GREENBURGH, New York, February 19, 2007 --Make no mistake, the once-dreaded “P-word” has morphed from the not-so-long-ago forbidden expression into topic number one around the Knicks these days. “We’re in the race. We are in a good spot. With 29 games to go, we find ourselves in a position to kind of strike and make a run for it to get into the playoffs,” an energized Coach Isiah Thomas said after Knicks practice at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “And that’s more than okay with us.”

Thomas, who “really missed the guys, being around the team” during the All-Star break, stayed in New York and did “a lot of studying” preparing for the task ahead. His message to the players was “be aggressive and go for your dreams. Don’t sit back and hope somebody is going to give it to you. Go out and try to take it. You’ve come a long way and we all have big dreams. Let’s not be afraid to get them.”

This week would be as good as any -- no, better! -- to step it up to another level and go get them. Over the next four games, the Knicks will play the two teams they need to leap over in order to make the playoffs in the Magic and the Nets. The other two opponents -- the Sixers and the Bucks -- are below the Knicks in the Eastern Conference standings.

Obviously, there couldn’t possibly come a better time for the Knicks to gain some consistency and get on a winning streak.

Still, in spite of the team’s immense improvement and some huge victories, the ability to come up big game after game has not been in evidence -- yet. “The biggest thing for us is rebounding the basketball, low turnovers, and getting to the foul line,” said Thomas. “If we can do those three things every single game, I like our chances. If we take care of the basketball and get good shots, we have enough shot makers on the team. When we get to the foul line, we’ve been doing an excellent job converting from there right now. And our rebounding has been good all season long.”

Whatever it will take to lift the team to the next plateau, Thomas is not planning lineup changes as one of the instruments of improvement at this point. “Jerome (James) will continue to start,” he stated flatly. As far as Rookie All Star Game MVP David Lee, “I was very happy for him and for us -- he represented the Knicks organization well,” said Thomas. “But I don’t see us making any changes in his role. He seems to be thriving in the role that he’s in. He’s been recognized for that role and he’s had great success. If you get an ‘A’ on the test, you might as well continue to get the ‘A’.“

Lee fulfilled a myriad of commitments during All-Star weekend, some actually added at the last minute because he won the MVP. Is that any way for your all-important “energy guy” to enter the most essential stretch of the season? “He WAS a little winded today,” said Thomas. “But once he feels the adrenaline, hears the fans cheering for him, I’m sure he’ll be himself. The fans have a way of lifting him up. He’ll be fine.”

Getting to the playoffs would be awesome, but…Thomas actually feels that, should the Knicks make it to the postseason party, they have the type of roster that could cause some real havoc once there. “I think we have the right kind of makeup for a playoff team,” he said. “We do have an inside attack, we get to the foul line, and we rebound the basketball. And we have guards who are capable of scoring 20-plus points, who are good one-on-one players when the opponent stops your original first play. So if we get in, yes, I like our chances.”