Down 0-2 against the Indiana Pacers going into Sunday night’s game, the New York Knicks were looking for answers.
And sometimes in trying times, coaches decide to look further down their bench to shake things up. Through two games, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau, stayed the course. The veteran coach stuck with his rotations of eight guys, losing two close games at home in the process.
Game 3 was different. In need of a spark, Thibodeau inserted Landry Shamet, who did not appear in either of the first two games. And while Shamet’s stat line was nothing special, he chipped in 11 minutes that helped spell the rest of the Knicks’ lineup. That extra rest proved pivotal as New York surged late to take Game 3 from the Pacers and avoid going down 0-3.
During halftime, Inside the NBA‘s Kenny Smith noted the change, dropping a memorable line in the process.
“Thibodeau wouldn’t play nine guys in a baseball game,” Smith quipped.
“Woah, that’s a line. That’s a line right there,” host Ernie Johnson chimed in.
“Bars. Bars,” Shaquille O’Neal put succinctly.
Considering Thibodeau’s decision worked, it’s hard to imagine he’d stray from the nine-man rotation going forward.