The New York Knicks felt the reverberation of Bojan Bogdanovic’s absence from the lineup once again in their 112-106 Game 5 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday. Bogdanovic underwent season-ending surgeries for his foot and wrist after going down in the Knicks’ 97-92 Game 4 victory over the 76ers.
Knicks have shot poorly from three-point range without Bojan Bogdanovic
In their first game without the 35-year-old, the Knicks shot a dismal 27.8% from three-point range. Miles McBride was the only perimeter player to come off the bench for Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau, and he went 2-7 from outside.
Coach Thibodeau played a thin seven-man lineup in Game 5. Not only did the Knicks struggle shooting the ball, but key regular season contributors in Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims failed to see the floor.
Knicks twice eclipsed the 40% mark from downtown with Bogdanovic in the lineup
New York’s problems persisted before their loss on Tuesday. In Game 4, the Knicks shot an even worse 25.9% from deep. In contrast, they excelled with a 45.7% clip in Game 1, a 33.3% connect rate in Game 2, and nailed 43.3% of their looks in Game 3.
It’s not a coincidence that Bogdanovic, who was shooting 40% from distance in the series, is out and the Knicks are struggling to hit from trey and get valued bench scoring.
Knicks will need their shooters to shoot to close out 76ers on Thursday
Though he didn’t make quite the splash that the Knicks were hoping for after acquiring him at the Feb. 8 trade deadline, the Croatian deadeye has still been a mobile playmaker that helped the team spread the floor.
The 76ers now have life after being down 3-1 in the series. They’ll need several contributors to up the ante from outside in Game 6. This includes Donte DiVincenzo and his 30% stroke. If so, they’ll stand a great chance of closing out the series and avoid going the distance with Philadelphia.