The Knicks Fix

"I love the game of basketball. It's in my blood. I love to play. You never know how much you miss stuff until you are gone. Being gone for 10 games, I missed it a lot. I am back home playing. I am comfortable and I am happy." -- Nate Robinson

Yes, that Nate Robinson.

It was hard to recognize The Spontaneous One Wednesday night against the Sixers in his return from the 10-game suspension. He had a very, very low-key game with only three shot attempts (none from downtown), two uncharacteristic misses from the free-throw line, two assists, a steal and a turnover in 12:45 of playing time.

No doubt N8 the GR8 made an effort to show control as he made his way back to the lineup after his explosive demise on Dec. 16, when his unbridled emotions got the best of him and he started shoving J.R. Smith, which turned what appeared to be some pushing and shoving into an ugly melee at the Garden. Isiah Thomas has counseled the second-year guard and so have his teammates. He has vowed to keep himself in check.

However, that brings us back to what we've said before: what makes him an @$&*#% is what makes him good. There has to be a way to draw out the energy that roars within his 5-8 body without having it turn into the ugly green monster. Pass the Ritalin, perhaps.

The feeling is here it's probably best to keep it to small doses -- playing time, not the Ritalin -- and continue to give big minutes to Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford in the backcourt. Robinson will make a few shots here and there and will always get the crowd buzzing just from being on the court (he received a warm welcome when he entered the game in the second quarter). But less might be more with him at this point of the season.

The Knicks have won six of 10 since the brawl without him, so there's no reason to believe he needs to go back to playing significant minutes.

But there is some irony to Robinson's situation. Even if he doesn't play much at all the rest of the way, he could be, in a peculiar way, credited for the Knicks turnaround this season. That brawl, which he arguably escalated, has seemed to galvanize the team.

"I think we've definitely been a different team," Eddy Curry said. "It brought us together a little bit. Sometimes a little adversity helps."

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Chris Webber can still play the game -- and, apparently, he can make a pretty good bowl of chili, which I got to enjoy at his restaurant in Sacramento last week -- but at this point in his career he is not the right fit for the Knicks. As much as I've been critical (fairly, I believe) of Channing Frye's game (he has improved his rebounding), I don't think it's the right move to bring in a veteran and put more of a squeeze on the rotation. The Knicks aren't going to win an NBA championship this season; they might not even make the playoffs. But they can have success this year if their young players, from Curry to Frye to David Lee, con continue to develop and emerge as quality players you can build a franchise with.

(Ruler slap for ending a sentence with a preposition....it's a blog, there are no rules for blogs!....My editing mentor, Double-G, will be most disappointed in me. But saying "quality players with which you can build a franchise" just doesn't sound natural. And I'm going with the blog defense.)

Of course I can say this with confidence because of how openly Isiah spoke about his interest in C-Webb, who is more likely to sign with a true contender. If Thomas knew he had a shot at him, do you think he would have been so forthcoming?

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Maybe it was my hockey roots coming to the surface, but I thought Marbury landed a good, clean body check on Andre Iguodala in the third quarter, when on a fast break he took out the Sixers guard so Quentin Richardson could get an uncontested dunk. Brendan Shanahan of the Rangers must have agreed with me, too. He was seated at the baseline and looked curiously at the referee when the call was made. Totally a dive by Iguodala, right Shanny? Right, Hahnsie. If anything, there should have been minor penalties handed out to both players and have the teams play four-on-four.

No doubt, Shanny. By the way, you can't beat the Islanders.

Go away, Hahnsie. Don't you have an NBA game to cover? Go back to being outraged about that weak little fight they had here last month, you hypocrite.

Moving on:
There aren't many NBA players I could see playing hockey, but if I had to build a team:

Goal: Dikembe Mutombo -- OK, huge 5-hole. But the guy loves swatting shots. And how cool would it be to see him take off his blocker just to wag his finger at Sidney Crosby?
Defense: Ben Wallace and Danny Forstson -- Just try to get to the net against these two
Left wing: Andreas Nocioni -- Now this guy plays with a hockey mentality
Right wing: Dwyane Wade -- Slick sniper who isn't afraid to take a beating to score
Center: Steve Nash -- great passer, sees the floor, er, ice and he's Canadian!

Reserves: Quentin Richardson (hockey tough), Ron Artest (crazy enough to try it on skates) and Bruce Bowen (love to see him try to stick his skate under another player on a shot attempt).

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An alternate perspective:

Some have said Isiah Thomas has destroyed a great franchise. But, really, he’s no Kevin Federline. That dude brought down an empire right in the midst of it’s prime and probably has walked away with more money than Isiah will get when he is eventually kicked to the curb.