SYRACUSE – Latrell Sprewell was in the Knick starting lineup in last night’s 82-68 exhibition loss against the Cavaliers at the Carrier Dome. Get used to it. Spree said before last night’s game that coach Jeff Van Gundy has guaranteed he will begin the regular season as the starting small forward.
So much for that controversy that played out during the lockout season. “I expect it right now,” said Sprewell, who suffered through a shaky preseason debut last night after being suspended for last Tuesday’s opener. “That’s what I’ve been told [by Van Gundy]. I can’t say I have any overwhelming reaction either way. It was good news. I don’t know if I saw it coming, but it happened.”
It was hardly a shining debut for Spree, who shot 5-of-19, had four shots blocked and finished with 10 points. “I was definitely out of sync,” said Sprewell, who blew off the six-day Charleston training camp. “I felt good conditioning-wise. The touch wasn’t there. The whole team has a lot of room for improvement.”
Indeed, last night’s small starting lineup of Charlie Ward, Allan Houston, Spree, Marcus Camby and Kurt Thomas was awful against the Knicks’ opening-night opponent. The unit fell into a 13-4 hole at the start, started out slow to begin the second half and finished the game weakly.
Unlike in the pre-season opener in which they committed 30 turnovers, the Knicks handled the ball a little better (22 TOs) but collectively couldn’t shoot a lick (34.8 percent) and got beaten by a Cavs team which didn’t have Shawn Kemp (sprained back) and Lamond Murray (knee) in the second half.
Beforehand, Spree was excited about the prospect of no longer being the team’s Sixth Man. Apparently, Van Gundy first mentioned it to Spree during a phone conversation they had last month before his civil trial.
All along, Van Gundy had publicly said he was leaning toward starting Spree but would not commit. Spree’s Charleston absence hasn’t changed Van Gundy’s thinking on him starting, although it could be to enhance his trade value. Last night, when told of Spree’s revelation, Van Gundy said “It’s true.”
What it all means is unclear because of Spree’s uncertain future in New York. The Knicks are holding active talks with other clubs regarding Spree, who becomes a free agent after the season, and even GM Scott Layden has admitted that to his star swingman.
On Thursday, Sprewell told reporters that Layden, during their 45-minute chat last Sunday, had told him about the many inquiries he was receiving from other clubs asking about his availability. However, according to someone familiar with the meeting, Layden was trying to put Spree’s mind at peace regarding Spree trade rumors. Layden told him the calls are coming in because of Spree’s “talent.” What Layden didn’t tell him is the Knicks were the ones to approach Seattle about a Gary Payton-for-Spree swap recently.
Last night, with point guard Chris Childs out with an upper respiratory ailment, the Knicks had ample opportunity to try out the Houston-Sprewell backcourt that Van Gundy wants to – at the very least – end games with. They used it during Friday’s practice for the first time this training camp.
But Van Gundy said before last night’s game he wasn’t planning to use it much because of Cleveland’s two ball-pressure point guards Brevin Knight and Andre Miller and he indeed stayed away from it all game. Meanwhile, Knight feasted, scoring 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting. *
Childs and Mirsad Turkcan (back pain) joined Larry Johnson, Chris Dudley, Patrick Ewing and David Wingate on the wounded list … A shaky John Wallace, in his Syracuse homecoming, was 2-of-11 from the field but made all eight of his free throws to finish with 12.