12-29-2006, 05:57 AM
Knicks keeping pace
Tight race among weak teams
By Ken Berger
Newsday
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NEW YORK - Eddy Curry dressed quickly and looked forward to a trip home to Chicago for the holiday. David Lee, off to St. Louis, did the same.
At one point, Isiah Thomas popped his head into the locker room to let the guys know to call him when they reached their destinations.
The New York Knicks, 12-18 after 30 games of Thomas' first season as coach, haven't reached their destination yet. Far from it. But with an Atlantic Division filled with flawed, injured teams, mediocre teams, they are as close as anyone.
Three games ahead of last year's pace, it is safe to say the Knicks survived the first wave of what many feared would be another lost season. On most nights, they're not only competitive but watchable. They have problems, Isiah Lord Thomas III knows, but so does everyone else in the Atlantic, which is the Dead Sea of the NBA.
"I think we're really starting to find ourselves as a basketball team," Lee said after the Knicks ran out of gas and collapsed with a 98-77 loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia on Saturday night, capping a memorable week in which the Knicks won three games in a row - one in overtime and one in double overtime. "We've been talking all year about how the team in our division that finds itself first ... is the team that has a chance to win this division. I think we took some major steps toward that this week."
At a time when the Knicks went 3-1 with either eight or nine players available because of injuries and suspensions related to the Dec. 16 brawl with Denver, the rest of the division proceeded to fall apart around them.
The 76ers, who might be 86'ing the season to get Ohio State center Greg Oden, traded star guard Allen Iverson to Denver. Boston is without sharpshooter Paul Pierce, Toronto is without Chris Bosh and the Nets lost center Nenad Krstic to a season-ending knee injury. "It appears that everybody in this division has been pretty beat up," Thomas said.
Because of Jared Jeffries' wrist injury to start the season and his just-completed four-game suspension, as well as injuries to small forward Quentin Richardson and guard Steve Francis, the Knicks haven't had their originally intended starting lineup once all season.
"I don't see any reason why we can't win this division," Lee said.
The good to this point? The Knicks survived the transition from being a guard-driven team to one focused intently on pounding the ball inside to Curry, who is becoming a force with 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. They are first in the NBA in rebounding average (44.9 per game) and third in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 4.76 per game. Lee leads the team with a 10.3 average.
The bad? While Stephon Marbury has accepted a diminished offensive role without making a big deal of it, he remains one of the most statistically ineffective point guards in the league.
Tight race among weak teams
By Ken Berger
Newsday
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertise Here
Ads by Google
Knicks
Get Your NY Knicks Tickets From The Official Knicks Site - Buy Now!
<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.NYKnicks.com">http://www.NYKnicks.com</a><!-- w -->
Free Marbury Jersey
NY Knicks Stephon Marbury Jersey. Complete Our Survey & Get It Free!
Ohio Attorney at Law
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<!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.AnneKHoward.com/">http://www.AnneKHoward.com/</a><!-- w -->
NEW YORK - Eddy Curry dressed quickly and looked forward to a trip home to Chicago for the holiday. David Lee, off to St. Louis, did the same.
At one point, Isiah Thomas popped his head into the locker room to let the guys know to call him when they reached their destinations.
The New York Knicks, 12-18 after 30 games of Thomas' first season as coach, haven't reached their destination yet. Far from it. But with an Atlantic Division filled with flawed, injured teams, mediocre teams, they are as close as anyone.
Three games ahead of last year's pace, it is safe to say the Knicks survived the first wave of what many feared would be another lost season. On most nights, they're not only competitive but watchable. They have problems, Isiah Lord Thomas III knows, but so does everyone else in the Atlantic, which is the Dead Sea of the NBA.
"I think we're really starting to find ourselves as a basketball team," Lee said after the Knicks ran out of gas and collapsed with a 98-77 loss to the 76ers in Philadelphia on Saturday night, capping a memorable week in which the Knicks won three games in a row - one in overtime and one in double overtime. "We've been talking all year about how the team in our division that finds itself first ... is the team that has a chance to win this division. I think we took some major steps toward that this week."
At a time when the Knicks went 3-1 with either eight or nine players available because of injuries and suspensions related to the Dec. 16 brawl with Denver, the rest of the division proceeded to fall apart around them.
The 76ers, who might be 86'ing the season to get Ohio State center Greg Oden, traded star guard Allen Iverson to Denver. Boston is without sharpshooter Paul Pierce, Toronto is without Chris Bosh and the Nets lost center Nenad Krstic to a season-ending knee injury. "It appears that everybody in this division has been pretty beat up," Thomas said.
Because of Jared Jeffries' wrist injury to start the season and his just-completed four-game suspension, as well as injuries to small forward Quentin Richardson and guard Steve Francis, the Knicks haven't had their originally intended starting lineup once all season.
"I don't see any reason why we can't win this division," Lee said.
The good to this point? The Knicks survived the transition from being a guard-driven team to one focused intently on pounding the ball inside to Curry, who is becoming a force with 17.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. They are first in the NBA in rebounding average (44.9 per game) and third in rebounding margin, outrebounding their opponents by an average of 4.76 per game. Lee leads the team with a 10.3 average.
The bad? While Stephon Marbury has accepted a diminished offensive role without making a big deal of it, he remains one of the most statistically ineffective point guards in the league.