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Points no problem; defense improving

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BY GREG LOGAN
STAFF WRITER

December 31, 2004


A little more than one-third through the 2004-05 season, the Knicks are beginning to come into focus. All the changes made in the past year by team president Isiah Thomas have transformed them from a team that struggled to get easy baskets into one that can score with anyone.

Thomas has stockpiled as much talent as he could in a short time, and he now has a roster with six double-figure scorers topped by point guard Stephon Marbury, who is developing dramatically as a leader. The bench is deep and also packs a solid scoring punch.

Now it's a matter of figuring out how to play, and the current three-game winning streak that has pushed the Knicks (16-13) three games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2000-01 season shows they are headed in the right direction. As coach Lenny Wilkens said after the Knicks' 100-87 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night at the Garden, "We're not there yet, but we're taking giant steps."

For most of the season, the Knicks have played defense only in sporadic bursts, but in holding the Timberwolves to 40.2-percent shooting, the Knicks showed they are capable of defending a good team.

With time to get to know each other now that the pace of change has slowed, forward Tim Thomas said the Knicks are learning to play together. "It's just a matter of time," he said. "We're just starting to understand each other. We're concentrating on the defensive end and letting the offense come for us. We have too many guys here that know how to score ... Scoring is not a problem. It's just worrying about defense."

At the moment, the Knicks' top scorers include Marbury (20.2), Jamal Crawford (19.3), surprising center Nazr Mohammed (12.5), forwards Kurt Thomas (11.3) and Tim Thomas (10.3) and Allan Houston (10.3).

Houston admitted to feeling a little "anxious" about adjusting to the new mix and finding his shots in the offense. But the Knicks are 3-0 since he replaced the injured Crawford in the starting lineup, suggesting two things.

First, Houston forces fewer shots than Crawford, resulting in fewer empty possessions. Second, Marbury can be more aggressive when he doesn't have to worry about giving Crawford his chance to have the ball in his hands.

Crawford isn't expected back for at least another two weeks, but it wouldn't be surprising if Wilkens decides to use Crawford for an injection of lightning-in-a-bottle offense off the bench while expanding Houston's role.

yeah the key is for them to put up that kind of effort on defense every game and I think they will since Lenny is utilizing his bench and hopefully the starters keep up the D