New York Knicks Must Find Stability from Revolving-Door Starting Lineup
It's hard to argue that the New York Knicks should fiddle with the starting lineup that has led them to five wins in eight games. But I'm going to do it anyway.
The Knicks are currently last in the East. With 33 games left, they are 11 wins out of the playoffs. It's mathematically possible for them to go on an outrageous winning streak and squeeze into the eighth seed. Possible but highly unlikely. Highly.
So, the key goal for the remainder of this season is to prepare for next season.
By that I do not mean "tank for Jahlil Okafor." I mean, determine which of the 15 players on the roster now should still be on the roster in October. Then develop chemistry and continuity.
The pointlessness of tanking
A draft pick, even a No. 1 draft pick, is just one guy. One very young guy who hasn't been tested in the NBA yet. They're not all Tim Duncans and Lebron Jameses. Some of them are Andrea Bargnanis and Greg Odens.
So before we throw two months of basketball down the toilet for a better shot at one to-be-determined player, let's think about what we can learn about the 15 players we already have: When the season ends, who do the Knicks want to keep? Answering that question is the goal.
As Marc Berman of the New York Post wrote:
"The fans who want the Knicks to “lose more for Okafor’’ to gain more ping-pong balls are off base. Part of the mission of the final games is getting Fisher to believe in himself as a coach and getting the league’s players to realize you can win with the triangle with the right dedication.
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So, Phil Jackson doesn't necessarily need wins this year, but he does need to know who can get his team wins next year. Let the rest of this season be like a long practice/audition.
Who spreads the floor? Who is reliable? Who plays solid defense? Who brings energy to the team? Who is coachable? Who works well in the triangle offense?
The starters should be five players the Knicks know are part of the 2015-16 plan or think might be part of the plan. Anyone who does not fit that description, does not belong in the starting five. And that means that the recent line-up of Jose Calderon, Langston Galloway, Carmelo Anthony, Lou Amundson and Jason Smith needs one major change.
Calderon out
Tuesday, Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports reported:
"A source said the Knicks are actively trying to unload guard Jose Calderon’s contract. Calderon is owed $7.4 million in 2015-16, and $7.7 million in 2016-17.
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Rumors about the Knicks trying to shift the veteran point guard have been going around most of the winter. Even if they cannot trade him by the deadline Feb. 19, the Knicks will likely find some way to part ways with Calderon before October.
As well they should. Yes, Calderon has played very well the past handful of games, but overall he has been a major disappointment. (I gave him a D- and he was lucky to get that.) Despite a stretch of good wins, he still has the worst differential on the team (-7.6), makes too many bad passes and allows too many shot clock violations.
Further, he does not run the triangle offense nearly as well as either Shane Larkin or Galloway (who plays both shooting guard and point guard). True, the triangle offense is not, itself, a magical weapon that sends defenses to their knees, pleading for their inevitable defeat to be swift. It is just a strategy.
Yet it is the Knicks' chosen strategy. Phil Jackson defended the triangle in an interview with Harvey Araton of the New York Times Tuesday, even while confessing "So far, my experiment has fallen flat on its face." So whoever is going to play for the Knicks needs to be on board, and that is particularly true of the point guard (or "lead guard," as they call it in the triangle).
If the Knicks have already decided that Calderon is not part of the long-term plan, they should move him to the second unit and replace him.
My vote for starting PG then, is Shane Larkin. One trouble with that, of course, is that Larkin is only 5'11" and, when paired with 6'2" Langston Galloway at the 2 spot, the Knicks' backcourt is notably undersized.
Other options would be to pair either Larkin or Galloway with 6'6" Tim Hardaway Jr. at shooting guard. Yet, I'd still like to see a Larkin-Galloway miniature backcourt, because both of the guards use their size to their advantage—fighting over screens, slicing through bigger defenders.
Their collective shrimpiness might prove a problem against some opponents, but the Knicks won't know until they try, so the sooner they kick Calderon out of the starting lineup, the better.
Should 'Melo keep playing
Carmelo Anthony is the Knicks' most valuable asset, so of course they must protect him. There's been discussion about having him get knee surgery sooner rather than later, sitting him on the bench the rest of the season, or just preserving him in Carbonite.
It makes sense to help 'Melo's knee get better before it gets worse. A playoff run this spring is so unlikely, that the Knicks don't need their star on the court, carrying them through the playoffs and being the go-to guy in the clutch.
However, it's also important to find out how the rest of the players fit around him, since he will certainly be the centerpiece of the 2015-16 team. If he's out there, it's helpful. Just not essential.
We should really leave the decision to 'Melo's knee.
If shorter playing time, and rest days aren't enough, then the Knicks should shut Melo down altogether and replace him with Lance Thomas, who had three consecutive games with over 15 points, or Quincy Acy, who can stretch the floor now that he's added a three-pointer to his game.
The Amundson Effect
To the extraordinary surprise of me and most anyone else with the power of sight, Jason Smith has begun to play defense. He's blocking shots, he's hustling for rebounds, getting into passing lanes and growling at opponents.
He's also suddenly added a three pointer to his arsenal—really suddenly. Smith sunk his first triple in three years on Jan. 23 versus the Orlando Magic, and he enjoyed it so much that he knocked down two more that night.
Something in Smith changed when his former New Orleans teammate Lou Amundson joined the Knicks. Amundson brings a contagious intensity to the court and a never-say-die attitude to defense.
Earlier in the season Amar'e Stoudemire was playing strong, gorgeous, nasty, vintage-STAT basketball. It would be wonderful to see him back in the starting lineup. But if the goal is continuity, Stoudemire's persistent injuries may count him out.
Cole Aldrich may also deserve another chance in the starting lineup when he returns from a hip injury. But for now, the Amundson-Smith duo is working well, and it's worth sticking with as long as the Ws keep coming.
So, to recap, my go-to starting lineup for the remainder of the season would be tentatively, Shane Larkin, Langston Galloway, Carmelo Anthony (until he's replaced by Quincy Acy or Lance Thomas), Lou Amundson, Jason Smith.
If that starting five can get wins, the Knicks may keep them all, and that builds continuity, through this season into next.
All stats are from NBA.com/stats. Follow Sara Peters on Twitter @3FromThe7.
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