Every season, some players turn it up in the playoffs. Guys like Jimmy Butler and Jamal Murray dominate come playoff time, but I am referring to the role players who step up—the players who were lethal in the playoffs compared to the regular season.
Let’s use 2023 as an example.
Caleb Martin is a prime reason why the No. 8 seeded Miami Heat made a run from the play-in to the NBA Finals. Martin averaged less than 10 points per game in the 2022-2023 regular season. In the playoffs, he averaged almost 13 points per game on shooting 42% from beyond the arc. While that may not look great, if you watched the games, you would know that he played a huge role for that Heat team in their playoff run. As a Knicks fan, I could not stand watching him torch us.
Why could a guy like Martin suddenly dominate in the biggest games of the year?
He stunned the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. Martin averaged 19 points on just under 50% from beyond the arc. Martin’s production in the NBA Finals did not come close to what he did in the Conference Finals. However, if it was not for Martin, Miami probably would have been knocked out early in the playoffs that year.
It seems like all deep playoff runs feature a role player who plays like an All-Star for the entire playoffs. We saw this with Derrick White for Boston in 2024, Derrick Lively for Dallas in 2024 and even Terance Mann for the Clippers in 2021.
The New York Knicks need to find their Martin if they want a chance at making a Finals run.
With the Knicks being 0-7 against Boston and Cleveland this season, they need the entire roster to fire on all cylinders if they want to take either team down. It cannot be the 2024 playoffs all over again where Jalen Brunson carried the team, averaging 32.4 points per game, while everyone else was not playing like their normal selves.
Everyone will say that Josh Hart is the perfect example of a role player who will need to step up. Hart is scrappy and could be a difference-maker in a series against the top teams in the east. He is only 6-foot-4, but he averages almost 10 rebounds per game, putting him 15th in the league in rebounding. He averages more rebounds than centers like Evan Mobley and Clint Capela.
However, if the Knicks want to stop Boston and Cleveland, they need to have some elite defense. That is where OG Anunoby comes in. The Cavs and Celtics are among the top in the league percentagewise. Within the last few weeks, Anunoby has dominated not only offensively, but defensively as well. In his last 10 games, he has averaged 27.6 points and has locked down his opponents.
The London native has been on fire at the right time. With Brunson out for an extensive period, the Knicks needed someone to fill his shoes, and Anunoby did such a thing. With Brunson back, Anunoby needs to be as productive as if the Knicks want to give Boston a run for their money.
New York had its best outing against Boston this season Tuesday night, falling in overtime 119-117. New York took a three-point lead going into Boston’s final possession of the game with around ten seconds remaining. In a game where you are matched up against a top three-point shooting team in the league, you should foul when up three. Tom Thibodeau let his defense play out in the final seconds and Jayson Tatum buried the game-tying three with under three seconds to play. New York calls timeout and the final shot goes to Hart. Not Brunson, the frontrunner for clutch player of the year, but Hart.
Anunoby had a less productive game with only 13 points. He had key defensive stops on Tatum, who continued dominating over New York. Late in the fourth quarter, Tatum hit fadeaway shot after fadeaway shot over Mikal Bridges. Bridges was all over Tatum, yet he couldn’t seem to miss. Anunoby switched on Tatum, and he could not finish over him.
Should the Knicks play the Celtics in the second round of the NBA playoffs, Anunoby needs to be more productive. The small forward is averaging only nine points against the Celtics this season. New York cannot rely on just Brunson to carry them through the playoffs, so players like Anunoby must step up if they want any chance at taking down the reigning champions.
All in all, if the New York Knicks cannot figure out how to match up against top-tier teams such as Boston or Cleveland, they will be on vacation a little earlier than they expected this summer.