The New York Knicks' Rotation : The Ups and Downs of Returning Player Jared Jeffries

New York, NY - Like the many unsolvable problems of the world, the New York Knicks have found a way to turn something positive into something not so positive.

With the return of Small Forward Jared Jeffries, the Knicks now have a 6'11" wing man to add to their arsenal. Jeffries has not played all season, and his return is certain to help the Knicks as they face a fairly manageable schedule in the months of December and January. However, the return of Jeffries to the floor means that somebody has to sit. And with so many Knicks being contributing to the efforts of the teams' limited success thus far, the question is: "Who starts?"

At Center: Eddy Curry.

Curry is the Knicks' go-to guy, and he is the only true center on the team. This is a no-brainer for Isiah Thomas.

Clearly, most Knicks fans love David Lee more than any other player. And the fact remains that he is the team's best rebounder and the one who demonstrates the most tenacity night in and night out. And while everybody at MSG would love to see him in the starting lineup, the fact is that Lee has much more to offer coming off of the bench. I'm not going to make the argument that he is purely a bench player, because he will 12+ rebounds if he plays 40 minutes, and he will score on upwards of 15 points under the same circumstances. However, his points and rebounds per 40 minutes are much higher when he comes off of the bench. Lee is exceptional at getting the momentum of the game to swing in favor of Knicks when he comes off of the bench. And when he is fresh there is no body that is better at hustling around the rim and guarding other 2nd tier big men. And because he is the team's best post defender (except for maybe Jerome James who is still injured) and still can't guard the top post men, it is better that he comes into the game to take away the other team's 2nd post option when the 1st option comes out of the game.

So who are the other contenders to start at Power Forward? Well, it's pretty obvious. Channing Frye is the only other viable option. And thus:

Starting Power Forward: Channing Frye.

Frye gives the team an additional shooter and some extra height. While he is a little soft down low for a guy who stands at 6'10", he can guard the skinnier more athletic power forwards like Chris Bosh and Rasheed Wallace. He is a great compliment to Eddy Curry because he can do damage from outside of the paint and clear up space for Curry. But he has to play stronger and be a force inside at least early in the game, because Curry just is not a defensive inside presence. While Frye's presence means that he and Curry are left to leave a lot of rebounds up for grabs, it's a sacrifice that has to be made in order to get the most talented players on the court early in the game.

With quite a few rebounds left up for grabs, that means that the starting small forward must be a rebounder. Quentin Richardson and Jared Jeffries are the options. Who is the answer?

Q-Rich is a great shooter, and he has proved that he is capable of carrying the team both on the boards, defensively and of course on the offensive end. Jared however is much taller and gives the Knicks a defensive player who can absolutely shut down other guards and forwards. Jared reminds me of a Stacey Augmon, long, quick and yet he has a little more offensive game to his skill-set. But like I said before, power forward comes down to the issue of rebounding, and at 6'11" and a slight career edge in the category the choice is:

Small Forward: Jared Jeffries

Now the issue of shooting guard and point guard. Most of you think this comes down to Jamal Crawford, Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury. Well, you're wrong. Based on Q-Rich's play and his ability to make this starting line-up tougher with Curry and Frye down low, he has to start. His defense has been great this season and he has shown that he is very capable of scoring 25+ points when he plays 35 minutes.

Shooting Guard: Quentin Richardson.

That means we are left with the point guard position, and we can decide between Marbury and Francis. I guess the bigger issue here will be who gets benched if this were ever an issue. But the guy who starts has to be Stephon Marbury. And I say that begrudgingly. Because fact of the matter is that Francis has shown a higher basketball acumen over the past month and that is very essential for the point guard position. However, the fact that Francis holds the ball so much and at times begins to look for his shot so intensely that he becomes a scorer to a fault. And while I like his assist percentage this season, Marbury is moving the ball more. He is getting it out of his hands and is initiating the offense. That is very important when it comes to starting the game and that is why he should start. He is also the superior shooter and can help stretch out the floor. Francis may play better defense, but Marbury has been hustling on that end of the floor and has shown that he is no longer a civ on the defensive side of the ball.

Point Guard: Stephon Marbury.

So while the starters may be of issue for the average fan, the knowledgeable fan knows that is all about who finishes. Here are your finishers:

Center: Eddy Curry. He has shown that he can punish people late in games now that he has played himself into shape. However, if his free throws continue to be an issue, players might start to give him the Hack-a-Shaq treatment late in games.

Power Forward: David Lee. There is no question that he should be in the game at the end. He gives the team the strength, hustle and inside presence, and he is playing better than anyone else on the team. Yes, a lot of you think he can start, but some pitchers are meant to be starters, and some are meant to be closers. Lee is a closer.

Small Forward: Quentin Richardson. Like I said before, Q-Rich is the best offensive player on the team right now. He is the only player that has been on Lee's level this entire season. At the end of games you can depend on his outside shot and his grit all over the court.

Shooting Guard: Jamal Crawford. While it's clear to me that Crawford has not seen a shot that he does not like all season, he is a great clutch player. I would prefer he stop settling for the jumper, but thus far he has proven to be the best at creating his own shot late in games.

Point Guard: Steve Francis. At the end of games you have to have the guy with the best basketball acumen playing point guard for you, and unfortunately that's just not Marbury right now. Maybe if he was averaging 20 and 8 like he has for the rest of his career, we could put him here, but his lack of consistency, point production, aggressiveness and Francis' better defense; you have to allow Francis to finish the game.

With all that said, here's how the minutes should be divvied up:

Curry:
40

Frye:
20

Jeffries:
25

Richardson:
35

Marbury:
30

Lee:
25

Francis:
25

Crawford:
20

Robinson:
15

Balkman:
10