How Will Mike Brown’s rotation look?
Sochan projects to be a major part of Mike Brown‘s rotation off the bench. Sochan will likely serve as the Knicks 6th or 7th man. He will be the primary backup for Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby.
If Sochan replaces Bridges or Hart, Anunoby would slide up to the three. Meanwhile, Alvarado is Jalen Brunson’s main backup, and Mitchell Robinson is obviously Karl-Anthony Towns’ understudy. Although if Robinson or Towns are inactive, Socha can fill some minutes at center.
Anunoby and Miles McBride are the only Knicks dealing with injuries. McBride is likely out until April after undergoing core surgery. Conversely, Anunoby has sat out the last four games and is considered day-to-day with a toe injury. He should be ready to go when the Knicks open up the second half of the season at home against Detroit on February 19.
If Anunoby can’t go versus Detroit, Sochan could step in and start at power forward. Sochan has started 149 games in his career. While he has been productive as a starter, he has been more efficient when coming off the bench.
Brown has used 19 different starting lineups this season. The Knicks, 35-20 on the season, are 13-3 in games when Hart, Brunson, Anunoby, Bridges, and Towns start together. If Anunoby can’t play against the Pistons, Landry Shamet, who has started nine contests this year, is the most likely candidate to get the start. Shamet has started the past three games for Anunoby, and the Knicks are 5-4 in the contests he has opened with the first unit.
Brown typically uses a nine-man rotation. Expect Alvarado, Robinson, and Sochan to see most of the minutes off the bench. Shamet is the only shooter in the group so that he will get some run. That leaves Mohammad Diawara or Jordan Clarkson as the likely 10th man, depending on the matchup and foul situations. However, Clarkson projects to get most of those minutes, at least until McBride returns.
