The Knicks are putting together quite the tag team at center.
After starting center Enes Kanter struggled, Kyle O’Quinn came to the rescue Monday night with a monster outing and played the final minutes of crunch time.
Getting key rebounds in the final two minutes, O’Quinn finished with a healthy double-double — 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in 21 minutes. O’Quinn was plus-14 — a team high. By comparison, Kristaps Porzingis had a career-high 38 points but was even on the plus/minus scale.
When Kanter came aboard in the Carmelo Anthony trade, everyone figured O’Quinn would be out of the rotation, but he has beaten out Willy Hernangomez for backup minutes. Hernangomez got a cup of coffee Monday, getting 3:07 of playing time, but mostly has been out of the rotation.
“I”ve been wondering about my role my whole career,” O’Quinn said.
O’Quinn is the defensive enforcer of this platoon.
“They’re stealing my rebounds,’’ Porzingis said of the center duo. “That’s all I know. They’ve both been playing great. Enes is one of the strongest guys in the league. Kyle came in the game blocking shots, running the floor, playing great basketball.”
While defense is not Kanter’s strong suit, he’s been such a brute on offense that he has flourished as the starting center. His numbers are stupendous — especially as an offensive rebounder, where he ranked fourth in the league at 4.8 per game entering Monday. Kanter finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, one on the offensive glass.
“I’m not telling you my secret,” Kanter said jokingly before the game. “What skill could it be for offensive rebounds? I don’t have some magnetic field where the ball is coming to me. It is instinct. It’s more like getting in the right space at the right time and being physical.”
Kanter said he has studied Hall of Famer Moses Malone’s offensive boardwork, calling him the best ever. He cites Tristan Thompson and Andre Drummond as good at that craft, though it is DeAndre Jordan leading the NBA with six offensive boards per game.
On Sunday, Kanter dominated Thompson, who had one point and zero rebounds. Ironically, the Knicks asked for Thompson when they talked to Cleveland about trading Carmelo Anthony in the week leading into training camp.
After his successful outing in Cleveland, Lance Thomas did not play Monday with Jeff Hornacek giving no explanation. Hornacek went from a nine-man rotation to playing 11, adding rookie Damyean Dotson to the mix.
Jarrett Jack is now 3-0 as starting point guard, notching 10 assists Monday.
It was not an especially big night for rookie Frank Ntilikina, who had four turnovers in 15 minutes and scored five points.