Like it or not, the Knicks are lacking in the frontcourt. They have just three active players who are 6-foot-3 or taller, two of whom are relatively inexperienced: Towns, Sims and Ariel Hukporti. The first step to improving the rebounding is to make sure at least one of them is on the floor at all times. But that’s a pretty obvious fix, and it was already the case in the opening night loss.
Coach Tom Thibodeau will have to be creative in deciding who plays who. The Knicks must carefully distribute their strong rebounders across the lineups to complement their big men, depending on the situation.
For example, if the Knicks feel Towns isn’t as good (rebounding-wise) as the Indiana Pacers’ Myles Turner in Game 2, they should make sure Hart, who is an above-average rebounder for his size and position, is on the floor next to Towns for the majority of his minutes.
If Thibodeau sees the team rebounding better with two tall players on the floor (say, Towns and Sims), he should try that too. Ultimately, this is the time to weigh the risks, because as mentioned above, bad things happen in New York when they get outrebounded.