Cam Reddish is getting an opportunity few thought was possible this season, while Obi Toppin still waits for that chance because of Tom Thibodeau’s faith in Julius Randle.
Reddish was largely an afterthought before the season. He was coming off shoulder surgery and the Knicks declined to give him a contract extension, meaning the 23-year-old is headed to free agency in July — and probably to another team. Despite Reddish’s smooth scoring and physical attributes, Thibodeau found more value in Quentin Grimes’ defense and Evan Fournier’s distance shooting. In fact, just a few weeks before training camp as rumors circulated about Reddish’s desire to play elsewhere, a source close to the player responded, “It’s clear Cam has no place there.”
Yet Wednesday night against the Nuggets represents Reddish’s seventh straight start at shooting guard. He has played so well that Thibodeau cut two other guards entirely out of the rotation.
Grimes and Fournier, the duo who were supposed to fight for a starting spot, both logged DNPs in Tuesday’s victory over the Jazz. Reddish, meanwhile, dropped 19 points in 31 minutes.
“It gave us a better rhythm,” Thibodeau explained of his rotation adjustment. “That’s why we did it.”
Fournier’s demotion is more notable and the Frenchman deserves credit for handling it with class and professionalism. It shows Thibodeau’s willingness to go with youth over a high-paid veteran. The coach did something similar last season with Kemba Walker, who didn’t take it well and left the team at the All-Star break.
Thibodeau, however, has never tried to cut minutes from Randle, no matter how much the power forward struggles. Keeping Randle on the court makes sense from multiple perspectives: despite his inconsistencies, the 28-year-old is still the most feared player on the Knicks roster (just ask opposing teams); Randle is considered a leader, as demonstrated by organizing the team dinner Monday in Utah; His four-year, $106 million extension kicks in this season.
But the problem with Toppin hasn’t gone away. Thibodeau tried to play Randle and Toppin together, and, aside from one fourth quarter in Philadelphia, the results were ugly. The two-man lineup has a -8.1 net rating and they’ve been outscored by 10 points in 43 total minutes.
Toppin is increasingly effective with a reliable 3-point shot — 42.3% heading into Wednesday — but was still only averaging 17.8 minutes as Randle’s backup.
The victory Tuesday in Utah underscored how this Randle-Toppin dynamic can be troublesome. Toppin was a catalyst to the game-breaking fourth quarter run and easily one of the Knicks’ most productive players.
As Thibodeau remarked unsolicited after the game, “I thought Obi played well. Like, really well.”
Still, Thibodeau pulled Toppin for Randle with six minutes remaining. The Knicks outscored the Jazz by 23 points with Toppin on the floor, but he only logged 18 minutes.
Reddish, on the other hand, didn’t have any such impediment. He played 33 minutes for a second straight game and has an opportunity that would’ve been hard to predict a month ago.
