Mike D'Antoni seeks right backcourt combo

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Mike D'Antoni's starting front line for the Knicks is set in stone, but the backcourt jobs remain up for grabs. At least until point guard Baron Davis is cleared to play.

But though D'Antoni entertained the suggestion of replacing Toney Douglas and Landry Fields with Mike Bibby and rookie Iman Shumpert to start the season, he hit the brakes on the idea that there could be a lineup change already.

"I think y'all pushed me down the road a little bit too far, too quick," D'Antoni said to reporters surrounding him at MSG Training Center Tuesday. "We're good where we are."

The Douglas-Fields backcourt will start again in Wednesday's preseason game against the Nets at the Garden, but with Bibby's veteran experience and Shumpert's effervescent confidence, D'Antoni said the coaching staff will "make an assessment" after the game and the remaining practices before Sunday's season opener against the Celtics.

"I would say probably the group that started the two [preseason] games will start Sunday," D'Antoni said. "I just want to leave it open a little bit in case we have a change of heart or think something looks better. But I'm thinking we stay the same for a little bit and give it a chance. After two or three weeks, and that means we're already in the season, then maybe we'll change it up if we need to."

As it is, Douglas, who has struggled in running the offense, already has been moved off the ball and is now used as an outlet shooter, and Carmelo Anthony has been running the offense over the last few practices. Anthony has embraced the "point-forward" role and has looked comfortable as a facilitator. Despite his reputation as a scorer, Anthony has great court awareness and passing instincts. He whipped a few dazzling passes in Saturday's win over the Nets and in recent practices seems fully engaged in the offense.

The concern, however, is if the role takes away from Anthony's greatest strength, which is as a primary scorer. But this may be the look of the Knicks offense until Davis, a traditional point guard, has fully recovered from his back injury, or if Bibby emerges off the bench in the time being.

"We have a bunch of combinations we can go with," D'Antoni said. "We just have to now chill out a little bit and make sure we're making the right move."

D'Antoni isn't ready to shuffle the deck just yet and, like most teams in this truncated season, he may need the first few weeks of the season to find the best combination.

"The problem is you have to assume things," D'Antoni said. "You usually have a month to work it out, you don't assume, it works out. Now you have to assume something and I have to be careful about something I saw for 15 minutes, if it's something I like, instead of a month or something I like. You have to be careful.

"At the end of the day, if you start or don't start, I don't think it's that terrific of a thing, but we're just trying to get the right combos together and make sure that we function good all through the game."