https://theknickswall.com/it-s-time-for-the-knicks-to-experiment-ab051b92b98f#.4ggnz5iznAfter Wednesday’s Porzingis-Nowitzki matchup in Dallas on Wednesday, the Knicks face only six remaining games. Those last games are important though, not for playoff berths or standings-chasing but to see what they can do and test out new approaches.
Obviously, under a certain regime and coach the Knicks choose not to make any significant alterations that could help give them insights on the type of players they have. Between evaluating younger players and every rotation guy, New York has the opportunity to make the most of seven games without postseason hopes.
Instead, they have decided to nonsensically chase victories with lineups trotted out with heavy minutes from Carmelo Anthony and starting shooting guard Sasha Vujacic.
Where’s Jerian Grant?
I believe it was Albert Einstein who defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Anyway, here’s what the ‘Bockers could be doing to further evaluate their team going into the offseason:
via nyknicks
Resting Carmelo
Look, this isn’t the most glamorous idea, but realistically with the season over and ‘Melo intending to compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the Knicks can’t afford any potential injury to their prized pony.
To his credit, Anthony is playing tremendously this season and shows how unselfish he can be–’Melo dishes out his career high 4.2 assists per game and exhibits a third lowest usage percentage (29.5%) only behind his rookie and sophomore campaigns in Denver.
But now is the time to grant him extra time to recuperate. Compared to his buddy LeBron James, Carmelo plays far less minutes. Anthony will miss the playoffs for the third consecutive year while LeBron has reached the Finals in each of those seasons. Even the Cavs understand the need to rest an aging star–James has missed four games in 2015–16, all due to “rest.” If ‘Melo wants to join Team USA once again and earn a third gold medal this summer, then he should be given more time to rest and re-up for 2017.
The Knicks will finish 2016 with more than 30 wins, respectable for a team losing 65 last year (I predicted 29 wins).
They should have continued trying out D-League guys and generally younger players before less than double digit games left. Maybe Jimmer wasn’t the solution (ultimately I do not believe he is of top-league caliber), but giving minutes to Cleanthony Early, Travis Trice, or maybe Jordan Bachynski may prove fruitful when evaluating that questionable talent.
Unleashing Jerian Grant
So the Knicks decided to splurge the other week and sign Tony Wroten. Okay, that move is reasonable, but he won’t play this season so now he’s an empty roster spot. They also have a young point guard deserving of a good look.
And honestly Grant has already shown plenty this season. Jerian played in 69 games and logged zero minutes in seven games because…reasons?
He was never really injured just coach decision to be moronic I guess. It’s a crazy idea that playing Jose Calderon and Vujacic over Grant is better for the team. My understanding is Rambis (and even Fisher before him) believed playing the aforementioned veteran guards provided a better chance for the team to win games, especially down the stretch and in the clutch.
There is absolutely no logic behind this. The Knicks truly believe that playing Grant would cost them games. Games they had no business competing in. And I don’t know how much worse they would be in a situation where they opted to play Grant even a modicum of minutes instead of inserting Vujacic.
But arguing about that possibility speaks volumes about the way the Knicks illogically view Grant’s role on this team. They want him to develop but never utilize him. I pretty much wholeheartedly believe he would even be an improvement over their backcourt; honestly he can’t be any worse, plus he would finally have time to work out his own issues which seem to decline throughout the season.
I want to see Jerian play as much as possible, not just with scrubs, but within an offense that utilizes him best; that would be pick-and-roll scenarios, hopefully with Kristaps. Grant getting to the basket is really fun to watch and better than the stagnant, East-to-West offense the Knicks currently run.
Porzingis at the Five
This is probably the position Porzingis will transition to. It’s completely rare and unheard of for someone to have the skill set he possess: he can block shots, shoot long-range, and move laterally maybe like no big has ever done.
New York needs to begin transforming Kristaps into the most revolutionary, modern-day center in the league. This is a dude that literally can do anything. I weep tears of joy when he hits corner threes. He swats balls with authority and has a shooting touch akin to King Midas.
This is his true position and one that will exploit defenses with always slower big men, move them out of the paint, and create opportunities for his teammates. We’ve seen glimpses of his passing vision.
Opposing centers will be baffled by Kristaps in time, so positing him there should be an emphasis the last two weeks of the season. Also, PLEASE STOP focusing on posting up! Like, I swear to a higher power that Rambis believes they need to tune-up Porzingis’ post-up ability because he is…a rather tall person, right? His shooting and quickness need to be the focus of their offense. Running him off screens and on the roll side of PnRs provides optimal opportunities for him.
Porzingis facing the basket is fun. Posting up obviously needs work but should and will never be the heart of his game.
What else do you think the Knicks should look at in the last games of the season? Connect with us at our Facebook and Twitter for the conversation on all Knicks latest.
so here is what phil is thinking ....
3/30/2016 11:51 AM