The difference between being a serious playoff contender and being 11 games under .500 is three possessions. Head coaches always stress how small the margin between winning and losing is in the NBA and no team knows that better than the Knicks.

So many of their games this season have come down to making or missing one shot. Take away Jamal Crawford’s three-pointer against Denver in November, Stephon Marbury’s last second lay-up against Utah and Channing Frye’s huge jumper against Detroit on Wednesday and the Knicks' record is 10-21. That unsightly record toys with a player’s confidence and would have Isiah Thomas under pressure to turn the season around immediately.

But maybe this is one of those seasons where things will finally break right for the Knicks. I believe that you create you own luck and the Knicks have put themselves in position to be lucky and good. Take it one step further; Marbury had a chance to give the Knicks the lead against San Antonio in November but he missed a late jumper. The Knicks were one stop away from beating Toronto last month. Give the Knicks those two wins and they are 15-16 and in control of the Atlantic Division.

Last season, the Knicks didn’t catch any breaks, they never embraced Larry Brown and the year was lost. Now, you can see that the players believe they can win.

The Knicks begin a five-game West coast trip in Phoenix on Friday and will have an opportunity to set themselves up for a their most important road trip in six years. The Suns are the best team the Knicks will play this year but Phoenix will be playing its second game in two nights. Playing Dallas on Thursday means more to Phoenix than playing the Knicks. Maybe the Knicks can catch Phoenix with its guard down.

I believe the Knicks will win three games on the trip and even if they take only two they’ll return home a respectable 15-21 which would mean they’d have to go 26-20 to finish .500.

It’s certainly not impossible. Especially when you consider that three seasons ago that the Miami Heat -- pre-Shaquille O’Neal –- recovered from an awful start and reached the second round. Last year, Chicago rallied late and qualified for the postseason as the seventh seed.

The Atlantic is a three-team race with Toronto and fading New Jersey posing the only threat. The one thing Isiah Thomas learned in the aftermath of the brawl is that less is more. Marbury and Crawford should be the starting backcourt and Thomas should find a veteran backup –- an Anthony Johnson type –- who can play either position. The Knicks don’t need Steve Francis and he doesn’t want to be here anyway.

Although the Knicks have thrived since Quentin Richardson went down with a back injury I still believe he can help because of his experience, his outside shooting and his willingness to pound the ball inside to Eddy Curry.

You have to wonder about where Nate Robinson fits in. I’ve never big on undersized guards and I’ve always felt that Earl Boykins is one of the most overrated players in the league. As a 12th man, Nate would give Isiah some insurance in the backcourt. Otherwise I would drop him from the rotation.

Since Isiah seems committed to using David Lee off the bench, Lee should be used to play all front court positions. His rebounding and hustle are the same intangibles that Charles Oakley and Marcus Camby once gave the Knicks.

Lee has been the team’s most important player to date, followed by Eddy Curry, Crawford and Marbury. Not surprisingly, those players have logged the most minutes this season.

Good post. The difference between winning and losing is small most games. I also wonder about Nate although he is one of our 3 best guards so we cant drop him for nothing