In a season that once had a lot of hope, the New York Knicks have fallen off in a big way. New York has lost 12 of its last 14 games and has virtually no shot at making the playoffs this season (6.5 games out of the eighth spot). With that in mind the Knicks should change their focus to the guys they plan to have as part of the team in the future and that starts with taking Jose Calderon out of the starting lineup.
On Tuesday afternoon interim head coach Kurt Rambis hinted that he might make a change to his starting lineup. Many people, including Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, insinuated that Calderon may be the one getting demoted. This isn't the first time that there have been reports of Calderon possibly being demoted from the starting lineup but it is yet to happen.
It looks like Knicks fans will have to wait even longer for it to happen too because the Knicks plan to keep the same starting lineup for their game against the Pacers on Wednesday night, according to Al Iannazzone of Newsday. Calderon has started all 54 games he has appeared in this season but it is clear at this point that needs to change.
Calderon's shooting numbers have actually been good this season, as he is 46 percent from the field and 40 percent from three, but his defense has been a huge problem. Point guard defense is essential nowadays in the NBA with all of the talent at that position and Calderon has a lot of trouble staying in front of opposing point guards. His defense regularly puts his teammates in bad positions and has a tendency to get players like Kristaps Porzingis in foul trouble.
The biggest issue the Knicks face in taking Calderon out of the starting lineup is that they don't have a clear replacement for him. Jerian Grant is a rookie they like but he has struggled mightily in his rookie season. Langston Galloway has played pretty well but he isn't a natural point guard or distributor and Jimmer Fredette was just signed to a 10-day contract and is also not a natural point guard.
Calderon is under contract with the Knicks through next season so the main motivation to keep starting him may be monetary. The Knicks though, have been looking to get rid of Calderon for a while now and will likely do everything they can to not have him on their roster next season. Grant has struggled this season but he is a rookie, the Knicks should give him a chance for major minutes to see what he can do in a bigger role. They don't have anything to play for the rest of the season and Grant has a much better shot of being part of the future than Calderon does.
