New York Knicks: 3 reasons why Courtney Lee can’t play small forward
By Eric Snyder
Where does he rank?
Courtney Lee stands at 6’5″, 200 pounds and is a nine-year NBA veteran. As a shooting guard, Lee has played that role his entire career. Generally, the former Western Kentucky standout comes off the bench to provide shooting and overall energy. His smooth shooting stroke and ability to get to the rim makes him a valuable piece to any team.
Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Doug McDermott will provide scoring, but New York is a horrible defensive team. Hornacek’s plan of inserting Courtney Lee at small forward to stop some of the best players in the league is insanity. Last year, Lee had the 13th-worst defensive rating among guards and ranked 197th out of 224. Defensive rating measures how many points a player allows per 100 possessions.
Keep in mind, Lee was guarding other guards last year and was one of the worst defensive guards in the league. Now, Hornacek wants to put him up against Carmelo Anthony, Gordon Hayward and Jimmy Butler? Simply put, Lee couldn’t stop players his size from scoring and will be even worse against stronger small forwards.
Admittedly, defensive rating doesn’t tell the full story on any player’s complete defensive effort. Maybe Courtney Lee is elite at disrupting passing lanes and wreaking havoc in half-court sets. If he can’t stop ball pressure, maybe he can stop ball-movement…or maybe not.