Knicks: Why Austin Rivers should be the starting point guard

Austin Rivers should be the starting point guard.

But what about the things point guards are supposed to do, like, I don’t know, PASSING?

Good point. Payton is the better and/or more willing passer. But in this particular lineup, I’m not sure it matters . Julius Randle is the primary facilitator, despite his new role stylistically/schematically, and RJ Barrett’s shown improved playmaking chops (though right now his slump is affecting that). The lineup doesn’t need another assist-man; it needs someone who can finish those potential assists.

Not to mention, Rivers isn’t hopeless as a passer. In his first action of the season, he led the team in assists, but it’s more than the stats – it’s how the threat of him scoring opens things up for others.

Last night, he played a position he hasn’t played in seven years in his first game off injury with no preseason, and he looked good. When he’s at the top of his game – like he was in that Bubble video above – watch out!

Whether he’s a “true” point guard or not doesn’t matter to me. He won’t be asked to make overly-complex reads. Extra pass. Drive-and-kick to open shooters. Basic PnR. It’s middle school stuff that I’m sure the son of an NBA head coach can handle.

And defense?

Neither is particularly good, but the numbers – both traditional and advanced – seem to favor Payton. The team as a whole looks much improved in the early going, and you can see the Thibs Effect quite clearly in individuals like Randle and Knox. Rivers isn’t bad enough to bring the group down, and for the most part, he looked fine last night. Plus, again – it’s not like we’re swapping out Frank-level D. Payton’s close enough that it’s negligible.

Okay, let’s pretend you’ve convinced me that a non-point guard is a better fit at the most important position in basketball than the actual point guard who’s averaged 18.3 points, 6 assists, and 4.6 rebounds over the last three. Cool. What about when Quickley comes back?

Quickley’s the best shooter of the three and has shown an ability to get to the paint – particularly off ball-screens – and finish with floaters. He’s also the best defender of this bunch and perhaps the only guy on the team that can throw a quality lob (which I’m adding here only because it’s been so embarrassing lately). I would have no issues starting him.

But his fit with the second unit before he got hurt was too good to mess with. Kevin Knox was out of his mind next to Quickley, and when Toppin returns, Quickley’s the better complement there, too.

Overall, I think the lineups are more balanced with Rivers starting and Quickley running the second unit (IQ should close, though).