Douglas could help get D'Antoni's Knicks running

An important piece of the dynamic Seven Seconds or Less offense that Mike D'Antoni left in Phoenix, aside from Steve Nash, was the transition game. The system is far more effective when it forces the opponent, especially those plodding half-court teams, to play faster than it wants to. But the Knicks last season were one of the lowest-scoring teams in fast-break points (9.9 per game, ranked 28th) in the league.

And while the signing of Raymond Felton was supposed to provide the fuel injection, it's Toney Douglas who seems to be the one with his pedal to the metal.

With D'Antoni still trying to figure out his lineup, especially the hole at shooting guard, Douglas is making a case for going small in the backcourt by playing him with Felton, which, as demonstrated in last night's 117-111 win over the Nets, cannot only get the Knicks running, but it can also be an effective defensive tandem.

Douglas had 12 of his 24 points and three of his six steals in the first half and was most effective alongside Felton in the backcourt. Felton had his best performance of the preseason with 13 points and 11 assists in 37 minutes.

Amar'e Stoudemire led the Knicks with 39 points and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes.

Douglas also played some at point guard, but while he's improved his playmaking skills as a floor general from last season, D'Antoni isn't completely comfortable with him running the show for long stretches.

For instance, in Sunday's win over the Wizards, Douglas had a game-high 23 points, made the game-winning play and set up the game-tying basket by Landry Fields, but also missed some open teammates throughout the game.

"I had to introduce him to the Russian kid because a couple of times, the Russian kid was going like this [waves arms] and he didn't throw him the ball," D'Antoni said, referring to 7-1 center Timofey Mozgov.

D'Antoni, who went with a 10-man rotation against the Nets, will certainly use the Felton-Douglas backcourt but would he consider it as a starting unit? That would mean either bringing Wilson Chandler off the bench or sliding Stoudemire to center and playing Chandler at power forward. One unlikely option could be to move Chandler to small forward and bring Danilo Gallinari off the bench.

The Knicks have until Nov. 1 to pick up a $1.1-million third-year option on Douglas' rookie contract. The team also has the fourth-year options for Gallinari ($4.1 million) and Anthony Randolph ($2.9 million) that need to be picked up or the players will become restricted free agents. It is almost certain the team will pick up all three players, though it may not be officially announced until just before the deadline.

The Dolan family owns controlling interests in the Knicks, MSG and Cablevision. Cablevision owns Newsday.