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Knicks Begin to Find Their Touch

By Christopher Mongelli December 13, 2009
Exclusively provided by CurvSports.com
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Don’t look now, but the Knicks have won 4 of their last 5 games. After a rocky 1-9 start to the season, the Knicks have steadily crawled into third place in the Atlantic conference with a 7-15 record as of now. Coach Mike D’Antoni seems to have finally found a core rotation that works for him, and it’s started to show. D’Antoni has generally been going with a bigger, older lineup, and Jared Jeffries and Al Harrington have been making some serious noise after slow starts.

 

One has to start wondering, though. What exactly are the Knicks planning on doing with all this talent? Although their lineup has started to solidify, Eddy Curry is still day-to-day with injuries, troubled fan-favorite PG Nate Robinson has been benched indefinitely by D’Antoni, and their second string is still very much in flux. For instance, Galinari is still getting upwards of 20 minutes per game despite generally not starting. The Knicks’ new lineup has come largely at the expense of lesser-experienced guys’ playing time. For right now, rookie bench-phenom Jordan Hill will have to wait it out and get his minutes in when he can. This must be frustrating for Hill, who has sacrificed his playing time recently after impressive performances against the Lakers and Warriors (the last two games in which he played more than 10 minutes).

 

The Knicks’ overall scheme is still elusive, however. Will they trade Nate Rob? Will they move one of their many big men? It’s tough to say right now. For a team that has a modestly high payroll and is, by all accounts, looking to make big moves in the off-season, they have a lot of different pieces of the puzzle to figure out. And if they want to sign LeBron along with another higher-profile free agent, they will definitely need to clear some cap room. Still, with the exception of a possible Robinson trade, I don’t see them moving on anything right now. The Knicks are just starting to hit their stride, and there’s no reason to excessively rock the boat for the time being.

 

Nevertheless, with Curry’s lingering injury and the constant shifting of the Knicks’ 3 and 4 spots, D’Antoni might want to consider giving Jordan Hill some more shine. He’s the kind of quiet warrior who provides a spark coming off the bench, leaves it all on the floor, and won’t complain. In other words, he might be the secret ingredient to position the Knicks into a winning record. Even if he doesn’t fit into their grand scheme right now, he’ll certainly raise his profile as a potential trade piece with his gutsy play.
 
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