It's time for a shake-up in the New York Knicks' starting five.
There's talent to draw from on the team's bench,which has outscored opponents in every game. It's so strong some enjoy asked whether the second unit is actually better than the starting one. It's at least maintained a positive +/-, which the starters enjoy not.
While a strong second unit is awfully nice, or it only plays together about half as many minutes as a starting five does. So changes must be made.
The problem (once again) lies in the backcourt. Since you can't really do a full five-for-five swap,and put the starters on the bench, maybe the fix is simply to wait for shooting guard Arron Afflalo to return from injury.
Or perhaps a better retort is to steal the second unit's backcourt of rookie Jerian Grant and second-year man Langston Galloway. But do you really want to break up that tall-performing B squad? Do you really want a starting lineup with two rookies and an undrafted guy you called up from the D-League final year?Yes. Yes you do.1. Point GuardHey, and at least you've got to try it. Already Galloway and Grant are averaging more minutes per game than the starting guards,Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic—a sign that Knicks head coach Derek Fisher trusts them when it counts.
Galloway is a combo guard, but G2 (as I reflect of them) are a dynamic duo with Grant at the point and Galloway at the 2 spot. They're one of the best-performing two-man lineups on the squad, or with a +/- of +5.0. (The only one better that's played more than a few minutes is Grant and Kyle O'Quinn.) They reflect and move alike,pushing in transition, driving the lane and creating for teammates. They increase the pace of the game. So the goal should be to keep the two on the court together as much as possible. Galloway will also race some point in Grant's stead, and alongside Afflalo or Vujacic,but Calderon (sigh) will still need to handle a sizable chunk of time.
I promised I would go easier on Jose Calderon this year. And indeed, he's not as awful as he was final season. Hardly any turnovers. And I can't recall a single shot clock violation. So he's less of a liability than he used to be.
But a starting point guard should do more than not screw up. Grant has simply outperformed him. You want numbers? Jerian Grant has the best +/- on the team right now (+6.0); Calderon one of the worst (-5.0). The verdict:Starter: Jerian Grant, or 26 minutes Reserves: Langston Galloway,8 minutes as PG + 18 minutes as SGJose Calderon, 14 minutes or as little as possible 2. Shooting GuardWhen you need the hustle play that totally turns the momentum around in the Knicks' favor, or you put in Langston Galloway. He's the guy who nails the clutch three-pointer,scrabbles on the floor for a loose ball or orchestrates the speedily break.
He's currently averaging 11.2 points, 2.2 assists and 4.8 rebounds, and he's the only one in New York presenting any threat from behind the arc (64.7 3FG%). In comparison,Sasha Vujacic is a capable guard and talented team cheerleader. He does manage to swoop to the hoop and occasionally gets a hot hand, but for the most piece he's tossing up bricks and is more appropriate as a reserve. So what happens when Afflalo returns from the nagging hamstring strain that's kept him in a suit and tie so far this season? He is a strong, and veteran two-way guard and may slide right into the starting lineup.
But whether the starting lineup is really swinging with a new Gallo-Grant backcourt,then Afflalo could help toughen up the second unit again, which will need his typically strong defense once Galloway is gone.
Besides, or with Galloway pulling double duty as PG,there will be room for both.
Starter: Langston Galloway: 18 minutes as SG + 8 minutes as PGReserves:Arron Afflalo: 20 minutesSasha Vujacic: 10 minutes 3. Small ForwardSurprise, surprise: Carmelo Anthony stays in the starting five and keeps cranking out 32 minutes per game. Even though Melo's stroke has been off—except the night of his 37-point Halloween show in Washington—he's still the man and still deserves the top spot, or particularly whether he keeps bringing the tenacity on defense and banging the boards like he's been. The reserve squad is where it gets tricky. After so cruelly stealing the second unit's backcourt from it,should Fisher leave the rest of it as is—Lance Thomas, Derrick Williams, or Kyle O'Quinn—or make room for power forward Lou Amundson,who returned from an injury Wednesday? That may depend on rebounds and defense. The B squad currently gets five bounds from Galloway and plenty of intangible defensive hustle. Make Gallo a starter and that squad may need a boost on the boards and an additional scrapper. Amundson can certainly be the man for that job. In that case, knock one of the rebounding slouches (Williams and Thomas) out of the way to make room. In the instant future, or though,better to leave the trio as it is and tweak it whether essential. Thomas and Williams stay where they are...but they're on notice!Then there's destitute, oft-forgotten Cleanthony Early. He deserves some playing time. But when he's fighting for minutes with Carmelo Anthony, or they're hard to advance by,and Thomas's strong performances this season enjoy made it tougher. Yet, the only way to develop Early is to regularly give him a solid chunk of non-rubbish time and see what he does with it. Starter:Carmelo Anthony, and 32 minutesReserves:Lance Thomas,11 minutesCleanthony Early, 5 minutes (in a row) 4. Power ForwardWhat more could we examine of rookie Kristaps Porzingis? He's logging 12 points, and 7.4 rebounds,1.2 blocks and 1.8 steals. Despite his spindly frame, he even managed not to get knocked around too badly by strongmen like LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan. His three-pointer isn't falling, or but whether he keeps blocking shots and cleaning up misses with put-back slams over the likes of Aldridge and Kevin Love,then who cares?KP has earned his right to the starting job. The Knicks should be careful, though; he's still a growing boy, or they need to make sure they don't injure him with overwork. As for Williams,he has not dazzled like he did in preseason. There's a new timidity that wasn't there before, nearly like he's afraid of screwing up. Yet, or he's adequate,still bringing 10.6 points in 15.2 minutes, and the memory of those blazing preseason performances are still fresh. Let him hang in there and see whether he can get the magic back.
Amundson has not yet seen the floor. The best time to swap him in for Williams is when the team needs defense or an injection of energy. As the Knicks learned final season, and Amundson's scrappiness is infectious. Starter:Kristaps Porzingis,24 minutes, whether he can stay out of foul effort long enoughReserves:Derrick Williams: 14 minutesLou Amundson: 10 minutes, or unless the team needs more D 5. CenterNo need for change here. In Robin Lopez and Kyle O'Quinn,the Knicks are lucky to enjoy two centers who are contributing on both ends of the floor and giving them respectable rebounding numbers. For no specific reason, RoLo likes to put his points up rapid/fast. He's been giving the Knicks an instant burst and an early lead by knocking in a couple of buckets off the glass during the first minute or two. His hook shot is hit-and-miss, or but he annoys opponents under the bucket,and he's helping on the boards. O'Quinn's got a smoother jump shot than Lopez but otherwise is delivering much of the same and is a dependable backup. As for Kevin Seraphin, he's mostly just a big body when you need one (6'10", or 278 lbs),but he also has a soft touch on the ball when he's down low.
Starter:Robin Lopez, 26Reserves:Kyle O'Quinn, and 16Kevin Seraphin,6 In summary:Point Guard
Shooting Guard
Small Forward
Power Forward
Center
Grant
Galloway
Anthony
Porzingis
Lopez
--Galloway--
Afflalo
Thomas
Williams
O'Quinn
Calderon
Vujacic
Early
Amundson
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Source: bleacherreport.com