New York Knicks Mindaugas Kuzminskas Earning More Minutes

New York Knicks rookie Mindaugas Kuzminskas has earned more playing time with his recent play.

The New York Knicks have hit a rut in recent weeks. Before defeating the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night, the Knicks had lost nine of 10 games. There are a multitude of factors that played into the bad stretch of games.

Not only had the competition improved, but New York had shortcomings of their own. Nagging injuries became more persistent, as Kristaps Porzingis battles a heel/Achilles problem and Carmelo Anthony fights a shoulder injury. Joakim Noah is also having shoulder problems but is playing through it.

With injuries prevalent throughout the roster, the Knicks need their healthy players to play well, that is when they showed up. Derrick Rose had a bizarre incident to start this week as he didn’t show up for Monday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans; he returned home to Chicago to be with his mother.

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Rose was fined for his actions but returned to the starting lineup on Wednesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. With so much uncertainty surrounding the roster players need to step up. One player who has answered the call is Mindaugas Kuzminskas.

Kuzminskas, a 27-year old rookie from Lithuania, has been in and out of the rotation all season. It was a move that makes sense, as Kuzminskas continues to learn and adapt to the NBA game. There are some areas of his game that still need refining, but he has played relatively well in the opportunities given to him.

With Porzingis out of the lineup again against the Bulls, the Knicks needed their bench to step up and that is what Kuzminskas did. Kuzminskas poured in a career-high 19 points, going 8-of-15 from the field; both of which were also career-highs. He also added four rebounds, one assist, two steals and one block in 30 minutes with zero turnovers.

It was an excellent game for Kuzminsaks, and a performance that should catapult him into more consistent playing time. He has seven games in which he didn’t get on the court, 16 games playing between 1-9 minutes,14 at 10-19 minutes, two that he received 20-29 minutes and Thursday was the first time hitting the 30 minute mark.

The inconsistent minutes should be a thing of the past, especially if Porzingis misses more time. Kuzminskas has earned the right to be the first forward off the bench whenever Porzingis is sidelined, and potentially even once he returns.

With how things are currently situated, Lance Thomas is the first forward that comes off the bench. He has struggled mightily this season on the court, as he has battled numerous injuries. The injuries have sapped him of his effectiveness thus far, as his minutes have been mostly negative ones; he has only five games in which he finished with a positive plus/minus ratio, out of 30, including Thursday against a Bulls.

Kuzminksas, on the other hand, has 14 games out of 33 with a positive plus/minus ratio, as he has provided the Knicks with some good minutes. Kuzminskas is also one of only four Knicks players with a positive simple rating according to 82games.com.

Of the Knicks top-20 five-man lineups only nine have registered positive plus/minus numbers. Kuzminskas is present in three of those 20 lineups, and two of the three have positive numbers. While the sample sizes are small, Kuzminskas has earned the additional playing time based on his play thus far.

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Kuzminskas could provide a much needed scoring punch with the second unit, as the Knicks bench has struggled with consistency thus far this season. Jeff Hornacek is still trying to figure out which lineup combinations work best, and it is evident his bench lineups should include Kuzminskas.

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