The Knicks improved their bench with Clarkson, Yabusele

Last season, Utah Jazz and the 76ers of Philadelphia combined for 41 victories. Knicks? They displayed 51, securing the seeded n ° 3 at the Eastern Conference. This is 10 more victories than UTAH and Philly gathered – a striking contrast capturing excitement for Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, two impact additions responsible for breathing life in a Knicks bench which ranked last.

Basketball adjustment makes sense in the world. But for Clarkson and Yabusele, the opportunity to play a significant basketball again means even more.

“I am a competitor at the end of the day,” said Clarkson, the sixth man of the year 2021, whose time in UTAH ended with a contract repurchase and a new opportunity in New York. “I want to win. [Jazz] The chronology simply did not line up with mine. It is not a lack of respect in any way. But I’m here now [ready to play] Knicks basketball.

The Knicks entered summer with three clear goals: replace Tom Thibodeau, re-signing Mikal Bridges and reissuing a bench that lacked punch throughout the race of the playoffs last year. Check, check and check.

Only time will tell us if Clarkson and Yabusele are the Swing parts that raise this team beyond its ceiling from the final of the Eastern Conference. But on paper, the increase is clear.

Clarkson is a certified bucket that has outperformed each league bench player in the past five years. Yabusele enters the role previously occupied by Precious Achiuwa – but brings a much more offensive firepower. Just like that, the rotation of seven series of seven series of New York now plans to take new nights most nights – and perhaps ten or 11 years, if Malcolm Brogdon and Landry Shamet made the list of opening evenings.

“Give [Knicks president] Leon [Rose] and his group a lot of credit, gives [Knicks owner] M. [James] Dolan a lot of credit to get out of his pocket. And now is our job to understand how to use this group, “said new head coach Mike Brown after training in Tarrytown’s installations on the team on Wednesday.” Knowing that you have guys, you can throw in the game at any time is exciting.

“Adversity is inevitable throughout the year, and part of the adversity is injuries – hitting wood. So having veterans who were there and that at your disposal makes him very fun for a coach.

“Now it’s my job to spend time – and it’s going to take time – find the right combinations to put there every night.”

More than a simple bucket

Clarkson’s curriculum vitae speaks of himself.

He has an average of 16 points per game over a decade in the league and has a sixth Man trophy to prove it. The Knicks bench, on the other hand, only collected an average of 21.7 points per game last season – five less than the 29th and almost 20 less than the first five benches in the league.

In fact, Knicks Bench players have scored 20 points or no more only three times all season: once by Miles McBride and twice by Shamet. Clarkson? He struck this brand 12 times last year in Utah, 22 years before and more than 25 times in 2022-2010.

It is a logical adjustment: the missing team of the bench undoubtedly adds the top bench scorer in the NBA. Clarkson said he was going to adapt to his selection of shots at the start of the season.

“But I certainly feel like on the whole line, all the guys know how to throw it to me and [the ball is] Going to the air, “he said, laughing.” Most of the time, I feel like I am open, but it comes with a grain of salt: I have to take good shots, also play in the right direction. “”

Clarkson’s instinct can bend over towards an instant offense, but he is committed to playing as part of the team.

“It looks like [a perfect fit scoring off the bench]But I just played my role. Whatever the coach who needs me to do, I’m here, “he said.” Part of this marks the bench, but I have many other areas where I have to picking up in a defensive way, in terms of communication to help this team win. “”

Brown sees more than a simple microwave scorer in Clarkson. He sees a full player, and it is the coach’s work to maximize his player’s skills.

“His versatile versatility. He moves well without basketball, he can manage basketball, he can pass basketball. He can mark three levels. He has an extent for him,” said Brown. “It is very appreciated. I think it has an average of more than two assists per game. So, a guy who is on average a little more than two assists, especially when he leaves the bench, it means that he knows how to play the game, and he does not only mark. This is what I like.”

Make the most of the moment

If the Clarkson path has been stable, Yabusele was anything but.

In a total of 16th in total by Boston in 2016, Yabusele was cut after only two seasons and spent years rebuilding his match abroad. He reappeared at the 2024 Olympic Games as a large key man for the France team and collected on average 11 points and 5.6 rebounds on 38% Deep shooting with the Sixers last season – before winning an agreement of two years worth $ 11 million with the Knicks this summer.

“When you are written and” don’t do it “, it can do a lot of things, mentally. This can make you say: “Hey, screw the NBA. I’m fine, I don’t even want to come back. Or it can make you say, “What do you know?” “And seeing this process tells you about him as a person. It is the competitive spirit, competitive nature, that I am looking for when it comes to playing or being a New York Knick.”

Yabusele said he had another serious NBA to offer this offseason – but joining the Knicks was an easy call. There is a clear need of size on the ground before behind the cities of Karl-Anthony and Mitchell Robinson, and the Knicks filled it with their French attacker.

“I just like the team, the spirit they have on the field, the way they played hard on each possession,” he said. “They really played together. You can really say that they bound themselves together and that they had a goal together. I liked it. They just fight on the ground. ”

Yabusele joined the Sixers last year by expecting a race in playoffs alongside Joel Embiid and Paul George. Instead, the two stars have missed a lot of time and Philly landed with a global choice n ° 3 of the draft. Like Clarkson, Yabusele is hungry to be back in significant basketball matches.

“Of course. What [the Knicks] Last year was great. Everyone was able to look at him. I really watched the series, especially against Indiana. I really think they gave everything there, it was fun to watch, “he said.” So, for sure, coming here, I tell myself that I just try to do the best of my best in the field and try to help the team win as much as possible, step by step. “”

Brown values ​​Yabusele for its versatility as much as its tenacity. It can keep and stretch with the four, knock on the five and adapt to any rotation configuration. More depth means more options, and more options could give Knicks a better blow to make the NBA final for the first time in more than 25 years.

“To his size, he knows that he must be versatile in this game to survive and not only offensively, but also defensively,” said Brown. “Philly had a lot of injuries, so he had a lot of minutes and he even widened his game more than it was when he was abroad. Now he will feel really comfortable in the role we give him because he did it [all before]. “”