Finestrg wrote:Wouldn't mind seeing this:Starting 5 -
5 - Aldrich
4 - STAT
3 - Melo
2 - Shumpert
1 - Calderon
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Jason Smith/Bargnani
Bargnani/Acy
Early/Acy/THJ
JR Smith/THJ
Larkin
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Outside looking in/IR: Dalembert, Prigioni, Outlaw
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Langston Galloway
Aldrich adds very good balance to the starting unit. The man gobbles up rebounds and protects the rim...and he's good at it. STAT and Melo can play together (baloney whoever said they can't); they should still be allowed to headline the attack. STAT's worked hard to come back from injuries and improve his game. He and Melo provide a top 1-2 offensive combination (go with it and don't look back no matter what the detractors say---it works), Shump and Aldrich provide good defense on the wing and around the rim respectively, Aldrich improves rebounding at the start and throughout the game (this guy's gotta play) and Calderon should get everyone the ball in the right place (looking for an upgrade over Felton here) while also spreading the floor with his above-average 3-pt shooting. Shumpert starting gives Fisher a top defender to immediately put on another teams' best player anywhere from 1-3. Preventing opposing teams' best players from getting off at the start sets a good tone.
Jason Smith and Bargnani would be my 2 bigs off the bench. Both provide nice pick and pop offense & mid-range jump-shooting with Smith giving even more on the glass while also providing a shot-blocking element. Acy's tough and a nice underrated player. Hustles, rebounds, defends, provides excellent toughness and if he sees enough time, I think he'll surprise offensively. Could be another Anthony Mason type with even more offensive potential. I see some Xavier McDaniel here as well. I think this guy needs to play..I'd like to see Early get time right off the bat. Show immediate conviction with the pick--the quicker we develop this guy, the quicker we are to finding out if we got another Kawhi Leonard on our hands--although truth be told, Quincy Acy might wind up becoming the better overall player. I always thought of Acy as a 4 man but I'm interested to see how versatile he is and if he can give us mins. at the 3 as well...I like THJ but not as much as others on this forum. Out of Shump, Smith and THJ--I like Shump starting and providing immediate defense to balance the starting 5 (along with his solid 3-pt shooting and hopefully improved all-around offense), JR Smith off the bench in the 6th man role as an ignitor and then some THJ as needed. I wanna see this kid continue to develop also but at the same time I just feel Shumpert and Smith are the superior players. I just don't know if I see a big-time player here with Timmy. And finally, Larkin needs to be the full-time backup point. He provides great counterbalance to what Calderon brings (Prigioni brings too much of the same thing) -- I'd like to see a completely different look with Shane Larkin. Let this kid enter the game, push the ball, break guys down off the dribble, get in the paint and set up our bigs with easy point blank shots, provide ballhawk defense on opposing points and give us even more offensively that what Calderon's capable of doing. Perfect guy to come in and immediately disrupt the opposition & change the pace. A guy with these intangibles has to play, bottom line...Fisher coached him up close in Vegas -- I think he knows what he can bring to the table.
Out of the camp invitees, the one guy that intrigues me the most: Langston Galloway. A few of us spent some time talking about possibly acquiring Ian Clark from Utah in exchange for Prigioni. I think Galloway is very similar to Clark -- a 6'2"-ish guard that's not a pure point but one hell of an outside shooter. There won't be a spot for this kid on the big club right away but hopefully we keep him around and develop him further at Westchester. Interested to see how he develops and if he can play some PG eventually. His shooting definitely looks NBA-ready -- it's a skill that works well in the triangle system. Nice little find by the Knicks here.
I largely agree with this 100%.
I think Aldrich starts - I just like the way he played last year, and he is a Phil Jackson center: Luc Longly, Bill Wennington- he creates spaces, rebounds - moves the ball on offense - scores on garbage type plays. He plays quiet, but when you look at the stat sheet, you think how did he get 8 & 8, but have such an impact on the game.
I'd like Stat to be first off the bench, but then you'd have to start Bargs, or starting at the center, but then who plays 4.
He, Melo & Jose are your 3 primary scorers, with Shump & Cole getting theirs in the flow of the offense.
And I think if Prigs or Dalembert are playing big minutes, then our season is in trouble from injuries or lack of performance elsewhere.