New York Knicks: Recent rotations make little sense

The rotations recently being used by New York Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek make very little sense.

The New York Knicks picked up a surprising victory over the Washington Wizards on Sunday evening. New York defeated Washington, on the road no less, 101-97. It was the Knicks’ third win in their last five games and snapped a five-game losing streak away from Madison Square Garden.

One takeaway from the victory is that head coach Jeff Hornacek changed the lineup. Trey Burke and Frank Ntilikina were inserted into the starting lineup, while Courtney Lee and Emmanuel Mudiay were shifted to the bench. It was a move that paid off, and one that was probably overdue.

At this point in the season, it is more about player development than winning for the Knicks. It is a decision that was made once Kristaps Porzingis went down with an injury, ending the slim playoff hopes the Knicks had.

A shakeup was the smart move. However, the Knicks continue to not dive fully into a youth movement, and the recent lineup decisions reflect that.

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The trio of Burke, Mudiay and Ntilikina all need minutes. They are the three players the Knicks can gain the most from developing. Changing their roles to see if their production changes were smart. Continuing to give minutes to veterans at other positions is not.

Jack has been a consummate professional since the change. He didn’t cause a rift, accepting his role as a mentor. Courtney Lee and Enes Kanter have both seen their roles diminished without a peep. Lee has even been removed from the starting lineup. Kanter said that he wants no part in tanking, but he has little control over playing time distribution, which is the most effective way of tanking.

While most of the evaluation and development has been directed at the trio in the backcourt, there are other players worth seeing.

Troy Williams has played well since joining the Knicks after being released by the Houston Rockets. Luke Kornet and Isaiah Hicks, the two players New York has on two-way deals, would also be worthwhile to see on the court. However, Hornacek has seemed reluctant to do so.

Lance Thomas still plays his regular allotment of minutes when available. He has missed some games for personal reasons recently, but in the last three games that he has played, he has received at least 19 minutes. That is above his season average of 18.5 minutes per game, which would seem to defeat the purpose of evaluating young players.

For whatever the reason may be, Hicks has been a DNP for two consecutive games. That follows a stretch in which Hicks played at least 14 minutes in four consecutive games. Williams has also seen his minutes fluctuate despite Lee and Lance Thomas being away from the team at times for personal reasons.

Another young player struggling to find playing time is Damyean Dotson. Dotson is currently dealing with a mid-foot sprain, but even when he was healthy he wasn’t getting minutes. Ntilikina playing more shooting guard has played a part, but there is no reason Dotson can’t play 12-15 minutes a game off the bench.

Veterans will still receive minutes. There is a need for them, as they provide an example for the younger players to follow. Outright benching veterans isn’t a good idea, but committing to the scaling back of their minutes would make sense.

Playing veterans such as Thomas, Michael Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr. more than their average minutes makes little sense.

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Cutting back the minutes of some veterans and not others makes no sense as the Knicks look like they do not know what direction they want to go in again. They should be committing to developing the younger players.

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