Knicks Looking to D-Up

GREENBURGH, NY, December 26, 2006 -- Much like the Man-genius Guys, the Knicks are not exactly big on mentioning the “P-word” at this point. “You want to be in this position in April,” Coach Isiah Thomas said, relaxing against the gym wall at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “You want to be close and hanging around -- you know, one game out, or one game up. Our goal was to get out of November and December without being knocked out. Then if we can survive the All Star break, we can play meaningful games in March and April.”

“That’s when you start looking at ‘every game counts,’” added Thomas. “Of course, it counts now. But the problem with a young team such as ours is that that realization only comes with experience. We are a team right now where we don’t understand the importance of home court, the importance of playoff positioning. You just kind got some young guys who are trying to make their way through the league.”

Still, long or short term, the Knicks take much satisfaction out of last week’s extremely shorthanded, and therefore even more stunning, 3-1 record. “I think the most dramatic improvement for us right now has come on the defensive end,” said Thomas. “In our commitment to guarding the ball and defending. The games we won last week, Utah shot 37 per cent against us from the field, Charlotte 42, Chicago 41. Then in the game we lost, Philly shot 46 per cent. So our defensive intensity has picked up dramatically.”

“With all our small-s out, we were able to play bigger,” said Thomas. “We found out we’re not as good offensively but we are darned good defensively playing like that.”

In order to keep the “D” up -- always the big question -- “it helps that Jared Jeffries coming back gives us another defender,” according to Thomas. “So our defensive intensity SHOULD stay the same. And our rebounding should get even a little better. For the most part, we have been limiting teams to just one shot.”

The ultimate moral of last week’s story is that if and when the Knicks will ever have a full complement of players “the best defensive players will play,” stressed the Knicks coach.

“For instance, if we can get Jeffries, [Quentin] Richardson, and Renaldo Balkman on the court at one time -- or even in the gym at the same time -- it would be intriguing to see how they play on the floor together.”

Surging David Lee, now 8th in the NBA in rebounding, “will keep on getting minutes, whether as a starter or a reserve,” added Thomas. ”Big minutes or even bigger minutes, depending on the night.”

Coming off of a brief break and coming up on the merciless upcoming schedule -- Detroit then a long five-game West Coast trip -- today’s practice “was like a little mini-camp,” said Thomas. “I wish I could have had a couple of more days before we go out West.” At least re-focusing won’t be a problem. “Detroit does that for us tomorrow,” smiled Thomas. “They are the measuring stick for everyone in the East. To try to get a win against them tomorrow would be difficult. But to get a win against them would be a huge confidence builder.”

“Thus, even though the day after Christmas or holidays is always a tough practice, the guys worked really hard -- even if we didn’t work really smart.”

An unwelcome consequence of the shorthanded week (and the long minutes on the floor) could be that Stephon Marbury “will probably be sore for awhile,” said Thomas. “But he’s been really good about playing when he didn’t have both legs under him. You can tell, some nights he’s explosive and got it going. Then some nights he can just barely move.”

“But today he looked fresh and he looked sharp. Rest definitely helps. He’s not one to complain but you can tell when he’s moving well or moving kind of half speed.”

Jeffries’ length and speed should be a factor in covering Tayshaun Prince tomorrow. “He had 31 against us last time,” said Thomas of the hard-fought 108-100 road loss without Jeffries. ”Hit a couple of huge three-s. If we held him to 25, win the game.”

“Defense is all effort and communication,” said Jeffries who admitted to being somewhere north of antsy about coming back. “If you work hard, you can play good defense. My thing is doing the small things. So I’m really looking forward getting back into a rhythm fast and contributing right away.”

“With Washington, I actually covered Chauncey (Billups) more than Tayshaun,” said Jeffries. “Either way, that team is a great challenge. We have to start to play better, and win games, at home. And we’ve got to get on runs when we win three out of four, four out of six, or six out of eight, get closer to .500 and take it from there.”