Not so sure DSJ starts over Elfrid Payton
c- Taj
PF- Randle
SF- Morris
SG- Portis
PG- Oakley
For the future:
C- Mitchell
PF- Randle
SF- Knox
SG- Barrett
PG- Smith Jr.
For the now:
C- Portis
PF- Randle
SF- Morris
SG- Ellington
PG- Payton
C Mitch
F Randle
F Morris
G Barrett
G Smith Jr
Randle
Morris
Knox
Smith
Ellington
Thats a decent shooting team to start. Not saying this is how the season ends
C Portis, protect Robinson from foul trouble
F Randle, the new ZBo
F Morris, Knox watches and learns
G Barrett, strong to the hoop
G Payton, Mister triple double
smackeddog wrote:
c- Taj
PF- Randle
SF- Morris
SG- Portis
PG- Oakley
HA!! Good one! I am not sure Oak can handle the Point - swap him with Randle.
All I know is NY has 15 players that all can and probably should be rotation players. That is a big difference from last year.
PGs - Payton 24, SMith 24, Ntilikna, Allen
SGs - RJ 20, Trier 20, Ellinngton 8, Dotson
SFs - KNox 20 , Morris 28, Iggy
PFs - Randle 35, Gibson 15
Cs - Robonison 24, Portis 22
I think Fiz will play 10/11 a night to start the year. Allen, Ntilikina, Dotson, Iggy will likely be fringe players, IMO. Iggy and Frank will battle for minutes.
Trier will likely outplay RJ and Ellington.
I think it would be wise to put RJ on a "maintenace" schedule - meaning that his miuntes are increased slowly over the year and he "rests" every 10-12 games when Either he doesnt play or plays very little.
Gibson will sit regularly as part of a "maintenance" schedule. That way NY can find minutes for Iggy in a small ball lineup or increas Knox's time on the court.
I think Iggy will force time with his hustle.
Fizdale will have a hard time handling playing time and keeping everyone happy and engaged. The benefit is that he has all sorts of players to mix and match and all seem to be NBA level players. No longer big minutes going to Hicks, Jenkins, Garret, etc...so that is a good thing.
Starters:
Payton
Barrett
Morris
Randle
Robinson
C- Randle (Fiz seemed to love the Lakers playing him at C when he was a commentator)
PF- Morris
SF- Knox
SG- Trier/ Dotson
PG- DS Jr
Lots of spacing for Randle and DSJ to operate in. RJ comes off the bench, where you can play him with shooters like Ellington and Portis,
Fiz is gonna do whatever Morris tells him to
PG Payton
SG Trier
SF Morris
PF Randle
C Portis
This is a big, physical line up that will defend, clean the glass, hit the 3 and attack the basket.
Bench: DSjr, RJ, Knox, Iggy, Mitch
Is something like how I see things shaking out.
I feel sorry for Fitz....He's a good coach and good person, but I think the FO set him up to fail. We added some good players, don't get me wrong. But if there's no obvious pecking order, I can see Fitz spending majority of the year, trying to find the right combination. And once we start losing, everybody will point at Fitz. Hope he gets it right early, and sticks to it, regardless of the noise. For example, Nate Robinson said he likes the knicks free agents....Doesn't mind missing out on the big fish. Then he says Trier (the seatle native) needs to start. I think he needs to find a Lue Williams role off the bench. But this is a small example of people will try and coach for Fitz. Lets hope he can block the noise out and put a winning combination on the floor.
5. Mitch, Portis
4. Randle, Taj
3. Morris, Knox, Ellington
2. RJ, Trier, Dotson
1. Payton, DSJ, Frank
We are very deep. It's like we picked a bunch of players, threw them on the wall, and see who will stick.
As far as player development, I think most of that will come in practice and off court meetings / hangouts.
I can see this team getting some wins against better teams. Our bench should be the deepest and healthiest in the league. If a team is top heavy and need some solid role players, I'm sure they have the knicks on their short list. These guys are primed candidates for a championship team.
C Taj, Mitch
F Randle, Portis/Braz
F Morris, Knox
G Barrett, Wayne/Trier/Dot
G Payton, DSJ/Frank
blkexec wrote:I feel sorry for Fitz....He's a good coach and good person, but I think the FO set him up to fail. We added some good players, don't get me wrong. But if there's no obvious pecking order, I can see Fitz spending majority of the year, trying to find the right combination. And once we start losing, everybody will point at Fitz. Hope he gets it right early, and sticks to it, regardless of the noise. For example, Nate Robinson said he likes the knicks free agents....Doesn't mind missing out on the big fish. Then he says Trier (the seatle native) needs to start. I think he needs to find a Lue Williams role off the bench. But this is a small example of people will try and coach for Fitz. Lets hope he can block the noise out and put a winning combination on the floor.5. Mitch, Portis
4. Randle, Taj
3. Morris, Knox, Ellington
2. RJ, Trier, Dotson
1. Payton, DSJ, Frank
We are very deep. It's like we picked a bunch of players, threw them on the wall, and see who will stick.
As far as player development, I think most of that will come in practice and off court meetings / hangouts.
I can see this team getting some wins against better teams. Our bench should be the deepest and healthiest in the league. If a team is top heavy and need some solid role players, I'm sure they have the knicks on their short list. These guys are primed candidates for a championship team.
Fizdale is the LAST guy to feel sorry for. He was given a freebie year with zero expectations last year. He's got to manage some healthy competition on the roster. Every guy is young. There are no DWade's here that cant practice. So that is where the pecking order is getting established, which IMO is ideal.
I think its pretty simple:
Morris and Randle are the forwards.
Portis vs. Mitch to start at the 5
Payton vs. DSjr to start at PG
SG and bench spots should be wide open
I think Morris really helps. You have a pair of versatile forwards in Randle/Morris who play a hard physical brand to start with. This is what Fizdale gets paid for and he should be hyped.
I like how everyones acting like Frank no longer exists
smackeddog wrote:I like how everyones acting like Frank no longer exists
I still have high hopes for Frank and would not be surprised one bit if he had a breakout season. That being said he's coming off an injury plagued season where he played very poorly. Gotta show to be seen.
There are tons of scenarios where Frank gets in the middle of it. Fizdale took the kid to games last year. They like Frank plenty. He's gotta do stuff on the court. I do hope the national team gets him some burn and helps
fishmike wrote:smackeddog wrote:I like how everyones acting like Frank no longer exists
I still have high hopes for Frank and would not be surprised one bit if he had a breakout season. That being said he's coming off an injury plagued season where he played very poorly. Gotta show to be seen.There are tons of scenarios where Frank gets in the middle of it. Fizdale took the kid to games last year. They like Frank plenty. He's gotta do stuff on the court. I do hope the national team gets him some burn and helps
Yep, frank with a 3pt jumper is all we need, but I just don't think he's going to get the chance
Why am I more excited about Iggy than Barrett?
SelltheteamDolan wrote:Why am I more excited about Iggy than Barrett?
I was more excited by Knox than Trier in last year's SL. We'll have to wait and see.
smackeddog wrote:fishmike wrote:smackeddog wrote:I like how everyones acting like Frank no longer exists
I still have high hopes for Frank and would not be surprised one bit if he had a breakout season. That being said he's coming off an injury plagued season where he played very poorly. Gotta show to be seen.There are tons of scenarios where Frank gets in the middle of it. Fizdale took the kid to games last year. They like Frank plenty. He's gotta do stuff on the court. I do hope the national team gets him some burn and helps
Yep, frank with a 3pt jumper is all we need, but I just don't think he's going to get the chance
I feel like the lone Frank supporter in Knickland.
Starting 5
PG-Frank
SG-Barrett
SF-Knox
PF-Randle
C-Mitch
Bench: Trier, Portis, Payton, Morris, DSJr, Dotson
11 deep
I think DSJr gets moved for a first rounder.
The Knicks can go a lot of different directions. From my perspective, I think the only lock for starter is Randle, with the next best bet being Mitchell Robinson, followed by Barrett.
PG: DSJ has the physical tools to be a superstar, but his game is not all there. He's shown a lot of flash, particularly when his shot is going in. I've loved Payton and think he has a more mature game as a floor general - and the guy can do it all on the floor - except really stroke it from 3. His game isn't predicated on scoring a lot, so depending on the mix of scorers in the starting lineup, he might be a better fit. If either of these PGs can get to ~35% from 3pt range, we'll have a pretty good team. The player that shoots better during camp/pre-season likely gets the starting spot.
SG: I think Barrett probably should start from day 1. He surprisingly struggled a little in the summer league, but he seemed to make adjustments and find ways to be productive despite shooting woes. The Knicks will want to surround him with at least 2 shooters until he gains his footing. Dotson had shoulder surgery and I don't have high confidence in him having his shot ready in time for the regular season. He had a nice stretch averaging around 20ppg as a starter during the tail end of the year with good shooting %s, but unfortunately I don't think he'll be healthy enough to defend his role. I don't think Ellington was brought here to be a starter (though didn't he start for the banged up Pistons?)
SF: Marcus Morris is a better player than Knox now and I think is a starting caliber 3rd or 4th option on a playoff team. If the Knicks are to succeed, Knox really need to show some development. (looking for tidy Jaylen Brown-type stats from Knox - 12+ppg/45%+fg/36%+3pt/4-5rpg in 25mpg) My dark horse is Iggy Braz - I don't really him starting over Morris AND Knox, but the possibility is there - esp if he proves he's a lights out shooter with NBA 3pt range. He might be the best catch and shoot player on the team - and that fits in with any lineup, particularly with our non-pure shooting backcourt.
PF: Randle is the best/most accomplished player on the team now. This might be the only position where there is no question about who starts.
C: Robinson excelled as a starter toward the tail end of the season, at least statistically. His speed and the threat of his alley-oop/finishing spaces the floor a bit. He's a good bet for opening tips. But Portis is sneaky good and well rounded... he can shoot the rock from the perimeter and plays a generally clean game. He's sort of like Vonleh, but seemingly better in every way. If the Knicks want an extra shooter with the starting lineup, he's your guy.
