The police minutes, as Tom Thibodeau calls them, came out in full force in the last few days. After Knicks‘In the Game 4 loss at Indiana, the public debate surrounding the Knicks centered on Thibodeau and the way he distributes minutes among his players.
Carlos Barkley shared your thoughts. The same happened with Kendrick Perkins. And many others. Maybe you agree with Barkley. Maybe you see this the same way Perkins does.
Even Thibodeau’s biggest detractors had to give him credit Tuesday night.
The coach’s decision to start Miles McBride in the Knicks’ biggest game this season paid huge dividends.
The Knicks outscored Indiana by 26 points when McBride was on the floor in Game 5.
The positive or negative sign of a single game can be misleading sometimes, but not in this case. The stat accurately measures McBride’s impact in Game 5.
“Huge,” Donte DiVincenzo said Tuesday night when asked about McBride. “Offensively, spacing the floor, being aggressive. And defensively turning hell into full court, denying. Being able to help and come back. He was special tonight.
Starting McBride and bringing Precious Achiuwa off the bench gave the Knicks better spacing on offense. With Achuiwa on the court in Game 4, the Pacers could afford to put an extra defender on or near the court, clogging lanes and taking away offensive rebounding opportunities.
But Indiana had to pay attention to McBride on the perimeter. So his presence created more space in Game 5; It was no coincidence that the Knicks outscored Indiana 62-36 in the game.
This space also helped the Knicks on the offensive glass. They had 20 offensive rebounds on the night. Indiana finished with just five.
McBride’s screening for Jalen Brunson it was effective. This was his defense in Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton had a quiet night (13 points on nine shots).
McBride was everywhere for the Knicks in his 40 minutes. Without his play — and without Thibodeau’s adjustment — New York could face elimination Friday night in Indianapolis. Instead, they have a chance to close out the Pacers in Game 6.
Even the minutes the police have should be happy about that.
