic issue.” She guessed that Towns has likely been dealing with the injury for “years.” While it can be painful and result in limited function, it’s typically manageable — until it flares up again.

In order to heal, there are a lot of options but unfortunately most of them [like a PRP injection] need to be done in the offseason because they require some down time,” Campbell said. “So the natural way — which I’m sure he’s been doing for a long time — is doing blood-flow restriction training to try to strengthen your quad muscle to take the load off the patellar tendon, all those straps and braces you see them wear. And resting.”

Here’s more on the Knicks, who are currently the No. 3 seed in the East with a 25-13 record:

  • Head coach Tom Thibodeau has been criticized by the media over the years for playing rotation regulars a lot of minutes. Mikal Bridges (39.1), Josh Hart (37.7) and OG Anunoby (36.5) rank first, second and seventh in the league in minutes per game, with Jalen Brunson (35.0) at No. 23 and Towns (34.6) at No. 30. Towns believes the criticism is misguided, as Bondy relays (via Twitter). “I feel like y’all give him flack all the time,” Towns said. “No matter where he is. But y’all keep talking about him and that means he keeps getting a job and that means everyone keeps respecting him and knowing what he can do for a team. He’s done it in Chicago, he did it in Boston, he did it with us in Minny. And he’s doing it here. Even before I got here. So say what you want about Thibs — he gets the job done.”
  • Hart has accumulated six technical fouls this season, but he’s working to avoid them going forward, according to Bondy. “Some of the techs I got, I haven’t even cursed so I kind of been surprised by them,” Hart told The Post. “So I’m not going to say what ref but I asked him, ‘Do I have a bad reputation? Or what? Man-to-man, let me know. Because I’m trying to work on it.’ And he was just like, ‘No, you’re an amazing competitor. But sometimes in the heat of competition, it’s like you’re against us, too. Like you look at it 8 on 5.’ Which I do sometimes. So I think my complaining and getting techs hurts us. We’re giving them free points or the ball or whatever it is and those kind of things. So it’s just something I’m trying to be more cognizant of and work on.”
  • Veteran guard Landry Shamet recently had his contract guaranteed after New York decided to retain him past the cut-down deadline. He tells James Edwards III of The Athletic that he appreciates the opportunity to have a second chance with the Knicks after being cut during preseason due to a shoulder injury. “Playing for a lot of different teams, a lot of different teammates, seeing a lot of different situations, great players, different coaching styles, I think you just build up your memory bank and things you can draw from,” Shamet said. “I’m grateful for the journey I’ve had so far and thankful to be here and try to build and grow with this group.”