New York Knicks: Kevin Knox, the bench mob and other lineup takeaways

The unveiling of the New York Knicks starting lineup offered a few interesting takeaways.

A little over 24 hours before the New York Knicks open the 2018-19 season, head coach David Fizdale unveiled the starting lineup. Enes Kanter, Lance Thomas and Tim Hardaway Jr. were not surprises, based on the events of the preseason.

Instead, the head-turning moves came at point guard and, even more so, at small forward, if it’s even designated as such in the positionless basketball mantra.

Trey Burke was named the starting point guard after two preseason starts and backup role in the other three games. Frank Ntilikina, who arguably took the lead in the competition, also joined Burke and the others in the starting lineup.

So what does this all mean for the Knicks ahead of their game against the Atlanta Hawks?

Kevin Knox must earn his opportunity

Fizdale indicated Kevin Knox’s likely starting spot after Friday’s preseason finale. The rookie forward started all five games, despite shooting just 34 percent from the field, so it seemed the staff was ready to let it ride.

That made Knox’s move to the bench an obvious surprise, as Marc Berman of The New York Post noted. 

When training camp began, Fizdale said all starting spots must be earned. He kept similar lineups for the first half of the preseason, and it seemed everything was unofficially set. Of course, the situation changed, and Knox is one of the main bench players for New York.

A return to the starting lineup, again, must be earned. This time, in the regular season. Can the No. 9 pick break in?

Frank Ntilikina earned his

Knox’s loss was Ntilikina’s gain, as the latter’s preseason run proved successful at 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.0 steal per game on 45.2 percent shooting.

Not only that, Fizdale took an interest in Ntilikina’s development from the start, with the desire to make him into an award-winning player defensively. With a test of his skills against bigger players near the preseason’s conclusion, it appeared to show trust in the sophomore’s skills at this end of the court.

The Frenchman lived up to Fizdale’s aforementioned desire for players to “earn” their opportunity, and even said he did more than Knox, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News:

"“I think the most important thing I was trying to get out of it was culturally you’ve got to earn it. I don’t think Kevin got to the point where he earned it more than Frank,” Fizdale said. “But there were some good things for Kevin and I was really happy with him having to go through highs and lows early on. He had the two double doubles early and then he hit a wall. That’s just a learning opportunity for him. I don’t want to reward that yet. I do think Frank consistently throughout the preseason, no matter where I put him, he got the job done. So for our culture that’s more important.”"

With Knox inches behind, it’s Ntilikina’s time to secure a starting spot in an unusual small-forward position, which he never opened a game at. Will he ever give up this role?

The bench mob

The starting lineup announcement, of course, indicated which players were set for the bench: everyone not named, except for Knox.

The Kentucky product likely leads the bench as a versatile scorer for Fizdale to use. After that, Mario Hezonja—a former candidate to start ahead of Lance Thomas—will play a role. Noah Vonleh, Mitchell Robinson (until the Knicks send him to Westchester), Damyean Dotson, Allonzo Trier and Courtney Lee should make up the rest of the group.

Trier’s role will provide the most intrigue, after he arguably performed the best of any Knick this preseason. 14.2 points on 47.8 percent shooting earned him a spot on the team immediately, rather than an indefinite stay in the G League, on the two-way deal the organization signed him to.

A strained neck cost Lee the preseason. What it did to his role, though, remains to be seen, but after starting 69 games in 2017-18, that number seems poised to decline.

Everyone else has to jockey for position. In a rebuild year, maybe it results in a starting spot down the road, but, like Knox, the opportunity must be taken advantage of on the court.