Who's in Your 5?

First off, Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you're enjoying the holiday season.

Secondly, with Isiah Thomas's recent announcement that he will be shaking up the Knicks' starting lineup, I wanted to take a look at who should be in Isiah's top 5.



Center: David Lee

Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry have proven that they are incapable of playing together on the court. When those two black holes get too close, they combine into one enormous basketball-sucking celestial being. David Lee is the opposite of a black hole (a white dwarf? red star? maybe this metaphor has gone a bit far...) Lee plays defense--the Knicks are last in the NBA in blocked shots--doesn't need a lot of touches, and brings energy to the lineup. It's time Isiah gave Lee his shot at starting.

Power Forward: Zach Randolph

Randolph is a proven scorer. Randolph is a proven rebounder. Unfortunately, he's also a proven shot-taker and poor defender. No one's perfect, and NY needs the scoring.


Strong Forward: Renaldo Balkman

The Knicks are a bit weak here. Q-Rich has been starting but can't hit the 3 (which was supposed to be his strength), is not a lock-down defender, and seems to have lost a step. Jared Jeffries doesn't bring much to the floor. Wilson Chandler? Randolph Morris? Malik Rose? No. Renaldo Balkman is not a starter for most NBA teams, but he fits in here because of his hustle, defense, and energy.


Shooting Guard: Jamal Crawford

At this juncture a year ago, Crawford was seen as the cancer of this team, but now he is the Knicks' most indispensable player. Crawford is the go-to-guy now. He takes the big shots, creates in the lane, and seems to be the leader on and off the court. At least someone has improved since last year.

Point Guard: Not Applicable/Nate Robinson

Let's face it, Nate is not a point guard. I'm not saying he'll never be, but right now, he does not have that pass-first mentality. But besides him, the Knicks don't really have a point guard. Stephon Marbury has never been the kind of guy that makes the players around him better. And besides, who knows when he'll be back on the floor and in a condition to focus entirely on basketball. Fred Jones is more of a 2-guard. Crawford takes too many shots. So Nate gets the call. Just like David Lee, Nate has paid his dues and deserves a long look at a starting role. Although, undersized, Nate doesn't hate playing a little D, and is a capable scorer.

So there's my proposed starting lineup. Hopefully Isiah is reading this. What do you think? Who's in your top 5? Drop me a comment.