James Wiseman didn’t exactly burst out of the gate for the Knicks. Through the first seven games, the new center was on the bench four times, and in the three appearances he did make, he logged just 10 total minutes without scoring a basket. That kind of start leaves little room for optimism.
Wednesday night in Chicago changed the conversation.
In only 10 minutes against the Bulls, Wiseman finished with four made shots, eight rebounds and three blocks. He was the only Knicks center to post those numbers this season, and it gave the team something it had been missing from the back end of the rotation.
The raw production jumps off the page even before you start doing the math. Per 36 minutes, Wiseman is sitting on 14 points, 19 rebounds and seven blocks.
No, the Knicks are not asking the former second overall pick to play starter minutes. They’re paying him the veteran’s minimum because he’s buried on the depth chart.
But even in smaller samples, he’s making his case.
Only two Knicks are averaging at least one block per game right now: Dalton Knecht, who has played one game, and Wiseman. And if you strip away the projections and just look at the total blocks, the picture is still pretty clear.
OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, Andre Drummond and Wiseman are tied for the team lead with four blocks apiece - except Wiseman has done it in just 21 minutes, while the others have needed 263, 250 and 106 minutes, respectively. New York’s per-game leaders in the category are Wiseman and Jordan Clarkson.
That’s the case for keeping him in the mix. The Knicks don’t have much shot-blocking, and Wiseman has shown he can provide some. New York is averaging 4.4 blocks per game, which ranks 23rd in the league, and the loss of Mitchell Robinson has not pushed them up the standings in that area the way many would have expected.
Where the Knicks may miss Robinson most is not on defense at the rim, but when they’re trying to finish over defenders. Last season, opponents had the seventh-fewest blocks against New York.
This year, they’ve recorded the fourth-most. Robinson was younger than Drummond, more athletic and a better leaper.
Drummond gets blocked at the basket more often. Wiseman looks more likely to dunk through contact, draw a foul or do both.
That’s why, depending on the matchup, he could be the better second option than Drummond on certain nights.
The timing matters, too. New York’s next 11 games include a stretch of frontcourt challenges, with three meetings against Cleveland and its Evan Mobley-Jarrett Allen pairing.
The Knicks will also see Indiana for the first time, after the Pacers’ shift at center from Myles Turner to Ivica Zubac. Add in matchups with the Timberwolves and Trail Blazers, and there’s Rudy Gobert and Donovan Clingan waiting in the middle.
The stretch ends at home against the Heat and All-Star bigs Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
That’s a lot to ask of Towns, even with him cutting down on fouls and turnovers over the past couple of games, and Drummond has looked better since his frustration over a reduced role earlier in the season. But the league doesn’t leave much room for teams to coast on a thin big-man rotation anymore.
A deep bench isn’t a luxury. It’s survival.
Wiseman gives the Knicks insurance now and another option later. Ariel Hukporti’s path has already shown how this can work: he bounced in and out of the rotation under Tom Thibodeau and last year under Mike Brown, sometimes playing one or two games before sitting for three or four, then suddenly getting 20 or 30 minutes. For a part-time reserve, that kind of rhythm can keep him ready.
If the Knicks are rolling by Thanksgiving, there’s a chance Wiseman will have helped spark it after the slow start. If they’re not, they may already have enough evidence to keep him around anyway.
A 30-point win over the Bulls won’t define a season, but it might have given Wiseman a foothold. For a player whose career has already taken plenty of turns, Wednesday looked like a first step worth building on.
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Last season, Drummond put up a career-high number of corner threes and finished at a clip that was close to the league average, which gives New York some reason to keep leaning into the experiment. The trade-off is obvious, since he still struggles to finish at the rim, but the Knicks appear willing to live with that if the spacing helps the offense find cleaner looks for the rest of the roster. [Read more 🡒]
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Knicks Are Sending Mikal Bridges A Clear Early-Season Message
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Bridges defense was a major factor in the Knicks playoff run last spring, but Brown has made it clear the bar stays high even for established pieces. With New York trying to defend its NBA title, Bridges will need to shake off his early shooting issues and earn back the kind of closing minutes that usually come with his role. [Read more 🡒]