THESE KNICKS DON'T WANT TO FACE THE BEST

By JAY GREENBERG

January 31, 2007 -- LATE word from the governor denied The Garden its yearly fix of Kobe Bryant. But was Isiah Thomas, who had sounded utterly condemned on Monday ("we'll try to do some things but I'm sure none of them will really work"), complaining?

"You hate to see anyone suspended, but I don't want to face [Bryant], Shaq or Vince Carter or any of the best players because I know what they are capable of," said Thomas. "The less we have to play against them, the better we are."

The fans, who according to the Knicks boss can catch Kobe "on TV or in video games or next time" could eat cake. The weaker the opposition, obviously the easier it is was for a 20-27 team to squeak past a better one, 99-94, in a generally lackluster game before a let-down house. With any extended Knicks luck, Derek Anderson, who burned them for 29 at The Garden on Jan. 12, will not be available for the Bobcats tonight in Charlotte, nor will Dwight Howard be available Saturday in Orlando. If Thomas's team just improves its free-throw shooting, who knows, Rip Hamilton and Dirk Nowitzki might be hurt when the Knicks are playing into June.

That's one way to win, the best way for these Knicks. Their limited means for getting big stops and Thomas's limited interest in getting players who make them should halt Jim Dolan from wasting another year of Knicks fans' time in the belief this young nucleus will grow into a contender.

The Knicks are younger and easier on the eyes - the eyes Thomas has told us don't really know what they're watching. But a coach-GM who will insist that missed free throws were the only difference after his team gave up 107 points to a Milwaukee team averaging 100, who says he wouldn't do a thing differently since taking over the Knicks (not even Vin Baker?), almost never admits defense is a problem.

Of course 102.5 points per game allowed, 23rd worst in the NBA, is a problem. In last night's final minute, Vladimir Radmanovic was 20 feet by his lonesome in nailing a corner 3-pointer to cut the Knicks lead to two, and another open shot by Maurice Evans went halfway down before spinning out.

Eddy Curry is consistently putting up points, but has made no progress under his own basket. The weak defensive play of David Lee, rebounding machine, continues to make him a bench player, even though Jared Jeffries, a prized free-agent stopper who got back into the starting lineup last night only because Quentin Richardson, the Knicks best perimeter defender, couldn't play with an elbow problem, hadn't been making enough stops to avoid being benched.

Jeffries, with a final-seconds block of Maurice Evans, had his best game as a Knick last night, but is so offensively-challenged it will be hard to keep him on the floor. Richardson has chronic back problems. Stephon Marbury, playing some of the best defense of his career over the last 21 games, has ongoing knee problems and is about to turn 30, leaving it still arguable at what level he will be playing when this assemblage matures, if it ever does.

Jamal Crawford doesn't defend. Channing Frye shoots jumpers, doesn't do much else. Nate Robinson is too small to guard anybody. So how much better are the Knicks going to get since the emergence of Curry and revival of Marbury still hasn't exactly made then an offensive Phoenix of the East?

As the Knicks grow, so will the realization they are building with players who only can take them so far. That's probably good enough for Dolan, only the latest owner of a Garden that, as evidenced by only three championships between two teams since 1940, has always prioritized the next playoff gate over the next championship. Defense wins those, but there is little indication the guy who probably has won himself more time to run the Knicks prioritizes that way.

jay.greenberg@nypost.com