The Knicks Fix

The Knicks hit the quarterpole of the season tonight against the Wizards at the Garden and should they win it would mean they would have the most victories (8) of anyone in the Atlantic Division. That’s the carrot Isiah Thomas dangled to his players this morning at the shoot-around. The asterisk is that the Knicks (7-13) have played more games than anyone else in the division, so their winning percentage would still rank them third behind the underachieving Nets (7-10) and the right-where-they-should-be Toronto Raptors (7-10).

Still, no one is running away with this garbage division. And until the Nets finally pull away as expected, the Knicks can dream. And Isiah can dream. Right now he can say the Knicks, coming out of a challenging first month, are in contention for the division lead. Never mind they carry a .350 winning percentage into tonight’s game and no better than a .381 if they win; don’t let the facts get in the way of a good alibi.

Thomas has done well in getting the team through the first quarter of the season with minimal damage. But is he a good enough coach to elevate them in the next quarter? Six games under .500 is one thing in early December. It’s more troubling when it’s January. You definitely can’t be that deep in a hole after the New Year, let alone any deeper.

Thomas himself said he was aware of the Knicks recent penchant for going into December swan dives. Along with his well-timed we’re-gonna-stop-losing-at-home speech (it’s easy to bring the fire and brimstone when the injury-plagued Grizzlies are in town), Thomas made a point to say he’s not going to allow the December swoon.

In my head I was doing Axel Foley: “We’re not falling for the banana-in-the-tailpipe.”

Truth is, however, if Isiah gets them through December and they’re still in shouting distance of the Nets – at least in the standings – than he at least saved his job for the season.

So Knicks fans, what do you root for?

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Can we just let Jared Jeffries play a game before we start wondering what his presence will do to the lineup? It gets kind of crazy sometimes in the media scrum, when one simple comment can turn into a brushfire. Thomas said he could use Jeffries at the 3 and move Richardson to the 2. That sparked a frenzy of speculation that Steve Francis or Stephon Marbury could wind up on the bench.

Thomas didn’t need to get contentious about it, as he apparently did after Tuesday’s practice. He’s not wrong to consider using Q and Jared in that scenario.

But can we see what Jeffries can (and more importantly, can’t) do? I’ve seen him shoot, it ain’t pretty (all palm, not enough finger spin). If he’s more than 5 feet from the basket, I would ignore him completely. And if he was under the basket, hack him. Trust me, at least one free throw is hitting glass and only glass. But Jeffries is said to be a good passer (I haven't seen enough yet). A good ball-handler (ditto). We’ve heard enough about his ability to defend and how much he improves the Knicks.

I'm half-expecting to see his jersey next to Frazier, DeBusschere, et al any night now.

All snarky sarcasm aside, if we’re playing the hypothetical game of What Would Alan Do – which Peter Laviolette should have played more often (but then again, how’s it working out for him now?) – I’d use Francis and Q in the backcourt with Jeffries and Lee and Eddy Curry. That’s a pretty solid lineup. And the second group would be a challenge for most opponents’ bench to handle if you consider Marbury (who is becoming a better perimeter defender than most people give credit) and Jamal Crawford off the bench with Channing Frye and Malik Rose coming in for Lee or even Curry. The guys I put on the rotation fringe are Nate Robinson, Renaldo Balkman and Jerome James.

But Nate and Renaldo wouldn’t be completely buried. I’d throw them in on a full-court press. This time of year, players are hitting a mini-wall in their conditioning. Some are also falling into a comfort zone. You want to get the Garden on your side? Drop a full-court trap on a moment’s notice. Give me Mardy Collins and his long arms and speed with the long and quick Jeffries at the top. Get the crowd going crazy for turnovers. Here’s where Robinson could earn some burn using his football background to his advantage. Set him up as a weak-side safety to pick off a long pass. Have Balkman deep with David Lee to rebound and start the break. Shake it up every now and then, especially when you need to get Curry his rests.

Everything works to perfection in my blog. Except for my attempts at humor.

* * *

It was the ultimate power lunch. Two hours on the ice at Bryant Park, skating among the sun-splashed mid-town skyscrapers on a crisp December afternoon loaded with cheerful Christmas music and happy tourists in town for the holidays. It was a living postcard and a great to spend my downtime stuck in Manhattan between the shoot-around and the game. The endorphins had me so idyllic that I found myself humming Tyrone Wells’ “Dream Like New York” song that is so often played at the Garden that it stuck in my head.

Dream like New York
As high as the skyline
Aim for the stars above those city lights
I want to dream like New York
I’m running down Broadway
I got to catch the next train
I’m making my way

You may now proceed to puke.