07-25-2021, 11:43 PM
(07-25-2021, 10:56 PM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: Agree KP gets targeted no matter what you call him.
My team building question (forgetting O for the moment) is when a player blows by KP on the perimeter, who would you rather have meeting that player at the rim? Option one...mobile big who can block shots (thinking Holmes). Or, quicker wing defender who can cause issues (but can't block shots) and has the recovery speed to also defend the three point line (thinking DFS).
If we played KP and Holmes together, offences can only target one at a time and the other will be waiting to block a shot. We probably give up some corner 3's (which we do anyway). Having a competent big next to KP probably cuts down on regular season wear and tear. When you need more specialized lineups in the playoffs, I bet a few minutes of single-big Holmes or single-big KP would work (especially the former).
BTW, as to his time in NY, it was rare in 17/18 that KP wasn't in with either Kanter or O'Quinn. He was a PF as they were clearly centers. In 16/17 he was PF about 80% of the time playing alongside Noah, O'Quinn and Hernangomez. He did get some time a C with Anthony as the next biggest player. In 15/16 it was about 76% PF and 24% C. The Knicks were bad defensive teams in those seasons. When KP was on the floor, the Knicks were better defensively to the tune of 2.6 points in 15/16, 3.1 points in 16/17 and 5.2 points in 17/18. The more he played PF, the better the numbers got.
How many 5 out offenses did NY face back in 17/18? So the plan is to leave one guy wide open on the perimeter, and let another guy smoke one of our centers on the perimeter, but at least they won't have free run to the hoop? Can Holmes punish smaller defenders? (we already know KP can't). It's hard not to see this as turning KP into a poor defensive stretch 4, basically a Markkanen (who got pushed to bench in Chicago). If that is our plan, I would much rather dump KP for whatever we can and use that cap on players who better fit with Luka.