The Knicks may have a No. 6 in their
starting lineup, after all, even if it's not the
No. 6 they desperately wanted when free
agency started last summer.

Mike D'Antoni wouldn't commit to a starting
lineup Sunday after practice in Greenburgh,
but did admit that rookie Landry Fields has
a shot of being his starting shooting guard
when the Knicks open the season
Wednesday in Toronto.

A second-round pick out of Stanford, the
6-7 Fields will wear No. 6 - the same
number that LeBron James would have
worn if he had come to New York instead
of rocking the pro basketball world by
signing with the Miami Heat. Of course,
uniform numbers are where the similarities s
tart and end. Nobody is confusing the
39th pick overall, who made one start in
preseason, with the two-time reigning MVP.

"He could be everywhere from starting to
coming in and playing significant minutes,"
D'Antoni said of Fields. "He is a rookie, so a
lot of it is still unknown. But I'm very
comfortable with playing him. The thing
about him is that he doesn't need the ball
to do a lot of stuff. When you have guys like
Amar'e (Stoudemire) and different guys you
want the ball going to, then you've got to
have other guys to be the 'glue' guys. He
exemplifies that pretty well."

D'Antoni needs a spark off the bench,
which is why he could start Fields and then
use last year's top shooting guard, Wilson
Chandler, off the bench. Playing almost half
the team's games at the position, Chandler
averaged 15 ppg. Fields scored 12 points
in his one preseason start, Friday against
Toronto.

"I haven't talked to everybody yet and I'm
still weighing certain things," D'Antoni said
of his plans. "Come Tuesday, we'll know,
more or less."

The idea of seeing Fields in the starting
rotation didn't come as a surprise to
Stoudemire, who will lead the Knicks into
Boston on Friday before they make their
home debut in the Garden Saturday night
against Portland.

"He's a smart player and he played great in
college and he's done great in preseason,"
he said. "Defending guys is going to be
tough for him, as it is for any player coming
out of college, because the speed of the
guys in the league now is incredible. It
might catch him off guard."

Fields led the Pac-10 in scoring last
season, at 22 ppg. So how come he lasted
until the second round?
"I asked that question, too, after I saw how
good he was for us out in Vegas," said
team president Donnie Walsh, referring to
the summer league. "The answer I got was
that the Pac-10 was down last season. I'm
thinking, does that mean that there are no
good players out there? So I've really liked
him from the start. He's been a good
surprise."

knicks1248 wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:A setup for failure.

word

Guys, how about adding some actual content to your posts so that a discussion can happen.

Andrew wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

AnubisADL wrote:A setup for failure.

word

Guys, how about adding some actual content to your posts so that a discussion can happen.

Word.

Landry Fields defies all the self-appointed experts who never mentioned his name during the draft. Even The Answer Man never heard of the dude, but if you watch him move without the ball, the anubisadl claim that playing him is, "a setup for failure" is nothing more than a rush to the haterade punch bowl.

I bet $100 that anubis said the same thing about Ernie Grunfeld.

"Landry Fields is currently NOT NBA starting material especially at SG."

anubis - sure he is. If the PA announcer calls his name, he is starting material. Can you please describe your criteria for "starting material"?

"Going up against other teams bench's isnt the same as going against starters."

No ****.

"We are trying to win games man."

see above

"Landry takes what the defense gives him."

Nice use of a stale cliche, man.

"His shot isnt all that either."

All that? What is the "all that" cut off line for a shooting percentage? 45 per cent? 42 per cent? Help me out here.

Chandler had a great start this pre-seasons but has slowed down, and looked out of it against the Raptors, but do you make a change in your lineup based on pre-season- and not take into account Chandler's progress as a player over the last two years?

Fields has the size that Douglas lacks, he moves the ball around better/seems to be less mistake prone than Chandler, and is probably more active without the ball on offense the Wilson, but I'm still a bit surprised that he would be considered for a starting position at this time. Then again, the coaching staff has seen Fields in practice, and we haven't, so they may be seeing differences between Fields and Chandler that we have not even considered.

If Fields holds his own on D and shows any consistency with his jumper, he might be a better fit at SG than Chandler, but it might be early to throw him into the mix, and you wonder about how Chandler's production would be affected.

One result of Fields and/or Douglas getting more time at SG is that Chandler may get more time at SF, especially if Gallinari doesn't get his act together, by the way.

AnubisADL wrote:Landry Fields is currently NOT NBA starting material especially at SG. Going up against other teams bench's isnt the same as going against starters.

We are trying to win games man. Landry takes what the defense gives him. His shot isnt all that either.

yeah, cuz with amare, gallo & felton on the floor dantoni is looking for his SG to facilitate the offense... your kidding me right?...

fields does what is asked of him, he moves well, keeps the ball moving while spotting up on the corners, he also seems to understand the offense quite well knowing where to place himself creating the proper space when a play is in motion. you do have a point that his shot is suspect, but taking what the defense gives him is not necessarily a bad thing from your 4th or 5th option on the court now is it? he's smart enough to know when he's got to swing the ball or when he's to drive or take a shot he cant pass up.

he's not exactly unqualified for that position, he's shown in summerleague he can play good basketball, now he has to prove he can maintain that level of play against nba competion, i got a good feeling about this kid, he's got that david lee "smartness" about him, he knows what his limitations are and he wont force a play thats not in his favor.