TORONTO – Jeff Van Gundy can be blamed for expediting the firing of former coach Don Chaney when he showed no mercy in blowing out the Knicks at the Garden last January, when “Fire Chaney” chants resonated for the first time.
Now you can credit Van Gundy for turning around the current Knick season. The Knicks have found themselves, with the buzzer-beating win over Houston at Toyota Center one week ago serving as their rocket-launcher, pun intended.
Last night as the Knicks faced the Raptors at Air Canada Centre, they were a team on a roll, at .500, in first place in the Atlantic Division for the first time since they began the 2001-2002 lottery campaign at 1-0. Prior to that, they were last in sole possession of first place Feb. 22, 2000 – the season after their run to the Finals.
The Knicks (5-5) were a half-game ahead of the Celtics, the team that dealt them the worst home-opening loss in team history three weeks ago, by 34 points.
With a deeper commitment to team defense and making the extra pass, the Stephon Marbury-inspired Knicks survived a tough early schedule that featured the Texas Triangle. Now they were primed to feast on lighter-weights. Remember when Isiah Thomas said in preseason the club would be “lucky” to be .500 after 20 games? Well, the Knicks are on their way to being very lucky.
After whipping the horrendous Hawks Tuesday night, they began a home-and-home last night with the Raptors, who have played respectably but are not considered strong playoff contenders. After the Knicks host the Raptors Saturday, they get Atlanta again Tuesday and host the Grizzlies Wednesday at the Garden, where the Knicks are 4-1. In one of those games next week, Allan Houston may make his return, which will be gravy. Houston is expected to scrimmage for the first time tomorrow.
“I feel better now than I did a week go,” Penny Hardaway said. “I think we really gained a lot of confidence and really found ourselves on the [four-game] road trip. We didn’t win every game, but we were in every game and that gave us confidence when we got back. To be where we are now, you have to be satisfied.”
The Knicks were just 1-3 on last week’s road trip, but the turnaround took root in the second half at Indiana in the journey’s first game. After being annihilated in the first half, allowing 63 points by intermission, the Knicks buckled down and turned a rout into a respectable 99-93 finish. In San Antonio, the Knicks led for the first quarter-and-a-half before succumbing, though defensively they showed improvement.
In Houston last Thursday, it all changed. The Knicks rallied from an 11-point, fourth-quarter deficit and won on Jamal Crawford’s banked buzzer-beater. Lucky? Hardly.
The Knicks put themselves in position to win with a last-second shot by playing Van Gundy-like defense. The next night in Dallas, the Knicks nearly won in Big D for the first time in six years, but slump-ridden Tim Thomas bricked a last-second, wide-open 3-pointer.
Still, other than Tim Thomas’ massive woes, the Knicks are feeling their groove. Marbury has been accused of not making his teammates better – a sign he’s not a superstar point guard despite gaudy numbers.
That’s hogwash now. Marbury is looking for Kurt Thomas and Nazr Mohammed constantly and not looking for his shot. It’s a pleasure to watch. As off as Tim Thomas has been, that’s how on Kurt Thomas is with his mid-range jumper.
Late in the first quarter in Tuesday’s 104-88 win over Atlanta, Marbury had seven assists and had yet to attempt a shot. Marbury is averaging 19.3 points and nine assists. More telling is his shot attempts stand at 134, only 17 more than Kurt Thomas, who’s shooting 51.7 percent.
“Steph has been finding everybody,” Crawford said. “He found the girl eating popcorn in the third row.”