Why does Tom Thibodeau continue to start Elfrid Payton? A former NBA video coordinator explains

For much of the last 20 years, the Knicks have been searching for consistency at point guard. This year is no different. Elfrid Payton has started most games at point guard for New York. Immanuel Quickley has come off of the bench.

One of the big debates this year among Knicks fans surrounds Payton and Quickley. In short, some fans wonder why Quickley – or Derrick Rose – doesn’t start in place of Quickley.

We talked about the Quickley/Payton/Rose dynamic on The Putback this week with Mo Dakhil. Dakhil, who has worked as a video coordinator with the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers, can see why Thibodeau has started Payton for much of the year.

“First off, Thibs likes having a guy like Payton just in the sense of he’s a tough guy, tough defender, he’s going to play hard,” Dakhil said. “That’s not a shot at Quickley or anybody else, but there’s a level of confidence (in) a guy that’s been around the league for a while.”

Payton is the point guard in the lineups Thibodeau has used most often this season. 

The lineup of Payton, RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson has a +.08 net rating in 395 minutes, per NBA.com.

The No. 2 lineup – in terms of minutes – is a Payton-Barrett-Bullock-Randle-Nerlens Noel unit.

That lineup has been outscored by 33 points in its 280 minutes together, per NBA.com.

Dakhil understands the Knicks fan who wants to see Quickley as a starter. But he sees the No. 25 overall pick more as a high-level backup, as he explains in this clip.

“I know Knicks fans want Quickley to start but there’s a value to him coming off the bench and kind of easing into games, facing the second unit guards and working his way into it,” Dakhil adds. “I think as a rookie, that’s something that’s important. Over time, with his development, as he continues to improve, you can see him get the chance to start.

“But right now, it’s working. Payton’s doing a good job defensively, he’s tough, he’s able to hold up guards. He’s a big guard – it makes a big difference for the Knicks defense.”

Dakhil’s point here deserves consideration. New York entered play Friday with the No. 4 defensive efficiency in the NBA. They’ve overachieved thanks to that stout defense.

Of course, Payton’s poor perimeter shooting shrinks the floor for New York.

“That’s an issue for them because they don’t have a lot of great shooters really across the board,” Dahkil said in reference to Payton’s shooting. “It’s going to be a smaller court but (Payton) is smart enough to know when to cut, when to move off the ball and when to get to the rim. He’s not a good finisher at the rim but he’s a good play-maker. I think he does a good job of keeping the ball moving and just having a good understanding of the offense.

“Look, (the offense is) all going to be around Julius Randle anyway, he has the ball most of the time and he’s going to create. And teams are going to cheat off of Payton, they’re going to cheat off of Rose when he’s in games. They’re going to live with the chance that these guys are going to beat them from outside.

“Let’s just be honest, when you look at all the guards, none of them make you say, ‘He should definitely be starting,’” Dakhil says. “There’s no one guy I point at where I say I can’t believe they don’t start that guy. I think that’s the situation with the Knicks and with their roster right now.”

CREDITING THE VIDEO STAFF

New Indiana University coach Mike Woodson was highly complimentary of Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks in a recent interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio. In the interview, he references "the crew" in the video room. So we asked Dakhil, a former video coordinator, how the video coordinators can help the Knicks.

“It always warms my heart when I hear the video staff getting a little love in the media. Every team handles their video staff differently, but ultimately it’s about making sure your coaches have everything they need, are fully prepared,” Dakhil said. “It’s about making sure the players have everything they need and are ready to go. ... it’s constantly just being ready and having everything at your fingertips for the coaches so when they ask for something it’s not a long wait.

“And it’s having good communication between the coaching staff and the video room because it’s really just an extension of the coaching staff. Those guys are essentially assistant assistant coaches. And I think that’s the big role in that video room -- prepping everybody, making sure everybody’s ready.

“And when you’re in the video room, you’re going to see things. And it’s not being afraid to say to a coach, ‘hey, we should really look for this paly or ‘this team’s running this, I think it would be really good for us, let’s take a look at this’ – it’s just having that kind of eye and that comfort to go back and forth with the coaches. Video room is always going to play a big role in any team.”