After saying he intended to return David Lee to the starting lineup Sunday so he and Zach Randolph could deal with the size of Utah's Mehmet Okur and Carlos Boozer, Mike D'Antoni said Saturday he changed his mind.
He'll start Wilson Chandler for a second straight game in Lee's stead because despite his four-inch height advantage over Chandler, the 7-foot Okur is more of a perimeter player.
True, except there seems more to this than that.
Chandler has been energizing the Knicks the way Lee used to off the bench, but hasn't the past three games, when he pulled down just seven rebounds, including a mere one (in the fourth quarter) Friday in Washington.
Lee's looked sluggish, distracted (by all the trade rumors about him, clearly) and not as comfortable in D'Antoni's offense as he did in Larry Brown's and Isiah Thomas' more conventional sets, in which he spent more time in and around the paint than he does now.
Hence, his diminshed rebounds per game (5.8) in essentially the same minutes as the past two seasons, when he averaged 10.4 and 8.9. Chandler, meanwhile, is almost the same playing time, is pulling down six per game and outscoring Lee, 14.0-10.6.
Lee, though, barely admits he's less comfortable in the new system and pledges no worry, same as D'Antoni.
Yet, he's had his greatest success in the past off the bench, so perhaps that's his role.
Perhaps D'Antoni is looking for someone to play a little defense, too, for which Chandler is better suited than Lee. Antawn Jamison (whom Chandler presumably started to guard Friday, the coach said) did most of his damage against Lee, not Chandler.
The Knicks also have not blocked a shot in three of their first five games and of the five they swatted in their two other games, Chandler has three. And they've been outrebounded in all five of their games, four with Lee in the lineup.
Or perhaps the Knicks are getting ready to trade Lee before he exposes himself as a player who provides diminished returns as a starter, thus diminishing his trade value. Golden State, clearly, would pull the trigger on an Al Harrington deal if Lee's included and maybe even take Eddy Curry off the Knicks' hands, too.
In that regard, the Knicks also may be looking at how Chandler fits their lineup to determine if they can deal Lee.
Bottom line: This doesn't seem like a two-game change, for whatever reason.
***
Sunday's game should be a classic and fascinating battle of wills, D'Antoni's system vs. Jerry Sloan's straight-off-the-chalkboard one that produced his 1,000th victory as Utah's coach since he was hired Dec. 9, 1988. since then, 241 other coaches have been hired and Sloan is now 205 victories ahead of Red Auerbach for coaches with victories with one team (Sloan also had 89 more coaching the Bulls).
Sloan's team is also 5-0 without Olympic point guard Deron Williams, which tells you a little bit about the guy's coaching chops.
Those who sit near him during games know how entertaining (and profane) he can be, but those who've been around him in the league know he's one of the most real guys to deal with, someone who's not much different in-season than the guy who puts on his John Deere hat and goes home to Illinois in the off-season to work the land and chill.
The team is experiencing now the failure of its draft option in Gallinari or the D Antoni's first cardinal sin as Knicks coach. This problem in matching with Utah or other teams could have been addressed if....they made an intellectual not an emotional choice in last year's draft....Brooks Lopez, Robin Lopez or Tim Hibbert is superior choice over Gallinari.
Posted by: gerryo | November 08, 2008 at 05:06 PM
Steve, I'll propose three other reasons as to Lee's lower rebounding stats-he twisted an ankle a few weeks ago, pre-season, and I sense it's not completely back;consistenly pounding against bigger guys inside, his upper body strenght is poor, is wearing him down;3-point shots result in longer rebounds,which is why Duhon and guards need to bound significantly more in MD's offense than in most.Curious why you would move Lee, he's improved every year,from free throws to jumper(still a work in progress but better), and at the end of the year can't demand more than a Harrington or similar player. The guards need to be more aware of him and Zach on the high pick-and-roll, despite all the assists yesterday they missed quite a few.Build around him, N8 and Chandler!!!
Posted by: George from Scottsdale | November 08, 2008 at 06:35 PM
....Brooks Lopez, Robin Lopez or Tim Hibbert is superior choice over Gallinari.
Small sample sizes rock!
Posted by: Rich | November 08, 2008 at 08:32 PM