Jeffries does heavy lifting for Knicks

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Now that the Knicks have two piano players, with artists Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony to make beautiful offensive music, there is unavoidable talk regarding the need for some piano carriers. Rebounders, defenders, heavy lifters.

And maybe that conversation can start with Jared Jeffries, the 6-11 forward traded away from the Knicks last year to create salary-cap space but reclaimed on waivers from Houston earlier this month.

"Those two guys," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said Tuesdayof Stoudemire and Anthony, "are going to score, so now Jared is a great complement to those guys. He does all the intangibles. We still want him to be aggressive and score, but the energy he gives us, the defensive savvy and offensive rebounding, that's invaluable."

It's not as if the Knicks, in setting up offensively, tell Jeffries to just get out of the way. Though he did acknowledge that his first priority is "to get on the baseline, get in rebounding position." That he didn't score a single of the Knicks' 131 points in Monday night's blowout victory over Utah will not prevent Jeffries from remaining in the starting lineup -- "at least for now," D'Antoni said.

"The thing about Mike that makes him a great coach," Jeffries said, "is that he expects you to do the things you're good at. He already knew I was a good defender, good rebounder, good shot-blocker. Once you master the things you're good at, you expand out slowly."

That pretty much sums up D'Antoni's approach for the team, which is facing difficult back-to-back games in Memphis and Dallas the next two nights as it begins the stretch run toward the playoffs.

Nine games into the big trade that brought Anthony and veteran point guard Chauncey Billups, "we're a lot better now than where we were," D'Antoni said, "and getting better all the time."

With second-year man Toney Douglas ably filling in while Billups continues to rehab a thigh bruise, "you're trying to turn [Douglas' opportunity] into a positive," D'Antoni said. "You don't ever want to lose your point guard. At the same time, Toney's had two great games.

"Our defense is a lot more solid. The potential is there; we can be as good as we want to be. Whether we can get it all done this year, we'll see. We've got to keep improving, keep expanding the playbook a little bit, get more comfortable on defense."

And rebound, rebound, rebound.

"Everybody knows, 'Box out,' " D'Antoni said. "Gang rebound. And when you're smaller, you've got to hit 'em first, be quicker. A lot of it is will and effort."

Also, there's another solution, he said: "Don't miss shots."