HofstraBBall wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

HofstraBBall wrote:

arkrud wrote:Robinson
Randle
Morris
Barret
DSJr

Agree that this will probably be the starting line up once the season is in full gear. Although Portis seems to be ready to play this year and Robinson may still have issues with foul trouble. Hoping Smith shows enough to replace the steady play of Payton.

Something that would be fun to see but unlikely is to have the vets start and have all our young guys come off the bench together. So...
Portis, Randle, Morris, Ellington, Payton or maybe Trier instead of Ellington as starters. See what the FO saw in free agency. And then have the Second Unit be Smith, RJ, Frank, Knox and Mitch. Push the pace and make our yoots work together and learn. Use the 5 that are on for the last 7 minutes. Think the young guys would have fun with the challenge of playing better than the vets and should be a good way of seeing who will step up out of a man rotation.

smith
frank
rj
knox
mitch

There's no real perimeter scoring threat with these 5, and frank isn't going to push the pace

The best way is to mix vets and youth in both the starters and Bench

I like

Portis
Randle
marcus
rj
dsj

bench

mitch
taj
knox
wellington
payton

injured reserves

trier
frank
dotson
iggy
bullock

Did you read my projected starters? Had same as you.

Although where is the outside threat in any of those line ups? Portis, Randle, Morris, RJ, Dennis. Maybe Morris?
Mitch, Taj, Knox, Ellington, Payton? Maybe Ellington and Knox. Although they can also shoot you into a 10 point deficit.

Reason for long shot line up of young guys is to watch them learn together. Not to win a chip. But again, not thinking there is a shot of that. Hopefully, the vets will gel and if not then we focus on giving Frank, Dennis, Knox, RJ, Trier and Mitch learn and play with Randle, who is signed for 3 years and Portis who is also relatively young. It will also help the FO figure out if they should be part of the future.

Taj has actually surprise me with his perimeter shooting during the preseason..I looked at him as more of Kurt thomas mid-range type, but he shot 3 of 5 from downtown in his limited minutes, and he was letting it fly with no hesitation.

He's only made 11 3's in his career, so it looks like he really worked on it

DSJ
Portis
Ellington
Frank

[Knox]
[Trier]
[Gibson]

Can't believe I'm saying this but I feel Trier and Knox have to work their back way in for me.

The best ball movement we saw this preseason is the last game when Morris sat out. This is because Morris is like Melo lite. Believes he can score on most people and the one on one slows down the speed at which Fiz would like to see the team play. Can you picture Morris running up and down the court? I don’t see it.

Randle also plays one on one a lot but he makes his moves faster than Morris. Randle’s passing is atrocious out of the post and he has a lot to improve on there. But at least with the ability to bring up the ball and run on a fast break makes him more valuable in the starting lineup. Also isn’t he the only new player with the longest deal?

In my opinion, Knox needs to start alongside Randle for a better fit at speed, ball movement, etc.

If Frank can run with the ball as fast as the other two PGs, I’d prefer him starting because at least his defense can lead to fast breaks. Also...how much setting up in the half court are the other 2 PGs really doing...and their shooting hasn’t been better... so if Frank can push the pace, give him the keys otherwise DSJr.

RJ is a no brainer, so is Randle. I personally prefer Portis starting over Mitch to start season. Mitch showing signs of regression and will need a few games to get back to his old self. Meanwhile Portis brings the outside shooting that may be lacking in half court sets with Mitch.

So Frank/DSJr, RJ, Knox, Randle, Portis would be my starting lineup. This lineup also provides switching flexibility on defense.

Who I want:

Frank
DSjr
RJ Barret
Knox
Mitch.

These are last years guys and our prize pick. On the bench fuming would be:

Payton
Trier
Morris
Randle
Portis

I know we didn't pay Randle to sit and my blue chip wish list lacks the grit that our free agent class brings which is why we imported them.
I swap Randle for Knox......

Frank
DSjr
RJ Barret
Randle
Mitch.

Payton
Trier
Morris
Knox
Portis

Now I look like the Frank "homer" I might be. Then there is the issue of Morris. I'm afraid of Frank having to shower with him so I have to make this adjustment:

DSjr
RJ Barret
Morris
Randle
Mitch.

This seems to be the conventional line up with many. Just as easy could see Payton starting and Smith on the second unit. Im not "hedging" cuz I'm not "betting"!

Frank
Payton
Trier
Knox
Portis

My second unit now has three guards and who is rebounding? I install Gibson. Maybe Knox plays some PF. Looks like he pumped up those shoulders!

Frank
Payton
Knox
Gibson
Portis

Where is Trier? He is at the dermatologist having his "IsoZo" tattoo removed. If you know anything about tattoo removal (I don't) then you know its a "Process". Trier is 31 years old (a joke) and needs to keep working. If either Frank or Payton can't hit the side of the barn, then Trier comes. Somebody will be injured and he will get minutes. Fact is it might be Ellington. This second unit will run. Its why I have Frank and Payton. Can't run without defense. Both are very good. Payton is streaky. That's "Latin" for "inconsistent". Frank is "inconsistent" which is Latin for "He is only 21 get off his back". Taj can hit the outside shot as can Portis.

Trier/Ellington That's my 12. Dotson? I don't know. For all I know he starts!!! I suck at this.
Iggy either on the bench or Gleague. His summer league had him as the next Landry Fields. Kadeem? Bullock?

Landry Fields?? Married a hot model, two sons now. General Manager of the Austin Toro's Gleague team. He alright.
Malik Monk and Willy Hernangomez? Question is are the Knicks better than the Hornets??

Nalod wrote:Who do I want vs. who will do best?
Who I want to do best vs. reality?
So Im stuck. Morris on this roster kind of messes me up. I don't get it. I don't get a lot of things and rotations is at the top of my list.

Who I want:

Frank
DSjr
RJ Barret
Knox
Mitch.

These are last years guys and our prize pick. On the bench fuming would be:

Payton
Trier
Morris
Randle
Portis

I know we didn't pay Randle to sit and my blue chip wish list lacks the grit that our free agent class brings which is why we imported them.
I swap Randle for Knox......

Frank
DSjr
RJ Barret
Randle
Mitch.

Payton
Trier
Morris
Knox
Portis

Now I look like the Frank "homer" I might be. Then there is the issue of Morris. I'm afraid of Frank having to shower with him so I have to make this adjustment:

DSjr
RJ Barret
Morris
Randle
Mitch.

This seems to be the conventional line up with many. Just as easy could see Payton starting and Smith on the second unit. Im not "hedging" cuz I'm not "betting"!

Frank
Payton
Trier
Knox
Portis

My second unit now has three guards and who is rebounding? I install Gibson. Maybe Knox plays some PF. Looks like he pumped up those shoulders!

Frank
Payton
Knox
Gibson
Portis

Where is Trier? He is at the dermatologist having his "IsoZo" tattoo removed. If you know anything about tattoo removal (I don't) then you know its a "Process". Trier is 31 years old (a joke) and needs to keep working. If either Frank or Payton can't hit the side of the barn, then Trier comes. Somebody will be injured and he will get minutes. Fact is it might be Ellington. This second unit will run. Its why I have Frank and Payton. Can't run without defense. Both are very good. Payton is streaky. That's "Latin" for "inconsistent". Frank is "inconsistent" which is Latin for "He is only 21 get off his back". Taj can hit the outside shot as can Portis.

Trier/Ellington That's my 12. Dotson? I don't know. For all I know he starts!!! I suck at this.
Iggy either on the bench or Gleague. His summer league had him as the next Landry Fields. Kadeem? Bullock?

Landry Fields?? Married a hot model, two sons now. General Manager of the Austin Toro's Gleague team. He alright.
Malik Monk and Willy Hernangomez? Question is are the Knicks better than the Hornets??

This has this all-healthy and all-at-least-as-good-as-advertised or all-at-least-as-good-as-the-development-stage all over the projected active roster.
This will never be the case. Not even close. That's why you keep players who keep themselves ready for opportunity.
If Morris, or Portis, or whoever are not that type their audition should be cut short.
This season is not less audition affair as previous one. Only criteria changed and there are more pieces with some promise.
This is not the team to win, it's a team to learn how to play the game.

Ellington sucks and Frank's finally found someone who shoots just as badly. Knox got his starting mileage last year. Perry's going to have Fiz run the wheels off DSJr. He either looks great and sticks, looks great and gets us a first rounder from someone, or gets hurt/sucks. Any of those options means it's a wash with the KP dump.

If he just sits the bench, Perry looks like an azzhole. Especially, if things run true to course, and our ex-unicorn is kicking azz for the first half of the season.

Good to know somebody's keeping tabs on Marbury. Even Berman doesn't anymore...

technomaster wrote:

jrodmc wrote:You had to go there.
You mean you're not hoping Melo signs with the Ducks so he can redeem himself with Jeremy? The Mighty Ducks!

Good to know somebody's keeping tabs on Marbury. Even Berman doesn't anymore...

Heh, not that I want to go there (I do of course) but Jeremy Lin would be the best PG on this team - he'd be able to win us games like a Jarrett Jack. Though with him, there'd be a 50/50 chance that he'd get injured and play less than 20 games, so no thanks. :o

I just some clips on youtube from his first game in China. Looks like he played SG (obvously if you score 40 points you're probably going to look like you're a scoring guard). In the CBA, it's like he has the equivalent body control, athleticism, and scoring ability of Kobe. Then again, it might have been an exhibition game. Another thing I noticed is that he didn't go down after his layups (Mudiay style). I think he learned better body control during his last (injury plagued) year with Atlanta and the Raptors.

I think the whole season for the China league is like one big long exhibition game the way they play defense