Veterans Day is a significant day for New York Knicks rookie Kevin Knox and his family.
Chris Iseman, Staff Writer, @chrisiseman
OKLAHOMA CITY — Changes could be on the way.
Knicks coach David Fizdale said Tuesday that he was considering shaking up his lineup but needed to evaluate more information before making any final decisions prior to Wednesday night's game at Oklahoma City.
Any changes shouldn't come as a surprise.
Since the start of the season, Fizdale has said his lineups are fluid and nothing was set in stone. He said he liked to evaluate things in five-game chunks.
The current lineup of Frank Ntilikina, Tim Hardaway Jr., Damyean Dotson, Noah Vonleh and Mitchell Robinson have started nine games together and are 3-6.
Fizdale has said he likes this group's defensive ability, but the Knicks as a team have played poorly defensively the last two games, suffering blowout losses to the Raptors and Magic.
The offense has also been too slow and stagnant at times, which could also factor into Fizdale's decisions.
Here's a look at how this current group has played as starters:
Frank Ntilikina
Season stats: 7.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, 1.9 turnovers, 26 minutes, 34.5 percent from the field, 28.8 percent from three
Along with Tim Hardaway Jr., Ntilikina has started every game he's played. He was at small forward for the Knicks' first five games before Fizdale changed his lineups and moved Ntilikina to point guard.
If he loses his starting spot, it's because of his offensive struggles. He just hasn't been scoring consistently and recently he's fallen into a shooting slump. In fairness, he's never been a scoring point guard, but Fizdale has been trying get Ntilikina to have more of a scoring mentality.
If Fizdale makes a change, Trey Burke would likely replace Ntilikina. Burke is a scorer, but he's a much weaker defensive player.
The Knicks are also last in the NBA in assists, which Fizdale said Tuesday makes him want to "yack." A change at point guard might be on the way.
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Season Stats: 23.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.1 blocks, 2.0 turnovers, 32.2 minutes, 41.6 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from three
Hardaway has started every game he's played (he missed one because of a sore back). Without Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks have needed Hardaway to be their top scoring option and he's responded. He takes a lot of shots (18.3 per game) and some of them aren't efficient, but he's been producing, and that's all the Knicks can ask for.
Hardaway is almost certainly staying in the starting five.
Damyean Dotson
Season stats: 11.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.1 blocks, 0.8 turnovers, 29.0 minutes, 44.4 percent from the field, 33.9 percent from three
Stats as starter: 10.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.4 blocks, 0.0 blocks, 0.9 turnovers, 28.9 minutes, 42.9 percent from the field, 28.9 percent from three
After not playing at all the first two games of the season, Dotson has been productive. He plays well defensively and he's a good shooter, although his numbers from the arc have dipped recently. Still, the former second-round pick has played well overall.
Noah Vonleh
Season stats: 7.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1,6 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.9 blocks, 1.4 turnovers, 22.3 minutes, 47.3 percent from field, 31.3 percent from three
Stats as starter: 7.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.0 blocks, 2.0 turnovers, 25.2 minutes, 41.1 percent from field, 33.3 percent from three
Vonleh, a former lottery pick, has been solid through the early part of the season. He's a versatile player who has shown he has the ability to occasionally knock down threes. He's strong on the boards and he can push the ball up the court in transition.
Still, he could at some point, possibly Wednesday, lose his role in the starting five because he also hasn't provided consistent scoring. Kevin Knox could replace him if Fizdale makes a change.
Mitchell Robinson
Season averages: 5.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.8 blocks, 0.3 turnovers, 18.5 minutes, 62.5 percent from the field.
Stats as starter: 6.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.3 blocks, 0.4 turnovers, 62.9 percent from the field
Robinson has continued to make progress, and he's shown the ability to be an elite defensive player. He's a constant shot-blocking threat. The rookie center had nine blocks in Sunday's blowout loss to the Magic. Robinson is still raw in some areas of his game, and he hasn't provided too much scoring recently, averaging 3.3 points in his last four contests.
Still, the Knicks want to develop Robinson and he's a difference-maker with his defense. It's unlikely that he would lose his role in the starting five, but not impossible.
Fizdale could replace him with Enes Kanter, who's always a double-double threat, but not nearly as good defensively.
Email: iseman@northjersey.com
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