Hahn: Amare's leadership made a difference

NEW ORLEANS

Amar'e Stoudemire lingered for a few extra minutes in the locker room at New Orleans Arena and caught the eye of Raymond Felton, who was finishing up a conversation with a few reporters.

Felton may have denied that Friday night's 100-92 win over Chris Paul and the Hornets had any extra significance, but his teammates knew what it meant. Stoudemire looked over with a pleased grin at seeing the emerging Felton, who thoroughly outplayed Paul, getting his due. As he has done consistently this season, Stoudemire made sure to vocalize his support.

"Good job, Raymond," he called out with an approving nod.

The Knicks have been desperate for a culture change, and Stoudemire - an all-NBA player who might be the first Knick to be voted an All-Star starter since Patrick Ewing in 1992 - has taken it upon himself to do it. As the Knicks go through this early-season transformation, Stoudemire's reputation also is changing. Labeled a selfish, self-absorbed player earlier in his career in Phoenix, Stoudemire has been the consummate team leader.

"Whatever we need from him . . . he seems to come up with it," Mike D'Antoni said.

And this is why, as we make historical references during the Knicks' successful stretch of eight wins in nine games entering today's matchup in Toronto, Stoudemire can be considered the most significant presence the Knicks' locker room has had since Larry Johnson retired in 2001.

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We also can venture to suggest that Stoudemire has been putting up MVP-worthy numbers in the last 10 games, dating to the Nov. 16 loss in Denver that the players point to as their turning-point game of the season. But more important than the 28.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game Stoudemire is averaging in this run is the infusion of an element he regularly references: swagger.

"I try to provide some confidence and a swagger for the team," he said. "It seems to be working for us."

No one at the Garden has had swagger like this. Actually, to paraphrase Don Henley, they haven't had that spirit there since 1999. That was the year Johnson provided the backbone as Ewing started to fade. When Johnson left, the torch dropped to the floor.

Stoudemire has become the big brother of the young team, one who, as several teammates are quick to note, is consistently the first player off the bench when he's not playing to offer cheers and encouragement. He's also been quick to come to the defense of others, such as when fans at the Garden recently got on Timofey Mozgov's case. Witnesses say Stoudemire grew enraged at the heckling fans and barked, "Why the -- are they booing Moz? Give him a break!"

Felton, the team's other co-captain, supports the standard that Stoudemire has set. He also was quick to come to the defense of the struggling Mozgov, who fumbled three interior passes against the Hornets and had his shot blocked on each possession. But rather than dismiss the Russian rookie, Felton patted Mozgov's chest with some encouraging words.

"I'm going to keep telling him the same thing: I'm going to keep passing it to him every time he's open, no matter what," Felton said. "I don't care if he misses it 10 times, I'm going to keep passing it to him. He's been catching it . Just because he's missing it now doesn't mean I'm going to lose my confidence in him. I'm going to keep throwing the ball to him."

It's in this type of environment that a young center can develop, that an Anthony Randolph can stay motivated under a pile of DNPs and a reclamation project such as Shawne Williams can stay ready for his chance, which he now is getting. It's also how a team can endure a six-game losing streak without imploding and turn it into a run that, as we reach the quarter pole of the season, is starting to earn respect around the NBA.

Said Stoudemire: "We're really showing how good we can be."