Obi Toppin has opportunity to show he belongs in Knicks' rotation
Obi Toppin of the Knicks against the Washington Wizards at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Credit: Errol Anderson
With a playoff berth secured Sunday night, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau was asked if he might sit some of his players for some part of the final three games remaining in the regular season.
He smiled and said, “I don’t understand the question.”
His usual joke aside, his point was made. While one goal is complete — his team is assured of a spot in the top six in the Eastern Conference and has avoided the play-in tournament — the Knicks have more to do and aren’t about to change strategy in these final days of the season.
It’s not just that, while unlikely, the Knicks could move up to No. 4 in the East or slip down to No. 6. For Thibodeau and the Knicks, there still is work to do, lessons to learn and preparations to be completed. And with Julius Randle sidelined for these final games of the regular season and his status for the playoffs uncertain, one of the priorities is getting Obi Toppin right and ready to contribute.
Toppin remains a lightning rod among the fan base, a former lottery pick who has been mostly buried on the bench due in part to Randle’s importance and ironman-like reliability. But part of it has been Toppin’s struggles to fit in with the defense-first style of play that Thibodeau demands.
With Randle sidelined, there is an opportunity for Toppin. On Friday in Cleveland, he got the starting assignment and was on the floor to start the second half, but once he exited the game, he never returned. A swarming defensive unit played the entire fourth quarter, just as it had in the fourth quarter against Miami last Wednesday.
But on Sunday, with Josh Hart tweaking his ankle, Toppin got to stay on the floor and scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter.
“It feels good, but it’s just, I just got to come back here and do what I got to do every single day to help the team win,” Toppin said. “I just do whatever the team needs me to do to help them win, I got to go out there and do it. It’s just, I mean, that’s what I do best, I run the floor, so it’s just knowing what I gotta do out there to help the team, I’m gonna go out there and do.”
Last season, when the Knicks were just playing out the string, Toppin got to start the final five games and averaged 27.2 points, starting with a 20-point effort and finishing with 35 and 42. They were meaningless games for all but those trying to make a mark in the league, but still a sign that what he did in college at Dayton could translate.
While the likely first-round opponent, Cleveland, has size on the front line, there have been hints that the nine-man rotation could be cut to eight in the postseason. If the Knicks are at full strength, Toppin’s minutes will be reduced, and even with Randle out, Hart has become the go-to defender at a number of positions, including as an undersized power forward. But it is a chance for Toppin to show he’s worth keeping on the floor.
“I thought Obi gave us great minutes,” Thibodeau said after Sunday’s game. “He put the ball in the basket. So I think those things are all a big plus. I thought Obi made a number of good plays off the double-team. He shot it. He made quick decisions. He skipped it across. He got us rhythm shots. And so, when you get everyone playing to each other’s strengths, good things should come out of it.”
Notes & quotes: Jalen Brunson was named the Atlantic Division winner and a finalist for the NBA Sportsmanship Award.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
