In Monday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, the Knicks started Frank Ntilikina, Damyean Dotson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Noah Vonleh and Mitchell Robinson. The average age of those five starters was 22 years, 100 days. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the youngest starting five in the history of the franchise. Prior to this season, the youngest starting unit had been 23 years, 73 days, back on January 19th, 2006, when Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, David Lee, Channing Frye and Eddy Curry took the floor for the Knicks.
DALLAS, TEXAS - NOVEMBER 02: Head Coach David Fizdale of the New York Knicks at American Airlines Center on November 02, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)Getty
Heading into the 2018-19 campaign, new head coach David Fizdale, GM Scott Perry, and team president Steve Mills said all the things Knicks fans had been longing to hear. They all avowed they were committed to remaining focused on the big picture and that they were unwilling to take shortcuts. However, disillusioned New Yorkers had heard this all before. Knicks fans had seen previous regimes make similar promises, only to trade away future first-round picks for mediocre talent (such as Andrea Bargnani), or invest valuable cap space in veterans (such as Joakim Noah), in the hopes that the team could somehow sneak into the playoffs. This prior refusal to fully commit to a rebuild left the organization in the NBA’s version of “no-mans land.” Despite losing more games than any other franchise this century, the Knicks were never bad enough to land a top-three pick in any draft. In fact, only once did they have a pick inside the top-five.
However, based on New York’s front office refusing to even engage the Timberwolves in discussions for disgruntled superstar (and pending free agent) Jimmy Butler, and Fizdale’s approach to handing out playing time early on this season, Knicks fans have reason to believe the organization is finally on the right track.
Over the first three months of the 2017-18 season under head coach Jeff Hornacek, Courtney Lee led the team in minutes played. Jarrett Jack, the team’s starting point guard, averaged 26 minutes per game. Ramon Sessions had logged nearly as many total minutes as Damyean Dotson. The year prior, in 2016-17, six of the seven players that averaged over 20 minutes were all veterans (Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee, Brandon Jennings, Joakim Noah and Lance Thomas). In 2015-16, Arron Afflalo, Jose Calderon and Robin Lopez all logged over 27 minutes a night.
This season, David Fizdale has made it clear that youth will be served. Over the Knicks past seven games, Dotson leads the team in minutes played. Allonzo Trier is third. Frank Ntilikina and Noah Vonleh are also averaging over 25 minutes per contest, while Mitchell Robinson is at 21 mpg. This doesn’t even include 19-year-old lottery pick Kevin Knox, who is working his way back from an ankle injury, and Kristaps Porzingis, who is still just 23 years of age. Imagine trying to convince pundits back in September that nearly a month into the season, Knox would be the third most impressive rookie on the Knicks roster?
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 24: Damyean Dotson #21 and Allonzo Trier #14 of the New York Knicks talk against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena on October 24, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Getty
Speaking with reporters earlier this week, Fizdale explained his rationale regarding playing time: “It’s a process, I think. You’re still going after wins but you’re not making rash decisions to get wins. These guys are playing every game to win the game. I’m coaching every game to win the game. But I just think that going from game-to-game trying to make this tweak or that tweak to try to chase a win instead of building the overall chemistry of the group, I think that’s second to that… I’m trying to figure out what works best for the overall group and I have to look at the big picture. We try to do it in a fair way. Try to do it in a way where we communicate everything to them.”
This is music to Knicks fans ears. Don’t look now folks, but the decision-makers in NYC are making sound, logical decisions.
On Thursday, former Knicks coach Derek Fisher made headlines in the Big Apple when he said he wouldn't have taken the Knicks head coaching gig if I knew that running Phil Jackson’s beloved triangle was a requirement.
“I wasn’t smart enough to ask the right questions going into taking and accepting the job,” Fisher said in an interview on FS1’s show FAIR GAME. “What are you going to expect of me? Do I have to run the triangle? If I don’t want to run the triangle, is that going to be a problem for you?”
That type of dysfunction serves a vivid reminder of the dark days of the Knicks recent past. New York had a roster full of aging veterans and an old, inexperienced leader calling the shots, who demanded that the Knicks run an antiquated offensive system. Not only was the team predictably unsuccessful, but they were also boring and provided little hope for the future.
The current Knicks group stands in stark contrast, from the front office to the head coach to the players on the roster. Comminution and cohesion between the executives and the coaching staff, and between the coaches and the players, is drastically improved. They are on the same page, from top to bottom, and appear to be headed in the right direction together.
MIAMI, FL - OCTOBER 24: Frank Ntilikina #11 and Damyean Dotson #21 of the New York Knicks celebrate against the Miami Heat during the first half at American Airlines Arena on October 24, 2018 in Miami, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)Getty
