The Knicks have encountered a rare problem in today's NBA, and there's no easy fix

pulse

November 16, 2017 9:26 PM

In an era when the NBA is getting smaller, the Knicks have five big men who deserve time at center and not enough minutes to play all of them.

The New York Knicks have a logjam at center with four players vying for playing time.
Currently, only Enes Kanter and Kyle O'Quinn play, leaving Joakim Noah and Willy Hernangomez on the bench.
Going forward, the Knicks will either have to keep centers out of the rotation or find a trade to clear up playing time.

The New York Knicks have been one of the NBA's surprise teams this season, jumping out to an 8-6 start behind some inspired play from Kristaps Porzingis and productive offseason pickups.

And while head coach Jeff Hornacek has thus far been pressing the right buttons for his team, he also has some difficult decisions to make for the big men on the team.

In an era when much of the league is going smaller, when it's not unusual to see teams trot out a 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7 forward as the tallest player on the court, the Knicks have too many big men vying for playing time. Currently, the Knicks start the 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis at power forward and 7-foot Enes Kanter at center. Kyle O'Quinn has often been the lone big man off the bench.

The current rotation leaves out second-year center Willy Hernangomez, who has played just 65 minutes this season. Hernangomez had a productive rookie season that saw him average 8 points and 7 rebounds per game en route to making the All-Rookie First Team.

The rotation became even more crowded with the return of Joakim Noah, who spent the first 12 games of the season serving a suspension. Noah has yet to play in his two games back with the team, but Hornacek acknowledged on Wednesday that Noah will eventually want to play, despite accepting his current role.

pulse