Much has been made about the starting five for the New York Knicks. While Arron Afflalo sits out with a hamstring injury, Jose Calderon and Sasha Vujacic have been the starting backcourt and simply not getting the job done. Many have called for head coach Derek Fisher to shake up the starting five as Jerian Grant and Langston Galloway excel off the bench, but after hinting at the idea, things stayed the same against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Fisher noted that he thought about making changes to the starting five after Calderon and Vujacic combined for two points in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks. However, Fisher opted not to do anything different against the Lakers despite hinting that it might be possible. Fisher told the media that the blame can simply not be placed on one player.
"The numbers that jump out to me and the staff is 26 free throws (for Milwaukee). Eighteen total turnovers for 21 points. They had 20 points in the paint in the first quarter. I mean those numbers are much bigger than whether one guy made a few shots," Fisher said, via ESPN.com. "At the same time of course you need production in our game. And we'll continue to look at that and assess whether a change needs to be made. And if it does, we'll make it."
Calderon and Vujacic improved against the Lakers while Grant struggled heavily. Galloway remained consistent which is what Fisher is liking. According to the head coach, when Afflalo returns from injury, he will be inserted into the starting five while Vujacic moves to the bench. Fisher made it clear that he likes the duo of Grant and Galloway off the bench as they have been a spark for the Knicks when they need it most.
"I think our bench is playing really well right now. So if you take some of those guys off of that unit, that maybe changes the effectiveness of how good your bench can be," Fisher said.
Galloway and Grant represent the future of the Knicks and are two players the team is trying to develop over Calderon and Vujacic. The fact that both players are excelling early in their careers is a good sign for the franchise. Carmelo Anthony made it clear that he is trying to demonstrate patience and while he does not like losing, he likes what players like Grant and Kristaps Porzingis have shown this early in the season. He believes that they will help turn things around for the better.
"That's one thing about this team. Guys work. So that's why I do believe that it's going to turn around," Anthony said, via ESPN.com. "If you're out there by yourself fighting and competing and just trying to do everything by yourself and you feel like nobody else is with you, then that's a dagger right there. That takes everything out of you -- exerting more energy than you have to. But when you know you have guys out there working with you, that are willing to get better, willing to put the work in, actually putting the work in to get better -- individually and as a team -- it makes that process easy."
