Toney Douglas takes loss of starting job in stride

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- If Toney Douglas was upset about losing his starting point guard job to Iman Shumpert Saturday night after just seven games, he did a good job of hiding it. It's not as though it was a surprise move.

Coach Mike D'Antoni first suggested the switch could happen Thursday, and he made it official for Saturday night's game against the Pistons. But the writing was on the wall when Shumpert replaced Douglas to start the second half of Friday night's 99-96 win over the Wizards in Washington.

Douglas, coming off offseason shoulder surgery, went into Saturday night averaging 11.7 points and 4.0 assists. Shumpert, a rookie with three games of NBA experience, was averaging 13.0 points and 3.7 assists.

"Once I get my rhythm, I'll be fine," Douglas said. "Nothing changes for me. Just go out there and play and do what Toney is capable of doing."

D'Antoni could have replaced struggling Landry Fields, but Douglas' offense could be more vital to the second unit. And with Baron Davis continuing to rehab with the club on the road, it's not as though any of this is set in stone.

"Toney's OK," D'Antoni said. "Everybody's OK. We're going to do what looks best. We don't know now what looks best. Two weeks from now, it might look completely different. Everybody's open to trying to get it right."

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Brother act

Douglas will be at MetLife Stadium Sunday for the Giants-Falcons playoff game. His brother, Harry, is a wide receiver for Atlanta. So Toney won't be rooting for the Giants.

"I talk to him every day," Douglas said. "Obviously, I play for the Knicks and I love my team. But my brother plays for Atlanta. I always go with my brother no matter what."

Frank talk

After losing to the Knicks, the Pistons are 2-6 under former Nets coach Lawrence Frank, whom the Knicks considered for the defensive assistant job that went to Mike Woodson.