Mike D’Antoni has shortened his rotation, but the rotation, and the players’ performances, are forever changing. As part of our Knicks coverage all season, taking a note from Mark Lisanti’s “Mad Men Power Rankings,” we’ll be tracking each player every Tuesday. Come with us for the Knicks Power Rankings!
1. Amar’e Stoudemire. (Last week: 1) Is someone going to ask Amar’e what he thinks of this Carmelo business? (We’d ask ourselves, but the Knicks are all the way out on the West Coast, and that’s very far.) Sure, he’s happy with this current Knicks team — other than that Lakers game, anyway — but he did come here with the implicit idea that there would be more superstars coming. Are there any other ones, save Carmelo? (Point guards excluded.) He’s gotta be as itchy as anyone about the potential Nets deal, right? By the way: He hasn’t scored fewer than twenty points since before Thanksgiving.
2. Wilson Chandler. (Last week: 4) Chandler’s having a terrific season, so we don’t want to look a gelded horse in the mouth here. (That’s how that phrase goes, right?) But was it really the wisest thing for Donnie Walsh to essentially promise that the Knicks would match any offer than comes Chandler’s way when he’s a restricted free agent at the end of the year? Doesn’t that put the Knicks in a potential bind, making it difficult to bring any other big names in? That said: There might not even be an NBA season next year. Walsh can say anything he wants! THE KNICKS ARE SIGNING MOZGOV TO A MAX DEAL, AND ALSO LETTING HIM MOONLIGHT WITH THE KNICKS CITY DANCERS. Why not? Whee!
3. Raymond Felton. (Last week: 2) It is possible that Felton is hitting the wall, slightly. He was dreadful against the Lakers, and we’re starting to trust his shot a little less than we did a month ago. (Even with Danilo Gallinari out, we’d rather see Shawne Williams, Bill Walker, or Landry Fields shooting a three-pointer right now.) That said: triple double! Felton notched his first career triple-double against the Suns, though, to be fair, we’re pretty sure everyone had a triple-double against the Suns. (Oh, wait: Rautins was a rebound short.)
4. Landry Fields. (Last week: 5) He was one of the few guys who showed up against the Lakers, and you could almost see Fields pinch himself every few minutes to remind himself he was actually guarding Kobe Bryant (his favorite player growing up). We continue to rank him too low. For the sake of fun, by the way, here are some great Fields highlights from Stanford. We can’t believe we haven’t posted these before.
Knicks Power Rankings: Eyeing ’Melo, Missing Gallo