New York Knicks: Five reasons to keep current starting lineup together

Three games into the latest New York Knicks lineup experiment, what’s the case for each player to remain a starter?

When New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale inserted the starting lineup of Frank Ntilikina, Tim Hardaway Jr., Damyean Dotson, Noah Vonleh and Mitchell Robinson, he said, “Nothing is necessarily set in stone,” according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. That happened after a 128-100 loss to the Golden State Warriors, the first test for this group.

Since then, these five blew out the Brooklyn Nets and played a competitive game, in a losing effort, against the Indiana Pacers.

With nothing concrete, and more changes potentially on the way, is there reason to hold off on moving someone from the bench into the lineup? For now, let’s look at why this unit should stay together for the imminent future:

5. It already rewards productive players

This New York Knicks starting lineup aligned, mostly due to their previous performances to open the season. Mitchell Robinson was the exception, since he provided a defensive upgrade at center (more on that later).

Damyean Dotson and Noah Vonleh entered the lineup after their standout first five games; three for Dotson, who didn’t play against the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets.

For the second-year pro, he delivered three consecutive performances of 10-plus points, with a 20-point, 10-rebound game to put him over the top versus the Miami Heat.

Since then, he has shot 42.4 percent for 11.7 points and 5.0 rebounds.

Vonleh, on a partially guaranteed deal, had at least five rebounds in each of the first five games, two of which were double-digit totals. His energy on the boards and two-way play contributed towards this.

In three games, he has 9.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks on 56.3 percent shooting.

Frank Ntilikina’s offensive production didn’t stand out at first, but his spot never seemed at risk since Fizdale played him over 30 minutes in four of the opening five games. Then came the back-to-back performances of 17 and 16 points, respectively, along with a 7-assist night against the Indiana Pacers.

For Tim Hardaway Jr., he’s of course New York’s most productive player on 26.0 points per game. Enes Kanter‘s 14.3 points are the next highest average.

This starting lineup benefits players that have stood out for the Knicks. While Robinson is the only one who hasn’t jumped off the page like the rest, he still has 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 block per game as a starter.