CLEVELAND—Of all the questions swirling around the Knicks this season—and there are plenty—one has been a particular head-scratcher: Why isn't Pablo Prigioni, who is arguably the team's best point guard and certainly its best mover of the ball, in the starting lineup?

In his 16 minutes per game of floor time, Prigioni routinely injects ball movement into an offense that goes static far too often. And his record speaks for itself: the Knicks' 15-1 mark last season when Prigioni and Raymond Felton started together in the backcourt...