Knicks trying to get their starting lineup right
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts in the second half against the Pelicans at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 20. Credit: Jim McIsaac
MILWAUKEE — While the Knicks stumbled through the first 49 games of the season, they did it with 15 different starting lineups.
The most common one, with 20 starts together, is the grouping that opened the season, with Julius Randle, RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson joined by newcomers Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier. Entering Friday night’s meeting with the Bucks, the Knicks were 10-10 with that grouping.
The most productive group, with a 6-3 record, replaced Walker with Alec Burks.
One interesting starting lineup, with rookie Quentin Grimes replacing Fournier, is the only one that has gone unbeaten — at 1-0.
"I think we’re just trying to find consistency," Randle said. "That's the word I’ve been using all year. Some games we look good; some games, we don’t. So we’re just trying to find a system that works for us."
Coach Tom Thibodeau has notoriously stuck by his players — see Elfrid Payton last season — and the Feb. 10 trade deadline could disrupt that. But when asked if he was considering a change after Wednesday’s loss in Miami, he said, "Yeah, we’ll see. The thing is — yeah, it’s not just the starters. The bench did some good things, but we need everyone to play well."
Like Randle, Fournier sounded confident that the players in the starting five can succeed, but he noted that they have to change how they play when necessary.
"My point is we have to adapt to what the teams are doing," Fournier said. "When we had that good stretch, we were playing a certain way. The guys in front of us were doing something similar, everything. When we play a team that does things differently, we have to be able to adjust. If they take away what we do well, then we have to do something else. You have to let the game come to you. We just have to be able to adapt."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
