Interim head coach Mike Miller faces crucial rotation decisions after the All-Star break. The New York Knicks are once again in a pickle.
This feels like the umpteenth year in a row where the New York Knicks are out of the playoff race by the All-Star break. As is tradition, the team is faced with the choice of playing the experienced veterans or giving time to the youth for development purposes.
These decisions are never easy and that goes double when the coach doling out minutes is essentially a lame duck. Interim head coach Mike Miller is doing a bang-up job given the circumstances, but the job is only going to grow more difficult from here on out.
The Knicks State of Mind Podcast tackles these tough questions with an ideal post-All-Star break starting five and a few interesting lineups that fans need to see.
For one, the consensus is that Mitchell Robinson needs to enter the starting lineup and start taking on that burden despite his penchant for foul trouble. Kevin Knox is another interesting case. The 20-year-old is going to have his ups and downs, but he needs minutes in order to develop.
Frank Ntilikina and Damyean Dotson is a duo that should see more minutes. The two are the longest-tenured players on the roster and they have an obvious chemistry that is backed up by the numbers and the eye test.
A quick tangent to John Beilein and Mike Francesa brings the conversation to the Knicks’ upcoming coaching search. Again, Miller is not the problem with this squad, but it’s likely that incoming team president Leon Rose will want his own guy running the show.
