How emergence of Knicks’ younger players bodes well for this season and team’s future

Depth has not been the Knicks’ calling card over the past few years. But over the past month, it’s become more common to expect head coach Mike Brown to go to a 10-man rotation. In New York’s last two games against the San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans, 11 Knicks have played in close games.

Not much was expected from any of the Knicks’ first or second year players coming into this new season. The past couple of weeks, several of New York’s youngsters have stepped up and contributed to wins. In the process, the group has altered the ceiling of this roster both for this year and in the future.

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Tyler Kolek has led the way among New York’s youth movement. The 24-year old point guard has assumed a spot in New York’s rotation over the last handful of games and has even seen crunch time minutes in significant moments like New York’s NBA Cup win against the Spurs. In the past couple of weeks, Kolek has a 16-point, nine-assist Christmas Day performance, and 20 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists while filling in as a starter against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Second-year player Kevin McCullar Jr. had 13 points, eight rebounds, and two steals in New York’s Saturday night win over the Atlanta Hawks. In Monday night’s victory against the Pelicans, rookie second-round pick Mohamed Diawara emerged, knocking down four threes and scoring 18 points in 16 minutes.

As young players, they’re not always going to have standout games. But it doesn’t feel like the Knicks are having to rely heavily on any of the youngsters to consistently produce. In Wednesday night’s loss to the Spurs, Kolek had three points in 15 minutes while McCullar and Diawara both saw under 10 minutes of action.

The presence of the three aforementioned players adds depth to a Knicks bench that has looked thin at times. Landry Shamet and Miles McBride both have missed time with injuries and reserve forward Guerschon Yabusele has been ineffective. The performances from Kolek, McCullar and Diawara have come just at the right time.

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Another added bonus is the size of both Diawara and McCullar on the wing….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/emergence-knicks-younger-players-bodes-133014886.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-02 13:30:00

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