D'antoni's Rotation Mistakes

Who should be taken out of the starting lineup?


  • Total voters
    20

JayJ44

Starter
The Knicks may have high hopes to make the playoffs but they have to play with more effort than what they are showing now. Giving 75% effort is not good enough. Too often the Knicks find themselves trying to get back in game after a slow start. What you find at the end of games is the Knicks trying to make a comeback after a slow start. Which means the Knicks must play perfect 3rd and 4th quarters to win games. The slow start may have to do with the Mike D?Antoni's lineup changes. Mike D?Antoni recently stated that in order for the Knicks to make the playoffs they need to win 40 games in the East. The problem is the Knicks are not playing like they are going to win 40 games. Especially with the way Mike D?Antoni is handling his rotation. Mike D?Antoni also seems not to know when to call a timeout. In the Knicks lost to the Heat there was a point where Wade was hitting every shot to get the Heat back in the game yet Mike? D?Antoni did not call a timeout. This could have slowed down Wades hot streak.

There is no way the Knicks are going to have and offensive punch to start games when their only offensive weapon in the starting lineup is Al Harrington. The Knicks need at least one other player in the starting lineup like Wilson Chander. Lee does score points from hustle plays but if the pick and roll is not there it makes Lee?s job that much harder. That?s why starting Chandler at this point is a necessity.

Mike D?Antoni's recent mistakes included starting Quentin Richardson, who sat out the previous game, to bench Wilson Chandler, who scored 27 points against the Orlando Magics and 15 points against the Pacers. I am still puzzled as to why Richardson was in the starting lineup as the shooting guard over Chandler who is a young athletic player that gets it done on the offensive and defensive end. Chandler can block shots and keep his man honest because of his offensive game.

The next mistake was playing Duhon so many minutes regardless if he was having a good night or not. In the game against the Sixers, Duhon was playing poorly on the court and was turning over the ball more than pancakes at the neighborhood waffle house. Yet Mike D?antoni kept him in the game and decided to take out Al Harrington who had the hot hand. Not only was Duhon playing bad in recent games but it looks like teams are getting use to the Knicks running the pick and roll. D?Antoni has to know when to play the hot hand and to take out the person that is not performing.

Mike D?Antoni's other huge mistakes has been the use of the young rookie Danilo Gallinari. If the veterans Jeffries, Richardson, and even Duhon at times are not getting it done then there should be minutes available for Danilo to get playing time. It shouldn't have to take the Knicks getting blown out for Mike D?Antoni to realize that the best lineup for offense might include this young player who has the ability to hit the big shot.

This is what I think can help the Knicks play better and help them make a playoff push if it is not too late.

1. Play Duhon only 32 mintues
2. Start Nate Robinson at the shooting guard. This eliminates the slow starts.
3. Give more playing time to Danilo and less playing to Quentin Richarson
4. Start Wilcox over Jeffries. Wilcox is a better defender and rebounder than Jeffries
5. If the Knicks do not start Wilcox the Knicks should start Chandler at the powerfoward
6. Make Danilo Gallinari the first player off the bench

The starting lineup should be:
Duhon
Nate
Harrington
Chandler
Lee

The Bench
Danilo
Wilcox
Hughes
Quentin Richardson
http://realknicks.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1083&Itemid=70
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Knicker23

Benchwarmer
i'd say that starting line up is prob best..I wouldn't mind seeing Hughes starting in sub for Chandler or Nate though. put up 25 pts 3 games after not playing for months, the dude can score. and his D as you can blatantly see is noticeably better then anyone else on the team.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
Whatever its worth

The more Duhon, Q.Rich, and Jefferies play for coach Dantoni the less defensive effort we been seeing out of the three players. The little bit of defense we used to get from David Lee has disapeared completely playing under coach Dantoni (now I understand how the Suns are winning without "Amare & Nash).

This is what I witnessed out of the Knicks vs Miami game:

We just traded for Larry Hughes whom is known for his best defensive-effort alongside of Jared Jefferies....when u put Duhon into their mix u have a Defensive-Trio at PG, SG, and SF that knows how to defend on the switch (we started these 3 defensive players together vs Miami)....how the hell did D.Wade score 24 points in 12 minutes on a team that used a defensive trio in the start of the first and third Qtr. to get a 16 point lead.....and then dont use that same defensive-trio in none of the 4th quarter while losing a 15 point 4th Qtr. lead.
And the non-use of Wilcox have to be on everyones mind....we need his rebounding and fouls in the first half or second half of a game....what we dont commit fouls to slow down the clock at the end of a quarter?

I'm sorry....but that's Poor@ass coaching for a team of players who have confidence in their Head-Coach....they may not have had any confidence in coach Isiah Thomas....but I doubt if Isiah would have sold them out like this.
 

Red

TYPE-A
I vote to sit 1.Q-Rich 2.Jeffries 3. Duhon and start: N8, Hughes and Wilson or Wilcox.D'Antoni is doing a good job, if participating in the NBA lottery is your goal. Good job!
 

richtree

Rotation player
It's not his rotation / starting lineups ...its the lack of playing matchups....

He tries to ignore the fact that you need different approaches against different teams...

He also is late calling timeouts in stretches when the Knicks need to stop a run and/ substitute

His system requires minimal amounts of in game play calling and sets (which is fine) but he must admit EARLIER when their is a lineup not working to pull the "failing" guys out of the lineup

EX. Chandler guarding Dirk
Galinari not in the game enough against the Magic (when he can clearly guard Lewis and Turkalou) big guys, that aren't slashers

Cahndler not in verus bigger athetlic teams , at the 3 spot...

Harrinton, Lee, Chandler is more successful against the Cavs, Celtics, Suns

then have Jefferies in their because you need scoring from your front line and Chandler to Guard off the ball
 

JayJ44

Starter
The more Duhon, Q.Rich, and Jefferies play for coach Dantoni the less defensive effort we been seeing out of the three players. The little bit of defense we used to get from David Lee has disapeared completely playing under coach Dantoni (now I understand how the Suns are winning without "Amare & Nash).

So now D'antoni is making our players worse defensively? All those players suck at defense. How are you going to blame that on D'antoni?

This is what I witnessed out of the Knicks vs Miami game:

We just traded for Larry Hughes whom is known for his best defensive-effort alongside of Jared Jefferies....when u put Duhon into their mix u have a Defensive-Trio at PG, SG, and SF that knows how to defend on the switch (we started these 3 defensive players together vs Miami)....how the hell did D.Wade score 24 points in 12 minutes on a team that used a defensive trio in the start of the first and third Qtr. to get a 16 point lead.....and then dont use that same defensive-trio in none of the 4th quarter while losing a 15 point 4th Qtr. lead.

Defensive trio? How are 3 average defensive players a "defensive trio?" Nothing was going to stop Wade in the 4th quarter. He was pissed, and there isn't a defense that could have defended that. Especially our crappy "defensive trio", which wouldn't have made the slightest difference.

And the non-use of Wilcox have to be on everyones mind....we need his rebounding and fouls in the first half or second half of a game....what we dont commit fouls to slow down the clock at the end of a quarter?

I actually agree. Not sure why he isn't playing. Maybe he's not in game shape yet, who knows?

I'm sorry....but that's Poor@ass coaching for a team of players who have confidence in their Head-Coach....they may not have had any confidence in coach Isiah Thomas....but I doubt if Isiah would have sold them out like this.

Isiah would have just called iso plays for Crawford the entire 4th quarter, and we would have lost by 25. If you think we're a better team with Isiah, then you need to pay more attention to Knick games.
 

NicksKnicks

Rotation player
pg - Duhon
sg - hughes
sf - chandler
pf - harrington
c - lee
6th - nate

thats my fave line-up. Gallinari needs to be involved more. He can guard big men and imo, playing him is the only way he will develop!
 

KING~POETIQ

The One and Only
The only player that I would replace is duhon. Put in nate for him and we're set. More minutes for nate = more big plays. Duhon just doesn't come thru when the Knicks need him.
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
The only player that I would replace is duhon. Put in nate for him and we're set. More minutes for nate = more big plays. Duhon just doesn't come thru when the Knicks need him.
If N8 were a better passer then I'd love to see the same thing. He has his eye on that hoop at all times though. Bar Duhon, (who is sucking atm) we really don't have a great passing team the likes of Cleveland or San Antonio, particularly from the inside out.

I'd like to see Boris Diaw play the 4 for us. The Big Cock's ppg would inflate and so would Lee's with a passer like that down low.
 

KING~POETIQ

The One and Only
If N8 were a better passer then I'd love to see the same thing. He has his eye on that hoop at all times though. Bar Duhon, (who is sucking atm) we really don't have a great passing team the likes of Cleveland or San Antonio, particularly from the inside out.

I'd like to see Boris Diaw play the 4 for us. The Big Cock's ppg would inflate and so would Lee's with a passer like that down low.

He brings more excitement, that's what I like about nate. As for boris, he would definitely help out with our fast pace offense. We'll get an upclose look of his game this saturday when we go up against the bobcats.
 

NicksKnicks

Rotation player
Id like to see harrington replaced by Gallinari. The we could have nate and harrington coming off the bench. Two high scoring players, one guard and one forward.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
So now D'antoni is making our players worse defensively? All those players suck at defense. How are you going to blame that on D'antoni?

Defensive trio?

Isiah would have just called iso plays for Crawford the entire 4th quarter, and we would have lost by 25. If you think we're a better team with Isiah, then you need to pay more attention to Knick games.


Jay....u been watchin all season long and u have not notice that we dont have any defensive scheme or defensive playbook plan we use to make a stop....Dantoni's short rotation has forced our players not to commit any fouls....inwhich has lost us alot of crunchtime games.

Dantoni gets big-points on his offensive attack....even if he allow the wrong players to shoot the 3-Ball....the ball movement is a big improvement from the past several seasons.

Defensive-Trio: If u dont know how the Washington Wizards became a Playoff team for 5 straight seasons using "Jefferies & Hughes" defensive performance alongside of Haywood or Etan Thomas Big-Bodies in the paint depending on "Jamison & Arenas" to do the majority of all the scoring....then Jay....you know little about defense and stops when needed.

And the Isiah comment was based on all the confidence our Knick Players have in coach Dantoni....and his betrayal to these players by not adding a defensive coordinator to his staff inwhich raised a big controversy in his coaching in Phoenix.

From the start of the season we know that Lee and Duhon are our Starters and Nate Robinson is our 6th-Man off the bench.
Chandler plays his best consistent performance on both sides of the court comming off the bench alongside Nate the Great....but Dantoni been forcing the issue by giving Chandler the majority of his playingtime alongside of Duhon and Lee which been giving us inconsistent performance from Chandler.

Dantoni has also been breaking Larry Hughes in-to running the point since Hughes arrived by giving him more playingtime each game.
Nothing is wrong with that but is Hughes ready for this position with the leadership that is required now???
 

MSGKnickz33

The Gold Mac
Chris Duhon has no business in any starting lineup. Hes slow, swaggerless, turnover prone, and overrated defensively. Any good point guard would be averaging at least 15 and 10 in the 7 seconds or less offense.
 

LeFlume

All Star
It's funny when we fans think we know more about the team than the coaches does who spends hours and hours everyday together with them.
:beer:
 

metrocard

Legend
PG - Robinson
SG - Gallinari
SF - Chandler
PF - Lee
C - Samb

**** it...**** this season.
 
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Paul1355

All Star
Chris Duhon has no business in any starting lineup. Hes slow, swaggerless, turnover prone, and overrated defensively. Any good point guard would be averaging at least 15 and 10 in the 7 seconds or less offense.

Duhon is the main reason why we have any assists on this team...he was stronger in the start of the year and mid way but it is obvious that he is being over used and looks sluggish BECAUSE he plays more than any other Knick.

Duhon needs to rest more and Nate needs more minutes.
 

Kiyaman

Legend
Knicks loss to the poor Nets = 100% Dantoni fault

Harrington did not play in the last 16 minutes of last night game vs Nets....Yi and Simmons could not do anything to stop Harrington yesterday. We needed Harrington in the game to draw shotblocking Sean Williams toward him on offense.
Dantoni fault!

Having Duhon & Hughes play all 12 minutes of the 3rd Qtr. which was our lowest scoring quarter....inwhich Dantoni had to put Nate into the game the last 5 minutes of the 3rd Qtr. to draw the defenders toward Nate so all our bigmen could score before being taken out of the game Lee & Harrington, for Gallo & Wilcox.
The Knicks 3-Guard lineup (Duhon, Hughes, and Nate) in the last 5 minutes of the 3rd Qtr. was so pitiful it gave the Nets bigmen the chance they been waiting for all game long to dominate the game. Especially when Dantoni started substituting our 2-bigmen (Lee & Harrington for Gallo & Wilcox) with 4 minutes left in the 3rd Qtr. which gave the Nets a 2 poit lead to start the 4th Qtr.
Dantoni Fault

The first 6 minutes of the Knicks 4th quarter lineup had to be a Joke of jokes....Q.Brick, Wilcox, Chandler, Gallo, and Nate....why? five (5) reasons why:

1) We need scorers on the court to start the 4th Qtr. to grab the lead and hold onto it down the stretch.

2) Dantoni NBA career of coaching has shown he needs the lead early in the 4th Qtr. to pull out the win (Denver, Phoenix, and New York).

3) The Duhon & Hughes backcourt tandem has been playing sloppy every game since the trade (especially in the 3rd qtr. of this game)....when Nate did not play vs the Hawks Dantoni had to split the Duhon & Hughes tandem up into Hughes backing-up Duhon at the point throughout that game to pull out the Knick Win.
Duhon may have hit the wall 2 weeks before the trading deadline....but pairing him with Hughes has been the worst performance Duhon has shown this season as a Knick.

4) The message was clear in the Hawks game that Duhon & Hughes have somewhat simular performance that could be used right now as each other backups....like the Curry & Zach tandem which should've been used as backups....especially in the 2nd half of any game....experimenting with the Duhon & Hughes backcourt tandem is alright in the first half of any game....but not in the 2nd half for the WIN.

5) The Nets are a team that u beat with a "One on One" offense....coach Frank is still clueless on how to use his strong frontcourt players....plus Vincent Carter has been a no-show inconsistent 4th Qtr. player for 5 straight seasons.

That's 5 positive reasons why this Knick Loss to the Nets was all Dantoni's fault...
 
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