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New York Knicks Should Start Carmelo Anthony At Power Forward

By Matthew Perez

Jan 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) walks onto the court prior to taking on the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) walks onto the court prior to taking on the Orlando Magic at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 13, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) and forward Carmelo Anthony (7) against the Phoenix Suns in the first quarter at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Knicks 113-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 13, 2016; Phoenix, AZ, USA; New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) and forward Carmelo Anthony (7) against the Phoenix Suns in the first quarter at Talking Stick Resort Arena. The Suns defeated the Knicks 113-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /

Starting Lineup

If Hornacek commits to this idea, the Knicks should start Rose, Courtney Lee, Lance Thomas, Anthony, and Noah. This is a more defensive lineup with the addition of Thomas, while Rose and Anthony handle the scoring load.

This lineup will be predicated on a half court offense, which benefits Anthony’s style of play.

Second Unit

With the addition of Porzingis to the second unit, it automatically makes the Knicks’ bench one of the most lethal benches in the league. Like Gregg Popovich did with Manu Ginobli, or Doc Rivers did with Jamal Crawford, having a high-caliber player come off the bench is a great move.

The lineup should consist of Brandon Jennings, Justin Holiday, Kuzminskas, Porzingis, and O’Quinn. Jennings likes to run, and with the youth in that lineup, they can do just that. Running in transition means easy buckets for Porzingis, who can stretch the floor at the power forward position.

Given the way O’Quinn has been defending and rebounding this season, the interior presence will still be formidable alongside Porzingis and his shot-blocking ability.

For the immediate future, the Knicks need to focus on easing Porzingis back. For a 7’3″ player who’s athletic and mobile like Porzingis, an achilles injury is scary.

Being that Porzingis is the future of this Knicks franchise, rushing him back would be foolish.

Once Porzingis is healthy, he can continue to come off the bench, except playing his normal minutes and helping close out games in the fourth quarter with the starting unit.

Hornacek can also experiment with lineups of Rose, Jennings, Lee, Anthony, and Porzingis. Playing against an athletic team that plays small, like the Golden State Warriors, this lineup can create many matchup problems for opposing teams.

There’s no shortage of talent on this Knicks team, but the pieces need to be moved around a little bit to get the best use of everyone’s talent.

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