The NBA playoff series between the New York Knicks and Philadelphia Sixers offers a stark contrast in the rest and exhaustion of their teams, setting the stage for a possible four-game sweep by the Knicks. With coach Mike Brown's team set to rest more significantly, the odds favor a quick series finish, but the odds may stay competitive depending on the outcome of Cleveland vs. Detroit playoff series. The Knicks will have a significant rest advantage heading into the second round.
The Knicks' week of rest means more than just a break. | Brad Penner-Imagn Imagesdecidedly important rest advantageNew York and its spryer legs won the series opener 137-98.
In fairness, Sixers starters logged 251 minutes in the first round, which was most among all playoff teams. Their starters were out of gas and their bench was non-existent, a classic Knicks problem in recent years under coach Tom Thibodeau.thanks to the Knicks having less tread on their tires. But it certainly didn’t hurt. Now it’s almost unfair how much time off coach Mike Brown’s team will have due to dispatching Philly in four quick games.
This comes with it seeming likely that Cleveland and Detroit will beat each other up for three more games. If Cavs-Pistons goes seven, the Knicks will have as many days off between the second round and Conference Finals as they did for the All-Star Break . The Knicks would go a full nine days in between games if things kick off next Tuesday, May 19.
Regardless of who wins or if the series goes the distance, the Knicks will be facing a team that will have played seven games in round one and at least six in round two. The longer things drag out, the more timeThere should be no concern when it comes to the rest versus rust debate. As per of the NY Post, there have been 201 instances of teams having five or more days of rest in between series.
In Game 1's, those teams are 113-88. For the whole series, those teams are 124-77. It's funny, after all the minutes police talk under Thibodeau, how little the Knicks' starters will be taxed heading into the stretch run. Part of which is related to Brown being more distributive with his minutes.
Another reason is thanks to these blowouts. Amazingly, during the past two elimination games, the starters haven’t even had to play a second in the fourth quarter. To put the lesser toll into context, here are the starters minutes allotment during the opening two rounds last year compared to now: Jalen Brunson: 470 → 347 , Mikal Bridges: 478 → 293 , Josh Hart: 445 → 339 , Karl-Anthony Towns: 427 → 285 and Anunoby: 479 → 282 .
Last season, the heavy starter minutes led to that unit getting predictable, even turning into a negative lineup by the end of the year. The group played a league-leading 940 minutes together. That dropped to 541 this year, per . There was also a noticeable fatigue both physical and mental from going all-in game-after-game during the long regular season grind.
Once again, Thibodeau played the starters a colossal number of minutes, part of which was related to the lack of bench options made available to him by the front office. Mitchell Robinson missed 65 games, Miles McBride missed 18 games, and they were without Precious Achiuwa for 25 games. There was also little faith shown in Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet and Delon Wright. All New York's starters finished the season averaging at least 35 minutes per game.
With Hart leading the league at 37.6 minutes per game and Bridges leading the NBA in total minutes played with 3,036. That number was 2,692 this year, which equates to roughly 10.5 games less of wear and tear when factoring in his season average of 32.8 minutes. It was a breath of fresh air seeing Brown be less reliant on big minutes from his starters. He entrusted sizable roles to Shamet, Jordan Clarkson and Jose Alvarado.
Every single player, down to two-way guys Kevin McCullar Jr and Trey Jemison III, made contributions. Youngsters Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti and Mohammad Diawara saw serious run. The Knicks were always playing the long game. Now the end game is here and there's no excuse for them not to be the Eastern Conference representative in the NBA Finals.
Especially not because of tired legs. Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendationsSteven Simineri is a freelance writer and radio reporter with Metro Networks, the Associated Press and CBS Sports Radio based in New York. His reporting experience includes the New York Knicks, Brooklyn Nets, Yankees, Mets, Rangers, New Jersey Devils and US Open Tennis tournament.
He has been a contributor for Forbes, Sporting News, River Avenue Blues and Nets Daily. He graduated from Fordham University and was a former on-air talent at NPR-affiliate WFUV .
NBA Playoffs New York Knicks Philadelphia Sixers Coach Tom Thibodeau Coach Mike Brown Cleveland Vs. Detroit Playoff Series Coach Mike Brown's Team Coach Tom Thibodeau's Team Rest And Exhaustion NBA Basketball
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