David Fizdale may be thinking a little too outside the box for some New York Knicks fans’ likings.
Speaking with the media on Thursday, the Knicks head coach said that he had thought about playing a jumbo lineup with star big man Kristaps Porzingis at the small forward spot, according to The Athletic’s Mike Vorkunov. The idea would be a positionless style of play featuring length all over the floor.
David Fizdale says he's thought of playing a big Knicks lineup with Kevin Knox at the 2 and a frontcourt of Kristaps Porzingis at the 3 with Luke Kornet and Mitchell Robinson. "I have a crush on wingspan." Says he doesn't want to pidgeonhole anyone to any position.
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) July 5, 2018
Here's the full quote from David Fizdale that led him to riffing about the Knicks' Monstars lineup with Knox/Porzingis/Kornet/Mitchell Robinson. pic.twitter.com/2tphJsMrdK
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) July 5, 2018
The idea of playing Porzingis, a 7-foot-3 stretch big, at the 3 sounded bizarre to many, and Fizdale promptly got roasted on Twitter for the suggestion.
— Patrick Connor7 (@PatrickConnor7) July 5, 2018
That's not how the NBA works.
— Paul Henning (@brewcitypaul) July 5, 2018
This isn’t 2k Fizdale wingspan doesn’t always equal good play.
— Don’t 4t Me Blog (@Dont4tMeBlog) July 5, 2018
That sounds pretty dam awful – RIP KPs ankles
— Mark Douglas (@markattias) July 5, 2018
Wingspan matters but footspeed doesn’t I guess
— Rich Miller (@millsjr33) July 5, 2018
Let’s not do that
— CT24 (@ctommoli24) July 5, 2018
It is true that long, versatile lineups that can stretch the floor on offense and switch everything on defense are quite popular these days. The Knicks can also afford to experiment in what should be a rebuilding year — Porzingis is likely out for the first several months of the 2018-19 season as he recovers from the ACL tear that he suffered in February. But asking their star player to defend small forwards out on the perimeter could be asking for disaster in addition to the fact that it would fail to maximize his talents as a scorer.
Strangely enough, this is not the first time that a Knicks coach has suggested playing Porzingis at small forward, and that coach no longer has his job.
