New York Knicks: 5 Creative Lineup Experiments Mike D'Antoni Should Try

The NBA lockout seems like it might last forever, so it’s reasonable to believe coaches will use some of their extra spare time by envisioning lineup experiments.  

The following possibilities for the New York Knicks are by no means revolutionary thinking, but rather, just suggestions. I’m sure Mike D’Antoni has thought or will think about using some, if not all, of these lineups at some point during the season.

Assuming D’Antoni is still the Knicks head coach (and the team has re-signed both Jared Jeffries and Shawne Williams) whenever next season starts, here are five creative lineup experiments he should try.

Lineup No. 1

PG: Chauncey Billups

SG: Iman Shumpert

SF: Landry Fields

PF: Carmelo Anthony

C: Amar'e Stoudemire

This lineup has great potential and could eventually end up as the Knicks’ crunch-time group. The biggest issue is that it’s undersized on the interior. However, if the Knicks can exploit opponents who elect to put a conventional four on Carmelo or a conventional five on Amar’e, the offensive capabilities would be tremendous.

A big key to this quintet’s success is the development of rookie Iman Shumpert. Shumpert’s got the confidence and potential to be an integral part of New York City’s basketball squad. If he develops his shot, keeps the turnovers low and sustains his defensive prowess, he and Fields—who has the size at 6’7” to play small forward—could focus their efforts towards shutting down the opponents’ wing players while Billups runs the point (and hits the occasional big shot) and Amar’e and Carmelo focus on scoring. 

In the event Shumpert struggles, or during the time it takes for him to earn a spot on the "crunch-time" lineup, Toney Douglas could play the two.

Lineup No. 2

PG: Chauncey Billups

SG: Bill Walker

SF: Shawne Williams

PF: Carmelo Anthony

C: Jared Jeffries

This lineup could be used in situations to try and stretch the opponents’ defense, especially against a zone. Anthony, Billups, Walker and Williams are all capable three-point shooters. If their opponent chooses to play man defense against Carmelo with a conventional four, the Syracuse alum can force double teams or defensive help and dish it out to the shooters.  

While they’d be undersized on the interior and weak on the defensive end, Jeffries could help alleviate some of those issues. Bill Walker does play solid on-ball defense and hustles often. Billups and Williams are sub-par defenders, to put it nicely, and Anthony doesn’t typically put-forth a good effort on that end (unless he’s guarding LeBron James). 

Lineup No. 3

PG: Toney Douglas

SG: Bill Walker

SF: Shawne Williams

PF: Carmelo Anthony

C: Amar'e Stoudemire

This lineup has the potential to put up 40 points in a quarter. It also has the potential to get outscored by 20 points in a quarter, especially if the offense is struggling and the opponent’s attacking Anthony, Stoudemire or Williams on the defensive end.  

A 1 through 4 of Douglas, Walker, Williams and Anthony would give the Knicks a lineup that features four solid three-point shooters. Pair that with Stoudemire—who’s got a solid mid-range game and can hit the occasional three-pointer—on the interior, and defenses could have serious issues containing this group. 

Lineup No. 4

PG: Iman Shumpert

SG: Landry Fields

SF: Carmelo Anthony

PF: Amar'e Stoudemire

C: Ronny Turiaf

Iman Shumpert played a good amount of point guard in college, so there’s no reason to think his becoming an effective lead guard in the NBA is an impossible feat. The question is how long it will take for him to adjust to playing the position professionally.

Assuming Shumpert becomes comfortable enough to occasionally run the point, pairing him up with Fields would give the Knicks arguably their best defensive back court combination. Anthony and Stoudemire could handle the scoring load, while Turiaf—who’s healing well from a wrist injury and will be playing for a new contract in 2011-2012—would provide energy and rebounding. 

Lineup No. 5

PG: Chauncey Billups

SG: Toney Douglas

SF: Shawne WIlliams

PF: Amar'e Stoudemire

C: Jared Jeffries

In last season’s playoffs, Toney Douglas showed he could effectively play the two. Although he’s undersized for the position at 6’2”, Douglas is arguably the Knicks best defender.

In this lineup that features a Billups/Douglas back court, the Knicks have three three-point shooters on the floor to go along with Stoudemire and Jeffries. Billups could run a lot of pick and rolls with Stoudemire, opening up numerous shots for Douglas and Williams in the process.

Likewise, Douglas could run pick and rolls with Stoudemire. If Douglas’ deep ball is on that night, the defense might over-react to his shot, leaving Stoudemire with a wide lane to exploit. 

Lineup No. 6

PG: Andy Rautins

SG: Derrick Brown

SF: Renaldo Balkman

PF: Jared Jeffries

C: Ronny Turiaf

Just kidding! 

Could you imagine?

No disrespect to any of these guys (being on an NBA roster is an accomplishment in and of itself), but this lineup would be horrendous.

I don’t believe an explanation is required.

Thanks for reading!