What do we really know about the Knicks starting lineup? Raymond Felton at the one, Amare Stoudemire at the four and... well, this is why Mike D’Antoni gets paid the big bucks.
There is a lot more talent on the Knicks roster, and a lot more versatile talent this season, which gives D’Antoni options. Alan Hahn did some speculating on twitter that the Knicks could start a very tall lineup: Felton, Danilo Gallinari at the two, Anthony Randolph at the three, Stoudemire at the four... and Ronny Turiaf at center?
If so, that is a 6'10" player at four spots on the floor, and all athletic and able to run the floor. It could be interesting.
Center is the question mark. As Hahn notes in his tweet guessing it is Turiaf at the five, your other option at that spot is Eddy Curry. So yea, Turiaf. Here’s what you get out of Turiaf -- all out hustle and energy. He’ll score a little (and fairly efficiently) but not a lot, he’ll rebound, he’ll give you his all on defense. He’ll turn the ball over too much. He’ll be diving into the front row for balls so much Spike Lee will make him pay for a seat. He’ll pick up quick fouls. Also, there are questions about how long his knees will let him play in terms of minutes.
Turiaf is one of my favorite players to watch in the league, but he is an off-the-bench energy guy in an ideal world. Although if Curry is your other option you are not in an ideal world. And in that case Turiaf is the better choice.
