New York Knicks: A closer look at what the bench did against the Boston Celtics

The performance from the New York Knicks‘ bench was the difference in Wednesday’s win against the Boston Celtics.

The New York Knicks (19-24) have a good bench. They’re ranked in the top 10 in assists, rebounds, and blocks. One glaring problem was that they couldn’t score. The Knicks were ranked 19th in points.

A lineup shift was necessary.

Head coach Jeff Hornacek made a shocking change to the starting lineup before Monday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks by replacing veteran sharpshooter Courtney Lee with undrafted free agent Ron “Burgundy” Baker. Lee’s salary for 2016-17 is over $11 million, while Baker is earning just over $500,000.

The Knicks missed Kristaps Porzingis on Monday and were still getting the kinks out of a new rotation and suffered a tough one-point loss. Despite the defeat, Hornacek stuck to his guns and went with Baker again on Wednesday. With Porzingis out for the fourth straight game and Joakim Noah sitting too, Kyle O’Quinn slid into the center spot.

Facing the Boston Celtics would be a great test for the debut of the starting five of Derrick Rose, Baker, Mindaugas Kuzminskas, Carmelo Anthony, and O’Quinn. It turned out that the bench was the key factor in a road upset win against a borderline championship contender.

We took a closer look at how the reserves performed Wednesday night. They’re the unsung heroes after all. It’s about time we showed them some love.

Courtney Lee was only supposed to shoot threes

An all-time great three-point shooter with a last name that rhymes with the number three is epic. And don’t say I’m exaggerating by calling Courtney Lee an all-time great deep threat. He’s 71st all-time in three-point percentage, and his career is far from over.

That’s why it was surprising on Wednesday when he put together an impressive all-around game. He logged 38 minutes, nine points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Lee was the most valuable player on the floor in New York’s win.

He even showed his skills creating off the dribble. For a traditional spot-up shooter that’s rare. It shows how aggressive Lee wanted to be coming off the bench.

Per NBA.com, he had a net rating of 24.6 points per 100 possessions (point differential while he’s on the court) for the game. That’s good for fifth on the team, despite leading the squad in minutes. He busted his ass too.

Lee led the team in total distance run (miles), deflections, loose balls recovered, and contested shots. According to NBA.com, Lee contested more shots than Rose and Brandon Jennings combined.

Billy’s stealing minutes

Kyle O’Quinn earned the start at center with his efficient scoring, but he was outplayed by Willy Hernangomez on Wednesday. The rookie tied a career-high with 17 points and led the team with 11 rebounds in 20 minutes. O’Quinn finished with only 10 minutes.

Per NBA.com, Celtics players made just 4 of 11 attempts at the rim while being defended by Hernangomez. Marshall Plumlee, was just as impressive contesting 9 shots at the rim with Boston making only three.

Plumlee played 20 minutes grabbed seven boards and had six screen assists (a stat typically dominated by Noah).

The Knicks dominated the rebound margin 57-33 due in large part to Hernangomez. Eighteen of those rebounds were on the offensive side (Hernangomez and Plumlee combined for 7 of those) which led to 24-second chance points.

Good Things Happen When Justin Holiday Plays

Although Justin Holiday has spent a majority of his time playing against other bench players, it’s still impressive that he holds an on/off court net rating difference of 4.5 points per 100 possessions. Good things happen when he plays.

His net rating in 19 minutes against the Celtics was a team leading 57.6 points per 100 possessions. He finished with a plus-minus rating of +23 and scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Brandon Jennings had a typical Brandon Jennings game. He was 3-7 from the field on 2-5 from three-point range in 27 minutes, logging 11 points. He dished out five assists to just one turnover and finished with the second highest net rating of 41.8.

• All stats via NBA.com.

Knicks’ Bench vs. Celtics’ Bench

Boston’s bench was ranked 25th in scoring and field goal percentage entering Wednesday’s game. The Knicks needed to take advantage of one of their weaknesses, and they did.

The Celtics bench only mustered up 27 points to the Knicks 55 and 8 rebounds to 35. New York’s bench shot 55.3 percent from the field while Boston’s was just 29.6 percent. It was a beatdown.

New York came to play last night and Boston didn’t. The visitors outworked the home team and controlled the entire second half. Whether or not the Knicks can keep that kind of effort going on a consistent basis is another story.