In Game 1 of the opening round, Cameron Payne went off, particularly in the fourth quarter. Eleven of his 14 points came in the final stanza as he shot 4-5 from the field and 2-3 from three-point range. The team was a +17 in his 10 minutes that quarter. That fourth quarter was pivotal in a game that the New York Knicks won by 11. Unfortunately for Payne and New York, he has done very little since then. The Knicks are now down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals to the Indiana Pacers. Is it time for head coach Tom Thibodeau to make a switch for the Knicks at the backup point guard position for the rest of the series?
Should Tom Thibodeau Change Who Backs Up Brunson?
Cameron Payne Has Been Receiving The Knicks Backup Point Guard Minutes
In the offseason, the Knicks signed the 30-year-old Payne to a one-year, minimum salary deal. Now in his 10th season, Payne provided excellent value for his price point over the course of the season. He averaged just shy of seven points and three assists on the year. Payne was a mainstay in Thibodeau’s rotation throughout the season. The 6-foot-3 guard has remained in the rotation during the playoffs, albeit with his minutes being cut in half compared to the regular season.
Admittedly, it’s not easy to make much of an impact when you are receiving limited minutes. The problem is that Payne has done next to nothing in most postseason contests since that Game 1 against Detroit.
After scoring 14 points in the Knicks first postseason game this year, Payne has totaled just 16 points over the next 13. After posting a +23 in that Game 1, he has been a -30 since. While he’s played just 6.6 minutes per game over the last 13, he is shooting an atrocious 7-30 from the field and 2-16 from beyond the arc.
In Friday’s Game 2 loss to Indiana, Payne started the fourth quarter. Thibodeau tried to get star point guard Jalen Brunson a short breather. The game was tied entering the fourth. The Knicks were outscored 13-4 in the three minutes that Payne was on the court.
Delon Wright Was Solid When Called To Start
If Thibodeau decided to take Payne out of the rotation, he could go with Miles McBride as the backup point guard. The problem is it wouldn’t be a wise decision. Shortening the rotation even more playing against a deep Indiana team isn’t a recipe for success. Thibodeau could replace Payne with a bigger player in the rotation such as Precious Achiuwa. Or, maybe he should give another 10-year veteran point guard a chance to play.
Delon Wright was acquired by New York at the trade deadline from the Milwaukee Bucks. He was out of Milwaukee’s rotation at the time of the deal, and that was also the case when he first joined the Knicks. He was finally given a chance to play when Brunson, Payne, and McBride were all out due to injury.
From late March to early April, the 33-year-old Wright started five straight games where the Knicks went 4-1. Playing 32 minutes per game over that time, he averaged 9.6 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 steals. Wright had an assist-to-turnover ratio of three. He shot 12-20 from inside of the arc and 7-18 from beyond it.
During the playoffs, Wright has played a grand total of 3:32 over two outings. Standing at 6-foot-5, he also is a better defender than Payne. While Payne occasionally goes on a heater on offense that we don’t see from Wright, we also haven’t seen anything close to resembling a heater from Payne in weeks.
The fact is changes need to be made for the Knicks to have a chance to overcome a 2-0 deficit in the Eastern Conference Finals. While this would be a minor change, it’s also one that could see the team play better in the Brunson-less minutes.
Photo credit: © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
The post Should Tom Thibodeau Change Who Backs Up Brunson? appeared first on Last Word On Basketball.