ESPN.com - Knicks: Minor changes, but not much potential

ESPN.com: NBA

Friday, September 28, 2001
Updated: October 2, 10:52 AM ET
Knicks: Minor changes, but not much potential

By Eric Karabell
ESPN.com

Was this a good summer to be a Knicks fan? Well, if you're a big fan of Clarence Weatherspoon, it was. If you were fond of Glen Rice, it wasn't. If you felt a good point guard had to be acquired, it wasn't. But if you thought Luc Longley was just wasting space, it was. Maybe you see what we're getting at here. The bench has changed, but overall, there weren't major adjustments. Will it be enough?

So as we continue our 2001 Summer Spotlight Series, here's the deal with the Knicks.

The good: As good as Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell can be, the best part of this team is probably underrated coach Jeff Van Gundy, who managed to overcome having too many swingmen and a bare cupboard at point guard and center to win 48 games and earn a home playoff series. How many wins is a coach worth? In this case, quite a few.

Now that Rice has been sent packing, fetching less than what he should be worth in reserves Howard Eisley and Shandon Anderson, nobody can complain about that crowded small forward situation. While Eisley joins a crowded and unappealing situation at the point, Anderson will be an athletic backup on a team that hardly fits his running style. But hey, you wanted Rice outta town, right?

Houston and Sprewell never really lost playing time or effectiveness with Rice around, each having fine seasons worthy of All-Star recognition. They combined for 36.5 points a game and easily led the team in minutes, while Rice often struggled to find his shot and, ultimately, stay healthy. A potential ugly offseason with free agent Houston was avoided when the Knicks paid him like a top 10 player, which he is not, giving him an incredible $100 million for six seasons. While Houston can drain the outside shot as well as most, Sprewell's still the best player on the team because he defends very well, can create his shot and get to the line, none of which Houston does.

Marcus Camby was good again, managing to suit up 63 times and produce solidly at both ends of the court. But he's far too thin and brittle to play center on any regular basis, and the Knicks know it. Still, what other options are there? Longley? Travis Knight? They couldn't have moved Rice for a big man? Bottom line is every team could use a big man like that, and adding the undersized Weatherspoon solves nothing.

	THE FACTS
	2000-01 record: 48-34, third in Atlantic, fourth in East Playoffs: lost in first round Team leaders: Houston 18.7 ppg, Camby 11.5 rpg; Jackson 8.0 apg Team stats (NBA rank): Points, 88.7 (28th); Rebs, 40.2 (25th); FG %, .444 (13th) Current rotation: Camby C; Thomas PF; Sprewell SF; Houston SG; Jackson PG; Eisley 6th man Spot in Summer Power Rankings: No. 15

The bad: Ask Van Gundy about the situations at center and point guard and you might hear him preach that the positions are overrated. Indeed, a team with Charlie Ward and Chris Childs, then Ward and Mark Jackson still managed to do well. Add up the numbers and it's not particularly pretty, but the Knicks don't score all that much, so maybe it doesn't matter. Of course, if Terrell Brandon were manning the point, wouldn't it stand for reason that the Knicks would score more?

Knicks basketball is certainly different than all other kinds. While the glass-is-half-full crowd will point out that no team was better on defense than the Knicks, it should be noted that only the Bulls scored less. What that makes is for boring basketball.

Defensively Camby did a nice job. He joined with bulkier friends Kurt Thomas and Othella Harrington to form the rebounding portion of the frontcourt, such as it was. The Knicks didn't do much boardwork; only four teams were worse at rebounding the ball. Now you can throw Weatherspoon into the mix and the best case you can make is that there's more depth.

Still, despite having three above-average players and up to 10 others who are here mainly to complement them, the Knicks manage to win. They got the home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs and took a 2-1 lead in the series with the Raptors, before losing the final two games. But the way the Knicks were eliminated, with Sprewell and others questioning the team ("I don't know if everybody left it all out on the floor," said Spree), left fans wondering if there would be major offseason changes. There weren't.

The ugly: There's only so long that Van Gundy can be recognized as the fine coach that he is without winning something. It's not really his fault that he's missing some key components. But let's not forget that New Yorkers were ready to run -- trying to run -- Van Gundy outta town before the improbable run to the NBA Finals against the Spurs three seasons ago. That earned the coach another contract. What he needs now is more help or that Finals appearance will be a distant memory.

The future: The key members of the Knicks are signed and still in their relative primes, but past mistakes still hamper the team. Ward, for example, is impossible to trade due to a trade kicker in his $6 million deal. Knight's deal, thanks to Rick Pitino, is embarrassing in relation to what he has proven, and don't even ask about Larry Johnson. He is one wealthy grandmama and he's about as healthy as one.

But based on the philosophy the team plays, stressing defense and rooting for 85-83 nailbiters, the Knicks are a playoff team and if things break the right way, maybe more. Who thought that this No. 8 seed could beat the Heat? What about winning 48 games with some of the lineups they out out there last season?

However, there's little hope that this group will do anything more than overachieve, which means talent wise it has no right winning 50 games. And after a while you wonder if that will be enough for Knicks fans.

So we asked you this question about the Knicks: In improving this team would you tinker with the big three of Houston, Sprewell and Camby, or still attempt to build around it?

Check the file to the right for selected responses.

Eric Karabell is ESPN.com's NBA editor.