New York Knicks' Depth Could Be Key to Success

The New York Knicks bench has come up over their first two games, including Friday's victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

The New York Knicks were able to grab their first win of the season on Friday night against the Atlanta Hawks. Friday's 108-104 win was perhaps a testament to the surplus of scoring options on the Knicks' depth chart, which could well pave the path toward building on last year's 47-win campaign.

Last season's top scorer, Julius Randle, has struggled from the field in the early going, shooting just over 28 percent from the field over the first two games. But the Knicks' early scoring efforts are proving to define the concept of a team in the finest way possible: elsewhere in the starting five, Jalen Brunson finished the game with 31 points on a career eight three-pointers while RJ Barrett was also a key contributor as he finished with 26 points and six assists.

New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley (5) finishes over Atlanta Hawks forward Jalen Johnson (1) / USA TODAY SPORTS

That isn't even taking into account how well the Knicks' second unit has played so far: Immanuel Quickley continues to live up to his first-round billing despite the lack of a long-term contract last week, leading the team in scoring alongside Barrett with 24 in Wednesday's opening loss to Boston. Fellow reserves Josh Hart and Isaiah Hartenstein have combined for 19 rebounds over the opening couple while Donte DiVincenzo had 16 points in Atlanta after he was held scoreless in his official New York debut.  

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau spoke on the impact that this team's depth can have on the court in the aftermath of the Alanta game.

“I don’t want people locked in to, ‘I've got to get more shots.’ The game tells you who’s going to get the shots,” Thibodeau said, per Ian Begley of SNY. “If Jalen’s blitzed, hit the open man. If Julius is double-teamed, hit the open man. RJ, double-teamed? Hit the open man.”

If one player is struggling and can't get it going on offense, the Knicks (1-1) have assembled more than enough talent on their roster to pick up the slack. That's poised to come up big in a speedy early road trip that continues on Saturday night in New Orleans (7 p.m. ET, MSG).