D'Antoni not quite ready to start Shumpert
WASHINGTON -- How close was Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni to starting Iman Shumpert in Friday night's game against the Wizards? Close enough that it sounds inevitable that the rookie eventually will crack the starting five.
D'Antoni, in deciding not to use Shumpert to replace Toney Douglas or Landry Fields just yet, left open the possibility that he could change his mind in the near future.
"We want to be careful not to give him too much too soon," D'Antoni said of Shumpert, who was averaging 14.5 points in two games entering Friday night. "He's going to play a lot. He'll still play the same amount of minutes and he's going to play with the starters and we'll evaluate it going forward. I could start him, but I want to make sure everyone is good and confident. Any time you throw a pebble in the water, there's ripples.''
One of the ripples would be starting shooting guard Fields, who has regressed since the first part of his rookie season.
"You never know the cause and effect of certain things," D'Antoni said. "I want to make sure. We're going to play all these guys. It's one thing if we decided not to play somebody. That's pretty drastic. Starting or not starting, not as much."
D'Antoni said he thinks Shumpert profiles best as a shooting guard. But if he started along with Douglas, bench scoring could be an issue.
"We have to cure other problems,'' D'Antoni said. "We'll figure out the best starting lineup eventually. I'm not ready to say this is not it. You have to be careful at grasping at straws.''
LIer James signs
Amityville product Mike James signed with the Knicks' D-League team, the Erie BayHawks. James, 36, could be emergency guard insurance, though he last played in the NBA in 2009-10 (four games with Washington) . . . Mike Bibby (foot) was cleared to play after missing Wednesday night's game.
