Getty New York's Elfrid Payton dribbles during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2021 in New York City.
The Knicks 2020-21 campaign began with NBA analysts across the country universally pegging them for another dud of a season. It ended with those same analysts universally praising the NBA’s favorite punching bag.
The Knicks, with their 41-31 record, put together their first winning season since 2012-13. As the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, they earned home court advantage in their first-round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks. And they’ve got a couple of frontrunners for NBA awards in Tom Thibodeau (Coach of the Year) and Julius Randle (Most Improved Player of the Year).
Yes, everything is trending in the right direction for the Knicks as their first playoff game in eight years approaches.
Er, almost everything.
As well as the Knicks have played collectively, the struggles of one player have fans wondering if a role change is in order. One beat reporter suggested that one may be on the horizon.
Role Change Coming for Elfrid Payton?
The Knicks got hot down the stretch, winning four of their last five regular-season games to surge in the standings. That was in spite of Elfrid Payton, not in any way because of him.
Payton, a 27-year-old guard, had a fine first half of the season, averaging 12.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.7 assists in the first 33 games. But his performance has dipped since, tumbling into an especially steep spiral in the final leg of the season.
Payton averaged 2.8 points over the past six games. In the regular-season finale, he failed to score a point for the second time in three games. He went 0-for-4 from the field and committed two turnovers.
Not great.
Payton, who started all 63 games he played in during the regular season, has seen his minutes decrease since the Knicks acquired Derrick Rose. But with how poorly Payton has played of late, could his role diminish even further heading into the postseason?
Marc Berman, who covers the Knicks for The New York Post, suggested a change could be on the horizon.
“Thibodeau considers Payton a physical defender because of his size,” Berman wrote in a Sunday story for The Post. “But if the coaching staff doesn’t think he can keep up with (Hawks star Trae) Young, a change to Frank Ntilikina may be in the offing.”
Thibodeau, meanwhile, said “we’ll see” when asked if he’d tighten the Knicks’ 10-man rotation for the postseason. “Matchups are important,” Thibodeau said, per Berman, “but I like the depth of our team.’’
Post Columnist Thinks Payton Should Be Benched
Berman’s colleague at The Post, columnist Mike Vaccaro, didn’t mince words when sharing his thoughts on the matter.
“Most people who watch the Knicks see one glaring hole. He wears No. 6,” Vaccaro wrote. “The playoffs begin this weekend at the Garden. Glaring holes generally become gaping holes in the playoffs.”
Vaccaro delved deeper into what a Payton-less rotation might look like for the Knicks in a recent article for The Post:
Thibodeau already plays a tighter-than-normal rotation. Would it be a terrible thing to insert Burks into the starting five, keep Rose in his microwave-like role off the bench joined by Immanuel Quickley? Or utilizing Ntilikina and his plus-defense skill set for more than just cameo appearances in an effort to keep Young from killing them?
Bear Bryant preached that you dance with the one who brung ya. But the Bear never had to watch Elfrid Payton implode at the worst possible time of a season. Tom Thibodeau has. Sometimes as a coach you have to change the music. For Thibodeau, it’s time.
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