New York Knicks: Why make Kevin Knox, Emmanuel Mudiay starters?

Head coach David Fizdale made more changes to the New York Knicks starting lineup. Why did Kevin Knox and Emmanuel Mudiay join the mix?

After Sunday’s blowout loss to the Orlando Magic, New York Knicks head coach David Fizdale teased changes to the starting lineup, but said this five will never be set in stone. That became the case ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Per Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic, Emmanuel Mudiay and Kevin Knox will replace Frank Ntilikina and Damyean Dotson in the starting lineup.

Why remove Ntilikina?

Ntilikina started all 14 games for the Knicks and seemed of interest to Fizdale from training camp. Being experimented with defensively and placed in a ball-handling role after the fifth game, the 20-year-old covered his opponents fine, but struggled everywhere else.

Since Ntilikina’s back-to-back games of 17 and 16 points on Oct. 26 and 29, respectively, he has just 5.1 points and 3.9 assists on 28 percent shooting and 13 percent from behind the arc.

The downfall was the Magic game, when Ntilikina played just 6 minutes, all of which came in the first quarter. Mudiay and Trey Burke played ahead of him for the rest of the game.

Now, Ntilikina must battle Burke for backup minutes. Since the latter man has failed to stand out, as well, there’s no telling who will rise in a reserve role.

Why remove Dotson?

Dotson was New York’s model of consistency for most of the 2018-19 season. However, once Knox returned, it sapped the second-year pro’s minutes and offensive output, going from nine consecutive games of double-digit points to just one in his last three.

In this trio of games, Dotson has averaged just 6.3 points and 2.7 rebounds on 40 percent shooting.

It’s a quick leash to pull on someone who averaged 13.2 points on a 45.6 percent clip. Maybe Dotson deserved another game to find his rhythm, but Fizdale chose to keep a two big-man lineup that has a 98.7 pace factor — 22nd in the NBA.

Dotson was always Knox’s replacement, though, after the ankle injury. So was this inevitable?

Why add Mudiay?

Via Marc Berman of The New York Post, Fizdale wanted more creativity in the offense. He said Mudiay the team’s best passer for the second time and followed up on eventually giving the 2015 lottery pick a chance to start.

Well, that opportunity is here after 8.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists in six games, sans the garbage time matchup.

Per Vorkunov, Fizdale wanted Mudiay in for pace. According to NBA Advanced Stats, the New York Knicks have a 101.52 pace factor when the 22-year-old guard is on the court compared to the 102.41 with Ntilikina.

However, New York’s offensive rating is 106.8 with Mudiay and just 98.8 with Ntilikina.

Mudiay won’t be the most appealing option, but none of the Knicks point guards have stood out enough. It’s just the latest experiment for Fizdale, before he potentially makes another lineup change.

Why add Knox?

Knox was always set to join the starting lineup, until a last-minute change from Fizdale took him to the bench to open the season. That resulted from shooting below 40 percent in the preseason, while Ntilikina and Burke were named starters in a somewhat surprise.

Of course, Knox suffered the sprained ankle that sidelined him for seven games. He returned to a reserve role, and has shot just 30 percent since.

However, he has 12 and 17 points in the past two games, respectively. On just 36.4 percent shooting, but with nine made free throws and four three-pointers.

Knox offers greater size and versatility across the lineup, with the “positionless basketball” mantra at hand. That places his 6-foot-9 frame with the 7-foot-1 Mitchell Robinson and the 6-foot-9 Noah Vonleh in a tall frontcourt.

Aside from the numbers, Knox was New York’s top pick in June, and there’s an investment in what the 19-year-old could provide. On-court reps will garner experience, even through hardships, so it’s a developmental process moving forward.

The New York Knicks will debut this new-look starting lineup on Wednesday, Nov. 14 against the Thunder at 8:00 p.m. ET.