If there was a silver lining to Julius Randle sitting with an injury it was it gave Knicks fans a rare look at Obi Toppin in the starting lineup.
Randle occupies the forward role that Toppin fills with the second unit, so the chances for the second-year man out of Dayton to gain some minutes with RJ Barrett and the rest of the Knicks starters are limited, but he had his chance against the Atlanta Hawks Tuesday.
“It felt good. I had to find my rhythm,” Toppin said after the game. “I haven’t really played a lot with these guys. And to find my rhythm when I was out there… I was playing basketball how I play basketball.”
Tuesday would be just the third time this season that Toppin started a game, and his presence felt different. While he didn’t fill up the box score — posting a modest 10 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of play — high-energy plays like saving a Barrett air ball, which led to a three, catapulted a third-quarter comeback.
Despite not having a lot of minutes or “rhythm” with the starting lineup, Toppin’s ability to run the floor seemingly woke up a starting unit — who normally run a halfcourt offense — to outscore the Hawks, 31-23 in that third quarter.
“I know what I have to do when I’m on the court,” Toppin said. “Run the floor, catch lobs…. But I know what I got to do when I’m out there.”
Although the Knicks entered the fourth quarter with a lead they ultimately fell, 117-111. Toppin didn’t see the court in that final frame, mostly due to the five fouls he accrued in three quarters, but coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game that he felt Taj Gibson’s experience and defense gave the team a better chance to close out the game.
“We got to that point five minutes to go, where you go, ‘Okay, who are we closing with? I went with the group that was in there, so that was basically it,” Thibodeau explained. “But I wouldn’t hesitate to put him in, in that situation, either.”
The 24-year-old Toppin is raw and still learning, and these moments — however fleeting — should go a long way with his development.
Even in defeat, Toppin recognizes what happened with the team and his own performance, and will learn from it.
“The energy wasn’t there. We broke down defensively and they executed their offense and played good defense too,” Toppin recalled. “They knew what they were doing going into the fourth and we slowed down. We have to learn from it and get better for the next game.”
The Knicks’ next game will be Wednesday at Charlotte when they take on the Hornets. According to Thibodeau, Randle is day-to-day with his sore quadriceps tendon so fans, and Toppin, will know if he will start again very soon.