NY Knicks Lineup: How will the team handle Derrick Rose and Kemba Walker?
By Adam Kester
NY Knicks: Whose role will be bigger? Kemba Walker or Derrick Rose?
While it’s likely that Derrick Rose will come off the bench and Kemba Walker will start, it is unclear who will play a “bigger role”.
The similarities between the two players are really striking. You can break down their games as point guards with “score-first” reputations, but who are more than capable of distributing the ball and making high-level reads.
The similarities between the two go beyond their playstyle. Both Kemba Walker and Derrick Rose are on the wrong side of thirty and have significant injury histories.
Rose differs in that his severe injuries were surgeries and he is a few years removed from serious injury. Walker didn’t have any major surgeries but has recently been affected by a degenerative knee issue that is going to go away.
Both players will need to be carefully managed throughout the season. Walker may have to sit on the 2nd game of back-to-backs. Rose may need some extra rest should he need to play increased minutes in Walker’s absence.
We should see some mixing in matching in the rotations — Derrick Rose sharing the floor with Julius Randle and RJ Barrett, and Walker getting some run with Obi Toppin and Immanuel Quickley.
All in all, these two players have similar responsibilities. Successful and reasonable expectations would be around 24-30 minutes per game for both of them, and both players play around 50-60 of the team’s 82 games.
One question that has really captured my curiosity: Is there any way these two will share the floor together?