# Knicks Starting Lineup n Rotation



## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

I still say the Knicks Talented Roster is a *"TWO-UNIT"* Roster at the beginning of the season to gain enough chemistry together by midseason it could be broken down to a "MESHING" 8-Man Rotation. 

The Starting Knick Lineup that every Knick-Fan should know by now (from watching last season) that will get off to a great start as soon as the 2007-8 regular season begin is: 

*PG-Marbury

SG-Crawford

SF-Q.Richardson

PF-David Lee

C-Curry* 

*However,* the new addition of PF-Zach Randolph high contract and 23-10 stat-sheet makes alot of Fans and President Isiah Thomas believe that Zach will "MESH" with the Knicks Starters in the opening game of the season. 
*Then we have Jared Jefferies *who has been reported this offseason as working hard to improve his game from last season which was attrocious in every way one could think of last season, but may have President Isiah Thomas giving him playingtime over *Renaldo Balkman *who should be this 2007-8 season 6th Man of the year. 

*It gets even scary with Fred Jones on the Knicks roster,* it is said that Isiah Thomas had Larry Bird draft Fred Jones when he was the Coach of the Indiana Pacers, but Isiah got FIRED that draft offseason. Will he give Fred Jones a chance in the Knicks Guards lineup when Coach Zeke really have the chance to finally START both *Marbury & Crawford *for the first time for all 82 games since they arrived, with *Nate & Collins* coming off the bench to add offense and defense to the Guard rotation? will giving Fred Jones playingtime affect such a rotation?


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## different_13 (Aug 30, 2005)

I think one thing to look into is trading away Nate Robinson.
I think Fred Jones can replace his production, and he is a better defender to boot.
Also, a duo of Mardy Collins and Fred Jones is better height-wise than Nate/Collins would be.

We agree on the importance of both Lee and Balkman - Lee works well with Curry, and he definitely needs to be playing 30 mpg.

Jared Jeffries I have a problem with. I'd rather see Lee and Balkman get minutes, and neither of them is as bad offensively.

One thing about Randolph - he won't be averaging 23/12 on the Knicks. I think he'll be lucky to average 20/10.
Btw, would a Curry/Randolph duo be the worst shotblocking C/F tandem ever? Last year they combined for 0.7 in a combined 70.9 minutes per game.
In comparison, Balkman had 0.6 in 15.6 mpg..
Jerome James had 0.4 in 6.7 mpg :biggrin: 

I agree with the two-unit idea, but I'm not sure how to make it work with the roster.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

I would have Zach Randolph Bond with Balkman off the bench which would be great for both of them because Zach is the scorer and Balkman is the complimentary player that knows how to get the ball to his bigmen downlow. The Same with Curry as the scorer and David Lee as the Ambidextrous rebounder that knows how to pass and tap the ball to Curry down low. 
Who knows? Zach may LUV to play alongside of Balkman in the frontcourt, especially vs alot of oponents bench players. This would take alot of pressure off of Zach Randolph early in the season with new teammates and a new conference. 

Nate Robinson is the Man you need when you have an inconsistent Marbury & Crawford as your Starters. One night Crawford will give you 30 pts, the next night Crawford is only good for 12 pts. What make it so funny is Marbury is the same way. 
So Nate Robinson becomes the next scorer. As long as Lee or Balkman is on the court with Nate, then you will not have to worry about Nate going NUT like Marbury & Crawford does. Nate & Collins off the bench gives the Knicks a WINNING chance of offense or defense in the Guard rotation. Fred Jones or Dickau can not offer that.


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## USSKittyHawk (Jul 22, 2005)

No way Zach Randolph should come off the bench, come on now!


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

10 man rotations sound nice but they usually dont work in the pro's.

starters are used to getting starters minutes often when they get less they lose their ryhthm and their game suffers . its not just the minutes it rotations patterns and how the additional minutes affect the other bench player who tend to push and try to do more things in less time

its almost never worth risking that to get your 9th and 10th best players more burn.

9 man rotations work best in most cases during the season and 8 man rotations seem to work better in the playoffs.

and uh...zach should start no disrepect to lee and his faithful, but Randolph is clearly the better player, in fact i would go so far as to say he may start ahead of any1 on the roster and the knicks may fine tune the team to him eventually (although i do doubt that, this is a power team and eddy is the man in a power team)...but lee is basically a 3/4 who just needs to work on his defense and letting his shot go when he is open , with Qrich's injury history Lee if he is going to start anywhere the best bet is at the 3...although that would take a huge leap of faith by Zeke I haven't seen in any way shape or form, he seems to see less of a small forward than Lary brown did.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

*The Knicks Bench Players:* 
Balkman (rebounder), Nate (Scorer), Collins (Assists), Malik (Leadership), Morris, Chandler, JJ, and JJ. Plus Zach or Lee? 

When you look at the Knicks Bench it is missing the 15 to 25 point frontcourt player that will put this Knick Team over the edge of alot of improved teams in the league this season (Zach 23-10 off the bench).

*So the Knicks head Coach Zeke has an important decision to make when it comes to Starting Zach Randolph early in the season. Zach style and Curry style of play will take a very long time for the two to MESH together.* 

*Channing Fyre was not supposed to Start with Curry last season. 
David Lee was supposed to Start with Curry last season. 
We all seen alot of Power Fowards play alongside of Eddy Curry in Chicago and New York. Eddy Curry played at his best with hustling PF such as Chandelor, Harrington, Nocioni, and David Lee.* 

PF-Zach Randolph may be the better player, but C-Eddy Curry needs a complimentary PF (David Lee) alongside of him the majority of his playingtime on the court. In time during the early part of the season the Knicks Head coach should show flashes of the Curry & Zach Tandem (Teasing teams of the future). 

All Threee Players Crawford, Q.Richardson, and Curry plays at their best alongside of David Lee, and would prefer David Lee to Start the season with them in the Starting lineup. 

At the start of the season having a deep Bench where you could stop the game, put players like *Zach, Balkman, and Nate *into the game at the same time (Is what I mean by a 2nd-Unit) to get Fresh-legs scoring & rebounding with intensity. And still have two of the Starters on the court to mesh with this 2nd Unit *(Molding the 8-Man Rotation).* 
*PG-Marbury
SG-Crawford
SF-Q.Rich
PF-Lee
C-Curry
6th-Balkman
7th-Nate
8th-Zach*

With the Knicks first 8-Men in the game they will finally have the chance to take the scoring lead in the majority of their games so they will be able to give short playingtime to Role-Players like 9th-Man PG/SG-Collins, 10th-Man Malik Rose, and 11-Man Jared Jefferies.


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## different_13 (Aug 30, 2005)

Actually, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry didn't mesh well at all. That's why Chandler usually came off the bench - they both played better with Antonio Davis, as he'd adjust his playing style to match their weaknesses (he'd defend with Curry, and he'd score alongside Chandler).



> When you look at the Knicks Bench it is missing the 15 to 25 point frontcourt player that will put this Knick Team over the edge of alot of improved teams in the league this season (Zach 23-10 off the bench).


That's a bit unfair.. I dn't think anyone has that kind of player coming off the bench. Most of the leagues' high-scoring 6th men are guards (Manu, Barbosa, in the past Ben Gordon or Bobby Jackson). Does anyone have a 20 ppg scorer off the bench?
Especially not in the frontcourt, simply because there's such a lack of post scorers anyway.

And once again, I don't think it's realistic to expect Zach to score 23/10.. Portland's offense was focused on him, in addition to the fact he had no other major scorer on the team. Their only other double figure scorers were Brandon Roy and Jarret Jack (with Outlaw and Aldridge in the 9ppg area).
AS for rebounding, their next highest rebounder was Jamaal Magloire at 6.1 rpg.

On the Knicks, there's Lee with 10.4 in nearly 30 minutes, Curry with 7 in 35, Q with 7.2 in 33..
Oh, and Balkman with 4.3 in 15 minutes, so that should shoot up if given minutes..
In fact, even the guards are pretty good rebounders in NY - Crawford and Marbury both hovering around 3, Nate and Collins in the 2's..
I don't think there's enough rebounds to go around.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

> That's a bit unfair.. I dn't think anyone has that kind of player coming off the bench. Most of the leagues' high-scoring 6th men are guards (Manu, Barbosa, in the past Ben Gordon or Bobby Jackson). Does anyone have a 20 ppg scorer off the bench?
> Especially not in the frontcourt, simply because there's such a lack of post scorers anyway.


If the Knicks had a real WINNING Head Coach rather than a politcal coach, he would see the big advantage of Zach Randolph comming off the bench with Balkman & Nate against alot of these improved offseason rosters. 
The Knicks have all their best scorers in the Starting lineup, to add Zach Randolph to that lineup is plain silly and something to ridicule the Knicks about when each player keep trying to be the main scorer. 



> And once again, I don't think it's realistic to expect Zach to score 23/10.. Portland's offense was focused on him, in addition to the fact he had no other major scorer on the team. Their only other double figure scorers were Brandon Roy and Jarret Jack (with Outlaw and Aldridge in the 9ppg area).
> AS for rebounding, their next highest rebounder was Jamaal Magloire at 6.1 rpg.


Very good point, Zach Randolph is used to being the main offensive player, so putting Zach, Balkman, and Nate in the game together for 8 straight minutes would make Zach the main focus on offense, this would give the Knicks a chance to give (playingtime to Morris or James, and Collins or Chandler for a few minutes of playingtime). 
Doing this early in the season would give alot of players playingtime and letting the Main STARTERS play the majority of their playingtime together while MESHING on both sides of the court against different oponents. 

The Knicks is a dangerous team to beat when they throw in Fresh Legs off the bench that could Score and Rebound well together. David Lee & Balkman are great complimentary players that look to provide for their top scorer, and Crawford & Nate was that scorer last season off the bench. The Knicks need a scoring BigMan off the bench for their complimentary players.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

*Having either Zach or Curry on the Court for 48 MPG Scoring with a Complimentary Frontcourt Partner of Balkman or Lee with them give the Knicks an advantage over alot of teams:* 
Boston KG would have to play 48 MPG, Bosh 48 MPG, Ben 48 MPG, Dalembert 48 MPG, Amare 48 MPG, Boone 48 MPG, Okafor 48 MPG, Howard 48 MPG, Etc., to defend the Knicks Frontcourt scoring Tandems of Curry & Lee then Zach & Balkman. Teams with three Frontcourt weapons like Shaq, Mourning, and Haslem, or Duncan, Horry, and Obert, or Webber, Mcdyess, and Rasheed, or Lebron Big-3 of Z, Gooden, and Varejao, may give the Knicks frontcourt competition. 
*Starting both Frontcourt Scorers "Curry & Zach" is a sure way to lose more games than you WIN this season.*


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Kiyaman said:


> *Having either Zach or Curry on the Court for 48 MPG Scoring with a Complimentary Frontcourt Partner of Balkman or Lee with them give the Knicks an advantage over alot of teams:*
> Boston KG would have to play 48 MPG, *Bosh 48 MPG,* Ben 48 MPG, Dalembert 48 MPG, Amare 48 MPG, Boone 48 MPG, Okafor 48 MPG, Howard 48 MPG, Etc., to defend the Knicks Frontcourt scoring Tandems of Curry & Lee then Zach & Balkman. Teams with three Frontcourt weapons like Shaq, Mourning, and Haslem, or Duncan, Horry, and Obert, or Webber, Mcdyess, and Rasheed, or Lebron Big-3 of Z, Gooden, and Varejao, may give the Knicks frontcourt competition.
> *Starting both Frontcourt Scorers "Curry & Zach" is a sure way to lose more games than you WIN this season.*


Yes I am a Raps fan.....now that that is out of the way. Toronot has Rasho to handle some minutes against big centers in the league. Bargnani will be improved and stronger, and Humphries although not a big part of the rotaion is strong and can bang for a few minutes a game.And the sleeper in the mix is Garbajosa, he can guard 3,4, and 5(sometimes). Yes Bosh will log big minutes,but we are not that thin up front. Not to mention the offensive threat our main bigs have to cause trouble with the other team.

New York will be a solid team this year, but I think that they will show improvement ths season and contend in the east next season.


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## Truknicksfan (Mar 25, 2005)

My nine man rotation.

1- Marbury
2- JC
3- Q
4- Zach
5- Curry
6- DLee
7- Balkman
8- Collins 
9- Nichols (yeah, so what lol)
And 10 could be someone like Morris to back up Curry.

Left outs are player like Jermone James, Malik, Nate, and Jarred Jefferies. These players should not see the time of day. 

And I dont know what Thomas is going to do with Chandler, he will prob just get garbage time.


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## Samael (Sep 1, 2005)

Kiyaman said:


> *Having either Zach or Curry on the Court for 48 MPG Scoring with a Complimentary Frontcourt Partner of Balkman or Lee with them give the Knicks an advantage over alot of teams:*
> Boston KG would have to play 48 MPG, Bosh 48 MPG, Ben 48 MPG, Dalembert 48 MPG, Amare 48 MPG, Boone 48 MPG, Okafor 48 MPG, Howard 48 MPG, Etc., to defend the Knicks Frontcourt scoring Tandems of Curry & Lee then Zach & Balkman. Teams with three Frontcourt weapons like Shaq, Mourning, and Haslem, or Duncan, Horry, and Obert, or Webber, Mcdyess, and Rasheed, or Lebron Big-3 of Z, Gooden, and Varejao, may give the Knicks frontcourt competition.
> *Starting both Frontcourt Scorers "Curry & Zach" is a sure way to lose more games than you WIN this season.*


Who the hell plays 48 MPG???????

Do you wanna kill these players or something??

The only real advantage of having Zach and Curry both on the floor is the same advantage that every team in the past that has had twin towers in their lineups. It's foul trouble when you have 2 scoring oriented towers in your lineup, the other teams bigs always, always get into foul trouble.

Imagine KG back in Minny facing Duncan he hardly guards Duncan that job is entrusted to Mark Blount to avoid KG getting into foul trouble. But with 2 towers there's no choice they have to pick a poison. But we can only hope that the guards actually give them the ball down low.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

> Who the hell plays 48 MPG???????
> 
> Do you wanna kill these players or something??


Remember me, I'm the only guy that want Zach to come off the bench rather than Start with Curry. Anytime that Curry is resting on the bench I want Zack low post presence in the game. And Visa-Versa when Zach is on the bench. This way the Knicks would always have a low post scoring presence in the game (for 48 minutes) to start the regular season off with a persistent threat down low. 



> Imagine KG back in Minny facing Duncan he hardly guards Duncan that job is entrusted to Mark Blount to avoid KG getting into foul trouble. But with 2 towers there's no choice they have to pick a poison.


Another great point why Zach should not Start with Curry. Who will guard KG, J.O'Neal, Rasheed, Bosh, Lewis, Kristic, Duncan, Amare, Boone, Dirk, etc., etc., between Curry & Zach? The above Players will get Curry or Zach in early Foul-Trouble everytime the two become a scoring threat in the first quarter. I only recall one TWIN Tower that really worked in the NBA and that was David Robinson & Duncan. 
Who recall Knicks Twin Towers Cartwright & Webster? or Houstons Olyjuwan & Sampson? 




> Yes I am a Raps fan.....now that that is out of the way. Toronot has Rasho to handle some minutes against big centers in the league. Bargnani will be improved and stronger, and Humphries although not a big part of the rotaion is strong and can bang for a few minutes a game.And the sleeper in the mix is Garbajosa, he can guard 3,4, and 5(sometimes). Yes Bosh will log big minutes,but we are not that thin up front. Not to mention the offensive threat our main bigs have to cause trouble with the other team.


I like what you guys did with this Raptors team, but your frontcourt players Rasho, Barg, Humphries, and Garba has the tendency to foul in the paint. However I LUV Barg & Garba outside peremeter shooting you Killed us Knicks with it last season. But I give all of the Raptors success last season to PG-TJ.Ford...


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## nieman (Jun 6, 2006)

C - Curry
PF - Zach
SF - Balkman
SG - Q
PG - Stephon
6th - Lee
7th - Crawford
8th - Collins
9th - James/Morris

There is no way in Hell you don't start Zach. He's a 20 & 10 guy, why would you bring that off the bench. I'd bring Curry off bench before Zach canplay high and low post, rebounds and may not play defense, but he is physical. He'll send a player to the floor if need be. Besides, theres always gonna be one of the two on the floor anyway when they bring in Lee. If you need intagibles, start Balkman at the 3, and Q at the SG for shooting.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

Zach Randolph was a 23-10 player in Portland, Marbury was a 20-8 career player. However, Marbury has not had one 20-8 season with the Knicks, and Zach will not be a 20-10 player on the Knicks. 
And Q.Richardson is not a SG in the Eastern Conference, the Eastern Conference Guards will eat Q.Rich up and spit him out with the excuse of back-injuries. 
Q.Rich best position is SF. 

I really dont care how good Zach Randolph is or if he is a better scorer than David Lee. 
What I do know is that David Lee is a BETTER Tandem to Eddy Curry one dimensional performance. 
*How many games will the Knicks have to LOSE this season to find out that David Lee is a STARTER???*

*P.S.* How many Games last season did the Knicks have to LOSE before they found out that David Lee & Crawford were STARTERS?


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

Kiyaman said:


> Zach Randolph was a 23-10 player in Portland, Marbury was a 20-8 career player. However, Marbury has not had one 20-8 season with the Knicks, and Zach will not be a 20-10 player on the Knicks.
> And Q.Richardson is not a SG in the Eastern Conference, the Eastern Conference Guards will eat Q.Rich up and spit him out with the excuse of back-injuries.
> Q.Rich best position is SF.
> 
> ...


actually marbury has had a 20 and 8 season as a knick.(04-05)

david lee is not proven to be a better tandem than zach randolph....they both can rebound and play sub par defense...actually since Zach likes to shoot his jumpshot he'll actually provide the spacing that Lee never could ...also as a post presence he allows Curry to play soley as a finisher more often which is actually the best way to get production out of him.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

Da Grinch said:


> actually marbury has had a 20 and 8 season as a knick.(04-05)
> 
> david lee is not proven to be a better tandem than zach randolph....they both can rebound and play sub par defense...actually since Zach likes to shoot his jumpshot he'll actually provide the spacing that Lee never could ...also as a post presence he allows Curry to play soley as a finisher more often which is actually the best way to get production out of him.



How can you say Zach is a better tandem with Curry than Lee when you and I never seen Zach & Curry play as teammates yet. Hopefully in time and hardwork they may become a great tandem. 
The only Bigman that you seen Zach play a decent tandem with in Portland was Rasheed Wallace. 

Now Eddy Curry has had his run of the mill playing alongside of alot of Bigmen as Tandems: Miller, Artest, Chandler, Davis, Harrington, Nocioni, Deng, Taylor, Malik, James, Frye, Jefferies, Balkman, and the guy he had his first 9 straight double-double games of his career with Mr. David Lee.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

*More reasonable Playingtime is that the Starters must play defense even if it mean committing fouls.* 

I dont want to see Curry & Zach having 4 to 5 turnovers and only 2 fouls per game. I rather see a downlow postup passing game with Curry & Zach picking up 4 to 5 (elbo & body) fouls and 2 turnovers per game. Or let Rookie Morris get playingtime so the SF, SG, and PG could lead in scoring. 

Curry 28 
Zach 28
Lee 28 
Morris ? 

Marbury 28
Crawford 28
Nate 28
Collins ? 

Q.Rich 28 (SF/SG)
Balkman 28 (SF/PF) 
Jefferies ? 

Malik ?
Chandler ?
Nichols ? 

*This Knick Team need Chemistry on how to hold the lead in games from start to finish, rather than comming from behind in each game from the depth of their bench players.*


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## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

I'm not a Zach Randolph fan by any means, but I really think a lot of you are under estimating him. He was a 23/10 guy in the Western conference. He is as good on the perimeter as he in the low block. Zach doesn't need to be down in the block to be effective.


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

Kiyaman said:


> How can you say Zach is a better tandem with Curry than Lee when you and I never seen Zach & Curry play as teammates yet. Hopefully in time and hardwork they may become a great tandem.
> The only Bigman that you seen Zach play a decent tandem with in Portland was Rasheed Wallace.
> 
> Now Eddy Curry has had his run of the mill playing alongside of alot of Bigmen as Tandems: Miller, Artest, Chandler, Davis, Harrington, Nocioni, Deng, Taylor, Malik, James, Frye, Jefferies, Balkman, and the guy he had his first 9 straight double-double games of his career with Mr. David Lee.


actually I said Lee has not *proven *to be a better tandem than zach...which is of course common sense since zach hasn't yet teamed with curry , 

by the same token how can you claim Lee will be a better tandem than zach/eddy , since pretty much all he's proven is that he can outplay both malik rose and channing frye , not really all that hard to do last season.

and an important note to the duncan/horry, parker/manu bit ....both manu and horry can shoot, giving space for duncan and parker to do their thing ...lee is an ok jumpshooter , i think his shot would be better if he shot it more ...at best you can call him a reluctant shooter.

balkman/jeffries/rose cant shoot .

zach can shoot and he is a very willing shooter of his midrange J....that alone gives him a good chance to be a good partner for curry.

9 straight double doubles with lee as starting pf is impossible , lee only started 8 games at the 4 , 

curry has had highlights of his career with other bigs he led the league in FG% as a bull with TYson chandler as a starting 4 and shot 63% from the field in the 2nd half of that season.


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## Kiyaman (Aug 14, 2006)

> 9 straight double doubles with lee as starting pf is impossible , lee only started 8 games at the 4 ,


In each of Curry 9 straight double-doubles last season David Lee averaged 30 or more MPG alongside of Curry (Proving that he can Co-exist with Curry in the frontcourt). 
It was Coach Isiah Thomas "SAVE-FACE" coaching of giving Jared Jefferies 30 MPG alongside of the Tandem of "Frye & Curry" that stopped Curry from motivating himself to keep getting double-doubles.


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## Da Grinch (Aug 17, 2002)

Kiyaman said:


> In each of Curry 9 straight double-doubles last season David Lee averaged 30 or more MPG alongside of Curry (Proving that he can Co-exist with Curry in the frontcourt).
> It was Coach Isiah Thomas "SAVE-FACE" coaching of giving Jared Jefferies 30 MPG alongside of the Tandem of "Frye & Curry" that stopped Curry from motivating himself to keep getting double-doubles.


curry had 17 double doubles last season , the most he ever had in a row is 3 , he basically avg. 3 a month.

http://aol.nba.com/playerfile/eddy_curry/game_by_game_stats.html

the simple matter of the issue is the knicks started games badly far too often last season Lee was more impactful off the bench, lee starting didn't help the knicks get off to better starts.


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## TRUTHHURTS (Mar 1, 2003)

Isiah is a players coach and loves his vets .He is gonna play all his starters 30+ mpg and probably use 3 primary subs for a 8 man rotation. Randolph is too good to com off the bench and besides he has the best jumpshot of all the knicks bigmen.Check out one of his mixtapes and you dont see tons of jumphooks but plenty of jumpshots from all over the court. he will compliment Curry fine as long as both are in shape and ready to go from day one. Randolph's turnovers as a Blazer come as a result of him having to force his offense as the Blazers had few offensive weapons and Currys comes from it being his first year as the primary option over the course of a entire game . In chi he only got the ball the first and 3rd and usually sat in the 4th.


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