Knicks on a Roll

The Knicks are playing great basketball right now. A lot of people were saying that it was Nate Robinson’s absence from the team that had spurred their early December winning streak. Of course, Robinson pretty much nipped that notion in the bud with a 41-point outing that gave the Knicks an overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks after the Knicks were down 14 points in the 4th quarter.

With the Knicks on a roll, we have discussed the many reasons contributing to the Knicks success. There’s Al Harrington’s scoring. David Lee’s double-doubles. Jared Jeffries' defense. And let us not forget the outside shot of Danilo Gallinari.

As a result of all of that, the Knicks have a record of 11-6 since the start of December, are 2-0 in January, and are fresh off a game in which they nearly set a franchise record for the beating they put on the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night.

Still, the Knicks have a long way to go before we can consider them a playoff team. Here are 3 places where the team can seek immediate improvement.

Better rebounding as a whole. The Knicks managed to comeback against the Hawks the other night despite giving up a ton of offensive rebounds down the stretch. Typically, the Knicks don’t give up a lot of offensive boards, but they took David Lee out in light of a lineup that worked really well together on the offensive end. I can certainly see the Knicks being in a similar position several times throughout the rest of the season. After all, David Lee isn’t much more than a 1-trick pony on the offensive side of the ball. If he’s matched up against a Tim Duncan or a Dwight Howard, his presence on the offensive end would be meaningless. But if the Knicks are going to go stretches without David Lee on offense that means they have to go stretches without him on defense. That’s going to open the boards up if somebody else doesn’t come in and clean up the glass. Danillo and Harrington try their best, but their not big guys. The only option on the bench is Eddy Curry, but he’s a liability in numerous ways—most notably on the very rebounds we’re talking about. Quite frankly, I don’t know what the Knicks can do to fix this problem, but they have to figure out, otherwise Lee has to play 45 minutes a game.

Deepen the rotation. This team isn’t going to last long with a short rotation. Now that Mike D’Antoni feels compelled to put Nate Robinson in the game, Larry Hughes isn’t getting any playing time. Personally, I think that’s the best combination of guards for Nate—him and Hughes, because Hughes can guard anyone, allowing Nate to get the more favorable matchup. Not to mention, Hughes could run the point, allowing Robinson to work off the ball, which he’s much better at in comparison to playing point guard. Also, I’d like to see some more of Bender and Eddy Curry. I know Curry isn’t a beast or anything, but having him as a big-body down low may be worth it if he’s good for nothing else.

Al Harrington should start. I’m never going to stop saying this, because it stands to reason that I am correct. Al Harrington needs to be in the starting lineup, and his minutes certainly shouldn’t fluctuate like they have over the past few games. In light of all the great team ball the Knicks are playing right now, some are failing to recognize what Harrington has, is doing, and will continue to be capable of doing when he is in the lineup. I know D’Antoni likes Gallinari, and that’s fine. He can take Jeffries out of the lineup for all I care, because Harrington doesn’t do well when Jeffries is in the game anyway. A starting lineup of Harrington, Duhon, Chandler, Lee and Gallinari has a +/- of 15 points and a winning percentage of 7-4. Somebody ought to show the coach these numbers, so these Knicks can turn a good December into a stellar January.

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