Knicks: Five Possible Rotations For The 2016-2017 NBA Season

A new head coach, a new roster, and a new season has New York Knicks fans excited to see how explosive and competitive this team can be. Let’s take a look at lineups Jeff Hornacek might want to consider.

There’s no doubt between the organization and loyal fans regarding who deserves to start.  Here’s the New York Knicks’ projected starting five:

Derrick Rose – Point Guard

Courtney Lee – Shooting Guard

Carmelo Anthony – Small Forward

Kristaps Porzingis – Power Forward

Joakim Noah – Center

A team full of talented veterans and one young rising start should sound familiar. If it does, it’s because the San Antonio Spurs formed a similar lineup that helped Kawhi Leonard develop into the franchise player that he is.

Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah know how to run the low post and pick and roll. Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis can get their own shots and have the responsibility to be the team’s first scoring options. Courtney Lee is an athletic guard who can defend and make open jumpers.

These are the guys who will open and finish games simply because they’ve shown they’re the most talented. Anthony has finally found a group of guys who are willing to leave it all on the court night in and night out.

For Jeff Hornacek and New York Knicks fans, this means you can trust this lineup to finish close games.

Next: Last Minutes of the First Quarter

Derrick Rose – Point Guard

Courtney Lee – Shooting Guard

Carmelo Anthony – Small Forward

Lance Thomas – Power Forward

Kristaps Porzingis – Center

Former New York Knicks head coach Derek Fisher implemented a change in the starting lineup with two minutes remaining in the first quarter that showed to be effective during the 2015-2016 NBA season.

Lance Thomas was the first player off the bench to replace rookie sensation Kristaps Porzingis at the 4.

Kristpas Porzingis deserves more minutes this upcoming season because he has earned his stripes through putback dunks, blocks and contested jumpers. This is why Joakim Noah should be the first man out of the rotation with Porzingis moving to the 5 and Thomas as the power forward.

Porzingis playing at center is no new arrangement. Many critics speculate that Kristaps is the true definition of a center in today’s league. With his ability to shoot from anywhere on the court and put the ball on the floor, he’s a versatile weapon for those who are guarding him.

Furthermore, Thomas has both defense and offense on his repertoire. Switching Noah for Thomas would not be a liability on the defensive end and could prove to be a deadly rotation with everyone on the floor having the ability to shoot.

Next: Second Quarter Rotation

Brandon Jennings – Point Guard

Justin Holiday/Sasha Vujacic – Shooting Guard

Mindaugas Kuzminskas – Small Forward

Lance Thomas – Power Forward

Willy Hernangomez/Marshall Plumlee – Center

This would be the featured lineup for the start of the second quarter. With possible contributions from Sasha Vujacic as the shooting guard and Marshall Plumlee as the center, we’ll assume Justin Holiday and Willy Hernangomez will be the first guys off the bench.

At some point last season, many thought the addition of Brandon Jennings in exchange for Jose Calderon would make us a playoff team. Unfortunately, after being traded to the Orlando Magic, Jennings didn’t have the season everyone expected him to have.

However, the bench is usually a combined effort from all players to contribute points where no one player stands out. Unless you’re the sixth man, in which case you better deliver.

In that case, let’s see what this roster can do to help Jennings develop into the Sixth Man of the Year.

Holiday hasn’t seen steady minutes as either a starter or a bench player. This will be an opportunity for him to show his versatile skills for a guard with a 7’0” wingspan. You can expect him to be an effective defensive guard and knock down open jumpers provided by Jennings.

Kuzminskas is a better shooter than Derrick Williams and perhaps with his size you can expect him to be an even better defender. If that’s the case, it’s an improvement at the small forward position from last year’s roster coming off the bench.

Hernangomez and Plumlee will be fighting for minutes at the center spot. We can even go as far as saying that Maurice Ndour will also see minutes at the center position because of Ndour’s ability to be a great defender.

While we don’t know what to expect from these players, we know that they’re on a journey to prove themselves as capable big men who belong in the NBA. That’s the type of attitude you want.

Let’s not forget Lance Thomas. If he continues to be effective with his jumper and Kuzminskas provides to be a decent shooter, than Jennings will see a great deal of assists in his stats.

All together you have a great group of guys who, under Hornacek’s fast pace offense, may thrive as one of the East’s top bench.

Next: Third Quarter Lineup

Brandon Jennings – Point Guard

Mindaugas Kuzminskas – Shooting Guard

Lance Thomas – Small Forward

Kyle O’Quinn – Power Forward

Joakim Noah – Center

This lineup is probably best saved for the opening of the third quarter and perhaps the last minutes of the second quarter. This rotation would be best saved for an eight-point lead or above.

The reason being is that Kyle O’Quinn didn’t prove to be an amazing defender last season, but his on court vision allows him to be a good distributor for a big man.

With Joakim Noah as the main rim protector and O’Quinn with his passing ability, this rotation could push for a bigger lead than the one they started with. In this lineup, no one will be asked to be the main scorer when jumpers aren’t going down.

Rather, a well-balanced attack can help establish the fundamentals of ball movement that need to be incorporated to go deep into the playoffs.

It should be mentioned that O’Quinn will probably share some minutes with Maurice Ndour.  Ndour could be a pleasant surprise if he can manage to just be a decent player.

In that case, he’d earn minutes that may push O’Quinn out of the rotation in a league where shooting is so crucial to winning games.

It’s important to note that one of the reasons why Phil Jackson brought Noah in is for his leadership and demeanor.

With Noah’s tough competitive attitude leading this rotation, you can expect everyone to be fully engaged on both ends of the court.

Next: Small Lineup

Derrick Rose – Point Guard

Brandon Jennings – Shooting Guard

Courtney Lee – Small Forward

Carmelo Anthony – Power Forward

Kristaps Porzingis – Center

This is a small lineup. The Golden State Warriors way, except instead of having the Splash Brothers, the New York Knicks have some guys who are coming off major injuries. In cases where New York needs a scoring punch and perhaps has to defend teams that are reliant on guards, this may be the way to assemble the rotation.

With Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings attacking the rim in a drive-and-kick type of offense, Courtney Lee, Carmelo Anthony and even Kristaps Porzingis could benefit having wide open jumpers and 3-point shots.

If Anthony and Porzingis can manage the load on the defensive end of the court, and Lee can contain his opponent, then Rose and Jennings could see some major minutes together.

However, it’s safe to say that this lineup may not be assembled early in the season unless it proves to be really effective. One could suggest that if Porzingis increases his skill set and develops into a more consistent player we could see him as the main rim protector in this small lineup.

must read: Breaking down the 2016-17 starting lineup

With a roster like this, the sky’s the ceiling. Let’s just hope everyone can stay healthy