The sorry state of the New York Knicks’ bench to start their first-round series against the Hawks has many wondering about possible solutions. Mike Brown has already extended his rotation with Game 1-DNP Jose Alvarado getting time in the second matchup, though the guard failed to provide the scoring lift New York needed to avoid the loss.

Ahead of Game 3, Brown is left with a couple of paths, including turning to backup Tyler Kolek. After all, it’s clear that NY needs a dedicated ball-handler capable of running the offense if the reserve-heavy lineups are going to continue like Brown already hinted.

However, if Kolek’s number is called soon, it will paint an extremely dire picture of where the Knicks are with their bench options.

Knicks don’t have time to start Tyler Kolek experiment as Hawks series gets serious

It’s a reasonable reaction to at least consider going deep into the bench when the primary reserves aren’t doing their job. Landry Shamet has scored three points in two games, Miles McBride has six, and both have three turnovers, showing they’re not cut out to be a main playmaker.

In theory, Kolek could bring something to the table. He responded well to his bump in minutes as a second-year pro, seeing his scoring (4.4 PPG) and assists (2.7 APG) increase while making the most of just a complementary (11.1 MPG) role off the bench.

When he was given his only start, the second-year point guard took full advantage of it and gave the team more reason to be optimistic about his future, recording 20 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists in an eyebrow-raising performance on Dec. 23. Of course, that also was on the heels of Kolek being a hero for New York in the NBA Cup Championship, where he put up 14/5/5 and excelled as a playmaker.

All of that said, the highs of Kolek’s season were months ago. Four of his five double-digit scoring performances throughout the entire campaign came before Jan. 31 of this year. His three best assist showings were all before Jan. 29 as well.

Could Kolek come in and give the Knicks some good minutes? Sure. He’s shown he’s the type of player who stays ready and is happy to do whatever the team needs from him. But the way Mike Brown used him to end the regular season also doesn’t put him in a position to be playoff ready.

After all, he didn’t play in the final four games, including the finale against the Hornets, which was a great tuneup opportunity with NY’s starters all sitting. Prior to that, he recorded 12, 19, and two minutes, which were preceded by a DNP, six minutes, and another DNP.

That usage makes it abundantly clear how little Brown valued getting Kolek in a good place for the postseason, as he prioritized other guys.

Turning to Kolek now would raise a red flag with the other bench players. It would show clear desperation if Brown thinks his 10-minute-per-game guard — who was made an afterthought as the playoffs approached — is the solution to the bench woes.

Maybe it would work out, with Kolek providing a steady hand as a natural point guard and more passion compared to the currently lethargic bench. Yet that’s more of a Band-Aid than a real solution, considering he hasn’t been used in a heavy-minutes role at all in his career to this point.

It’s easy to see him not maintaining a high level of play for an entire postseason run, or the experiment backfiring entirely since Brown didn’t set up the ideal conditions for it in the first place.

Instead, the focus has to be on getting the players above Kolek on the depth chart back on track. The microwave scoring from McBride and the shooting of Shamet have both helped get the Knicks to this point, even raising their ceiling with a stronger bench than their ECF run last season.

Brown found ways to get positive play out of these guys during the regular season, so there’s little reason to write off a return to form.

However, it’s clear both need the coaching staff’s attention as the series shifts to Atlanta, so any meaningful time spent on possibly implementing Kolek would get in the way of the bigger payoff of righting the ship with McBride and Shamet.

Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow