OBI Toppin is proving why he is a valuable piece to this team. Is he set to have a breakout year next season?
Toppin Time
There wasn’t much to brag about this season if you are a Knicks Fan. Ultimately, The Knicks were just a disappointment as a collective and couldn’t find a way to get it together to reach a second straight postseason berth. Even with all of the negativity surrounding this team throughout the season, one of the positive things to look forward to is the rise of Obi Toppin. He has shown flashes of how good he can be and when his minutes increased towards the end of this season, Toppin took his game to a level we haven’t seen from him before.
In the last 5 games of the season, Toppin averaged 27.2PPG and 6.2RPG while shooting almost 54% from the field. Also, Toppin was on fire from behind the arc as he shot 44.9% from three on 8.2 attempts per game. Toppin hasn’t been a great long range shooter in his first two seasons. But, he was able to find the shooting stroke, which is something the organization should be excited about in the future.
Career High
Recently, Toppin has made some headlines around the league due to arguably his best two games of his young career. In a 114-92 Knicks victory over the Washington Wizards, Toppin posted a career high 35 points, which included 6 of 9 shooting from long range. He then topped that performance by posting a new career high 42 points in the season finale against the Toronto Raptors. In both games, Toppin did not hesitate to shoot the ball and was unstoppable on the fast break. With the way he performed to close out the season, there has been a lot of buzz around Toppin possibly being in the starting lineup next season. Whether it’s pairing him and Julius Randle together or replacing Randle at the power forward position, Knicks fans want to see Obi Toppin in the starting 5 at the beginning of season.
Small Ball Lineup
From the outside looking in, a small ball lineup with Randle and Toppin can potentially be a force to be reckoned with. The Knicks have experimented with this in the past with Toppin coming off the bench but it might be time to see how this will work with Toppin having a bigger role. Also, in a recent interview, Toppin revealed that he and Randle have talked about this idea and will love to see it put into action next season.
Everything seems to be falling into place for Obi Toppin at the right time. With him finally getting the opportunity to show what he’s got, it has only put more pressure on the Knicks to give Toppin a bigger role. If he keeps his confidence up and improves on his game in the offseason, Obi Toppin should be a player to keep your eye on going into next year. He might just put the league on notice.
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