Commentary

Report Card: These 'Bockers ain't bad

For the first time in a very long time, the Knicks are earning some high marks

Updated: December 7, 2010, 3:31 AM ET

By Chris Sheridan | ESPNNewYork.com

NEW YORK -- We hereby present you with four simple words that haven't been written or spoken in many, many years:

The Knicks are good.

No. 1 in the NBA in road wins, blocked shots and made 3-pointers. No. 3 leaguewide in points scored. One more win and one fewer loss away from being tied with the Miami Heat for the No. 3 spot in the entire Eastern Conference.

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If you are one of the many folks in New York who have been losing sleep and failing to keep track of the rest of the sports world for the past several weeks as the protracted Derek Jeter negotiations played out, we have a news bulletin for you:

The 'Bockers, as the team has occasionally taken to calling itself, are back.

Sunday's victory in Toronto made it nine wins in the past 10 games for the Knicks, who less than three weeks ago seemed headed for Year 10 of their consistent irrelevancy streak. Instead, they are entering a week featuring four very winnable games (Minnesota, Toronto, Washington, Denver) before the schedule gets extra tough to close the month of December, with seven of the final eight opponents likely playoff teams.

At 12-9, 21 games are in the books.

That's approximately one-fourth of the season, which means it is report card time.

Knicks' report card

		Mike D'Antoni, coach The six-game losing streak that preceded this current string of success included a couple of games in which the lack of fourth-quarter execution was the Knicks' undoing, and he didn't have them ready -- or even fully awake -- for their matinee loss to Atlanta two Saturdays ago that is the only thing keeping them from being on a 10-game win streak. But he has not been shy to tinker, he has found a new hot hand and his patience with Raymond Felton when he could have prematurely handed the point guard keys to Toney Douglas has paid off big time. Has handled his critics with dignity, preaching patience.
		Donnie Walsh, team president He is the man who will get the credit for drafting Landry Fields, though he freely admits it was a democratic process in the Knicks' draft room last June, and Fields was No. 2 on the scouting staff's list when the first round ended. He gambled a five-year guaranteed contract on Amar'e Stoudemire to keep from getting shut out on the max free-agent market, and he made sure the Garden gave a classy homecoming greeting to David Lee when the Golden State Warriors were in town. The trick now for Walsh will be deciding whether it is worth it to wait out Carmelo Anthony in the hopes he becomes a free agent, or to give up whatever it takes to acquire Melo at the deadline. As he has said, he doesn't want to gut the roster again.
		Amare Stoudemire, PF His past three games have produced point totals of 34, 35 and 37, and he has provided the low-post scoring presence that has been missing since Patrick Ewing took his talents to Seattle in the trade that doomed the franchise to a decade of dysfunction. Most importantly, Stoudemire and his teammates have adjusted to the collapsing defenses that so flummoxed them in the early part of the season. And in the locker room, he and Felton have provided genuine veteran leadership. A few more rebounds and a few less turnovers, and that A- becomes an A.
		Landry Fields, G The 39th pick of the draft leads all NBA guards in rebounding -- not just the rookies, but every single guard in the league -- and has more or less turned the Rookie of the Year discussion into a two-man debate between himself and Blake Griffin. Rarely will he ever make a mistake (he has just 29 turnovers in 647 minutes), he is unafraid to take whatever open shots present themselves and he plays with the savvy of a veteran. Guess there's something to be said for spending four years at Stanford.
		Raymond Felton, PG He couldn't run a successful pick-and-roll with Stoudemire when the season started if his life depended on it, but you can now see the chemistry between the two getting better each game -- just as you can see Felton's offensive confidence blossoming now that he is free from the worry that Larry Brown is going to yell at him for not making sure the ball was passed three times on every possession. He is the steadiest point guard the Knicks have had since Charlie Ward, but he has three times the offensive talents that Ward possessed.
		Wilson Chandler, SF He didn't moan and groan when he began the season as the team's sixth man, but rather flourished in the role until injuries at the center position forced D'Antoni to move him into the starting lineup, playing out of position at power forward. He has produced 38 blocks and 35 3-pointers, combining with Fields to give the Knicks not one, but two glue guys whose night-to-night contributions don't always make headlines but certainly add up in the statistical totals. The Portland Trail Blazers could have had him over the summer and are kicking themselves for missing out on the opportunity to get him.
		Toney Douglas, G He was supposed to be used strictly as a backup point guard, but he has spent time at off-guard, too, and has run hot and cold as an outside shooting threat. Defensively he has been solid, but he has been slumping lately on offense (4-for-15 on 3s in the past five games after going 18-for-35 in the previous four), or the grade would be better. Stands to lose a chunk of playing time when Kelenna Azubuike (knee surgery) is ready to go in the next week or so, but will be better than most backup PGs he faces.
		Danilo Gallinari, F For two years, he has been sold as the face of the franchise because he was one of the few young players the Knicks knew they'd be keeping through all the changes they made to clear cap space for last summer. But he has shown a disturbing lack of confidence this season, especially at home, with two bad or mediocre games for each good one he has produced. His rebounding has been better, though, and he has been at his best when attacking the basket and drawing fouls. Ranks third in the NBA in free throw percentage (91.4).
		Ronny Turiaf, C When available, has brought a unique toughness quotient that hopefully is rubbing off on Timofey Mozgov, but has been banged up to such a degree that he almost merits a grade of incomplete, suffering from back, finger and knee injuries. More important to this team's playoff prospects than many people realize (and yes, we're going ahead and calling the Knicks a playoff team given the relative weakness of the East).
		Timofey Mozgov, C We're being generous with this grade because there have been extenuating circumstances. Most significantly, the referees have picked on him more than any other NBA rookie with the types of ticky-tack fouls they've called on him. Second, he rebounds worse than Brook Lopez. Third, he has hands of stone when the ball comes to him on pick-and-rolls. He does, however, have serious upside and is a popular player in the locker room.
	Incomplete	Shawne Williams, SF Until a few days ago, his most momentous Knicks moment was getting into a fight with teammate Bill Walker at practice in Oakland. But D'Antoni finally called his number over the weekend on the road against New Orleans and Toronto, and he was clutch down the stretch against the Raptors with 14 fourth-quarter points. Safe to assume he now owns the minutes that formerly belonged to Walker.
		Bill Walker, SG He is all the Knicks have left to show for Nate Robinson, and his stock was high at the beginning of camp after he shed weight in the offseason. But he has not brought the injection of instant offense that is needed from bench players in D'Antoni's system, and he could be looking at a long string of DNPs now that Williams is surging and Azubuike is on the verge of his Knicks debut.
		Anthony Randolph, PF Is stuck in a backup role behind Stoudemire at the power forward spot, and has often tried to do too much in his limited minutes -- especially when it comes to shot selection. Not quite what D'Antoni touted in training camp when he said (perhaps in an effort to boost Randolph's trade value) that Randolph would be defending everyone from Dwight Howard to Rajon Rondo.
		Roger Mason, PF When you have a 3-point shooting specialist who has made a grand total of zero 3-pointers while shooting 1-for-13 overall from the field this season, what other grade is he worthy of? The Knicks would trade him for an extra big body in a heartbeat if they could find a deal.
	Incomplete	Andy Rautins, G Got some face time on Sunday's broadcast only because his dad, Leo, was calling the game for Raptors TV. Has as many points (3) as turnovers in 10 total minutes over two games. If the Knicks can pull off a blowout victory or two at MSG, he can become the Knicks' Human Victory Cigar. And the cigars from Canada are better than the ones in the States.
	Incomplete	Kelenna Azubuike, SF Could return this week or next week after recovering from surgery for a torn patella tendon. Has a career 3-point average of 41 percent, which is two points higher than Gallinari's career percentage. A sleeper asset.