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« on: August 22, 2018, 01:30:45 AM »
Zaza started for the Dubs for how long? There are all kinds of reasons to start guys and all kinds of ways to deploy starters in rotations.
I think it is highly unlikely the combo of Kornet, Vonleh, Knox, Hardaway, and Ntilikina will be the starting group on opening night. There is something about a track record of production that takes a monstrous camp and preseason performance to overcome. Kanter averaged a solid double-double in short minutes and epitomized commitment last season. He will most likely start.
Burke was better at running the prior Knick system than Frank was at the close of last year. If that remains the case after camp and Burke shows effective D, he should start. Mudiay looked worse than both of them, but it’s a new system so who knows?
I expect Knox to beat out Mario for starting SF.
Tim I’ve talked about.
I think Vonleh is better than Lance, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see Lance start anyway.
Starters could be Kanter, Thomas, Knox, Hardaway, and Burke.
This lineup will be easy to attack at the C and PG for a lot of teams. Rebounding is there. Thomas provides some leadership on D and hits 3’s at a good clip. It still seems like a recipe for getting in the hole early.
Kornet, Vonleh, Knox, Hardaway, Ntilikina gives you good length at every position with four guys who at least somewhat cover three positions along with actual shot blocking production at center. On the other side, you can play 5 out and run double screens, back picks, and other actions until a bad matchup can be taken right into the post or driven by while a big is locked outside on Kornet. This could be good for everyone’s shooting percentage. You also have Frank, Tim, and Kevin to break with NV filling the lane. Vonleh also hoovers boards. 7’, 6’9”, 6’9”, 6’5”, 6’5” is pretty ideal size for an NBA lineup, but this group is inexperienced, so far inconsistent and inefficient. Can Fiz get this group to play like it seems they should be able to on paper? Also, KP should be able to replace Kornet in that lineup when he’s ready and find a group ready to cater to his strengths and protect his weaknesses from the jump. KP, Vonleh, Knox, Hardaway, Ntilikina makes even more sense. For now, Kornet is a stand in.
Robinson, Vonleh, Thomas, Dotson, and Ntilikina might be our best defensive lineup. You could say Lee over Dotson, but Lee was dogging it by the time the year wound down & isn’t getting any quicker which is key to exceptional D. If we are very lucky, Knox will be every bit the defender that Thomas is, in which case his offense would be welcomed in this lineup. Robinson, Vonleh, Knox, Dotson, Ntilikina. We’d need to see efficiency from our sophomore guards for this to be worth pursuing.
To open, we have 3 bigs (Kanter, Kornet, Robinson) with very different games. We need to make the best of them till KP gets back. We also have 3 forwards (Vonleh, Thomas, Knox) who are similarly dissimilar. The coach needs to find the right combination in each situation. Among the rest we need to find 4 or 5 outside players who help us all the time when they are on the court.
Because of the KP recovery (no matter who you prefer as the other big), our starting situation will be less than ideal this season.
