David Fizdale reached into the hat and pulled out another starting lineup Tuesday night, his sixth different one in 18 games. And if the lineup juggling act might have an air of mystery, the results do not.
While the new lineup performed well by the standards of their predecessors, as the game wore on so did the reality that the new lineup was much like the old ones. The Knicks led for a half, but eventually were worn down for their sixth straight loss, this one to the Western Conference-leading Portland Trail Blazers, 118-114.
Fizdale pulled the plug on the experiment of starting three rookies, replacing them with Enes Kanter, Noah Vonleh and Mario Hezonja.