The Knicks have been solid for the last two weeks, but it felt at times like they were missing something-- something long, spindly, and defensively competent with questionable hands and perpetually pursed lips. I can't quite put my finger on it. Anyway, Jared Jeffries went on the radio today and, as was surmised earlier, sounded about ready to return from his knee injury. From Ian Begley:

"Im doing great. I plan on playing Sunday," Jeffries said Friday afternoon during an interview with ESPN New York 1050's "Ruocco and Lundberg."

...
He worked out with Knicks assistant Kenny Atkinson on Friday morning and spent 30 minutes on the court, saying afterward that his knee felt 'great.'

Excellent! It'll be great to have Jeffries back against the Bulls. It'll also be interesting to see how his presence changes the rotation. Will the starting lineup return to normal, only with Jeffries in Amar'e's Stoudemire's four spot, or will Mike Woodson stick to his smaller squad with Carmelo Anthony at the four? Will Josh Harrellson continue to get minutes off the bench? Perhaps we'll know more after practice tomorrow. Anyway, welcome back, Jared! Missed u.

Nalod wrote:We love JJ now.

Times are a changing!

It's amazing. I hated when we signed him originally, I hated him the entire time he was on the team under that contract, I was ecstatic when we were finally able to dump him on Houston, I hated him when we brought him back last year, all of a sudden he's turned it around this year and I appreciate him. I never saw that coming.

smackeddog wrote:Great to have him back. What I will never understand is why, after enduring all the drama of the IT years, playing poorly throughout his first contract and being universally despised and abused by Knick fans, why after all of that he still wanted to come back. Was it the city or D'Antoni?

Whatever the reason he's a great teammate and locker room guy, and a great defender. Hope he shakes off the rust quickly and his knee holds up the rest of the season- we need him.

I think it was MDA. D'Antoni went out of his way to defend him against all the fans and media who bashed him.

ramtour420 wrote:

VCoug wrote:

Nalod wrote:We love JJ now.

Times are a changing!

It's amazing. I hated when we signed him originally, I hated him the entire time he was on the team under that contract, I was ecstatic when we were finally able to dump him on Houston, I hated him when we brought him back last year, all of a sudden he's turned it around this year and I appreciate him. I never saw that coming.

Same here ,used to hate his guts but now I like him so much that I am trying to develop my game to be like him

I used to hate him when he would routinely miss layups and was our only serviceable big man, now we have options and he plays his role to perfection. I always liked his defense though.

Comment From Tina Chiu
How do you think Jared's performance last game? And how's Chandler's elbow? it seems not good...

Alan Hahn: Jared provided his usual defensive effort in controlled minutes off the bench. He's going to gut it out these last few games and fans should know that he's playing on a knee that will need surgery in the offseason. The back-to-back may be tough for him, but we'll see. All I know is the Knicks are 19-15 when he plays. Chandler said his elbow is fine. He didn't show any problems for the rest of the game. The wrist is still an issue, however, but he's dealing with it.

Definitely have to appreciate the job Jared has done this year, and continues to do. Hopefully he doesn't worsen that knee over the final stretch of the season and into the playoffs. Let Jorts play a role and keep JJ's minutes down.