New York Knicks: Five reasons to keep current starting lineup together
1. A two-way-minded group
The first lineup incarnation had a mixed look to it; players were either geared towards the offensive or defensive end, with Tim Hardaway Jr. and Frank Ntilikina showing potential on defense and offense, respectively, over the first five games.
When David Fizdale changed almost everything after the Miami Heat game, he designed a two-way group that could produce at both ends of the court. Noah Vonleh and Damyean Dotson were the points of emphasis on this, while Mitchell Robinson provided rim protection and raw offensive ability for putbacks and unique athleticism at 7-foot-1.
Over Trey Burke and Lance Thomas, Dotson and Vonleh boosted either end of the floor, rather than accompanying questions of if they could hold up on offense or defense.
Ntilikina’s move to point guard provided an on-ball defender at the main distributor position. This kept Darren Collison and D’Angelo Russell in check over the past two games and should remain against Luka Doncic and maybe John Wall.
Hardaway Jr. may be the outlier of this group, but even he provided a 101.4 Defensive Rating in wins, according to NBA Advanced Stats. Some upside exists, especially as Fizdale tests him against the NBA’s top guards.
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It’s a multi-faceted group to take the New York Knicks forward, with enough production and upside to remain past Fizdale’s five-game timetable to make changes. The Mavericks and Wizards are still ahead, so let’s see how this plays out.