Summerball, Vegas Style

Don’t blink. Much.

We’re not talking Phoenix Suns-of-the-East, not yet anyway. But the first glimpses of a revamped offensive game plan under Isiah Thomas will be on display starting on Friday.

“Get it up the floor, get into your offense without wasting seconds on the clock,” says assistant coach Mark Aguirre, who’ll pilot the Knicks’ squad in Vegas. “That way, you’re never able to set your defense. We don’t want people to be able to set their defense on us. Even though we’ll be in a very structured situation, you won’t be able to come down and say `Okay, they’re getting ready to run this. . .’ We don’t want that.”

With the Knicks’ entire five-game Summer League slate scheduled to be shown on MSG Network, Aguirre pointed out what viewers back home could look forward to. . . a new philosophy, Isiah-style.

“They’ll see a lot more movement, they’ll see the floor being spread,” Aguirre says.

“To the trained eye, you’ll see where we’ll get people into situations where the help (defense) has to commit and not be able to guard two people; meaning that you won’t be able to help and (then) get back to your man. We’re going to keep it open so that if you help, we’re going to teach them how to make people pay for helping on defense.”

This year’s Summer League squad will once again feature the Knicks’ dynamic young trio of Channing Frye, Nate Robinson and David Lee, but the scenario surrounding those three is far different this time around.

Last summer, all three got their professional baptism in Vegas, their roles uncertain, their status a question mark. This summer, all three are established pros. . . Frye is coming off his standout All-Rookie First Team season, Robinson earned nationwide acclaim as the Knicks’ sparkplug and Slam Dunk champion, and Lee’s all-around toughness and effort earned him quality minutes throughout the campaign’s second half.

Their status is no longer uncertain, but now their Vegas learning experience takes on another dimension.

“There are a couple of things that have to happen,” explains Aguirre. “I want Nate, David and Channing all to kind of get acclimated and be heads-up on what we’re going to expect of them inside of Isiah’s philosophy offensively and defensively. That’ll be the thing that’ll be totally different than last year. Now, Isiah has a few different rules that they have to abide by and be able to execute on the floor.

“I expect that kind of veteran leadership, being that they’ve been here before. Let’s run the offense, don’t get excited, (no) rookie mistakes. I want to see less rookie mistakes and knowing when to be calm inside the offense. Knowing how to take a play from the chalkboard onto the floor. Not only them executing, but making sure everybody (else) is doing what they should do. I’m expecting that from them.”

Frye, of course, will be seeing his first on-court action since a knee injury ended his headline-making season prematurely on March 21, so he’ll use Summer League as a springboard to getting back into game shape.

Nate Robinson NBAE/Getty Images

“Physically, he’s fine,” says Aguirre of Frye. “Now, because of the injury he had, his conditioning isn’t like it would (normally) be at this time. Right now, he’s running real hard, starting to get back into condition. I expect Channing to be fine. I’ll have to watch his minutes and make sure he doesn’t get too tired out there.”

Also on display in Las Vegas will be the Knicks’ two first-round draft picks: Renaldo Balkman, the defensive-minded forward who was the surprise pick at no. 20 out of South Carolina, and Temple guard Mardy Collins, who was tabbed no. 29. Ime Udoka, the well-traveled swingman who was called up from the D-League in April amid a wave of Knicks injuries, will be on hand as well.

After the first days of practice in Las Vegas, Balkman and Collins had already made an impression.

“He’s shown me exactly what we’ve expected,” says Aguirre of the 6-foot-8 Balkman. “He’s a guy that plays hard, has a lot of energy, enjoys playing defense. His basic IQ for the game is really great. He knows where to move and how to move. His skills are great. He can handle the ball, he can get to the basket and he’s a great finisher.”

Of Collins, who averaged 15.4 points in four years at Temple, Aguirre says, “He’s a very settled player, totally fundamentally sound. In our day and age, fundamentals and a kid understanding what to do on a basketball court is a big thing right now, because you have to teach so much to get these kids to understand how to play basketball. (Sometimes) they’re just athletes and not basketball players. This kid is a basketball player. He understands how to play.”

VEGAS TIPOFF: The Knicks’ five-game slate in the Toshiba Vegas Summer League begins on Friday night against Cleveland. . . It’ll continue on Saturday night (July 8) against Phoenix, Monday night (July 10) against Sacramento, Tuesday night (July 11) against Detroit and Thursday afternoon (July 13) against Washington. . . All games will be played at UNLV’s Cox Pavilion, which is adjacent to the Thomas and Mack Center, site of the 2007 NBA All-Star Game. . . All five games will be carried live on MSG Network.