Knicks look to pick up point guard

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Just one game into the season, the Knicks' depth at point guard has become so thin that Mike D'Antoni was asked Monday if Nate Robinson is a possible solution.

D'Antoni said interim general manager Glen Grunwald is looking to add a point guard now that rookie Iman Shumpert is out with a knee injury suffered against the Celtics on Sunday. When asked if there is any interest in bringing back former Knick Robinson, who recently was cut by Oklahoma City, D'Antoni said the Knicks will look into it, but his smile after the question seemed to indicate his disapproval.

A return by Robinson seems highly unlikely, given his tumultuous relationship with D'Antoni. But a short-term solution to the Knicks' sudden lack of depth at the position could come soon.

"One [point guard] is out and one is hurt," D'Antoni said. "Maybe we have to do something about it . . . We'll try to rectify the situation and see what we can do."

Baron Davis is expected to miss four to six weeks with a herniated disc in his back and Shumpert, who wore a knee brace and was walking very gingerly at practice Monday, will miss from two to four weeks after spraining an MCL in the Knicks' 106-104 win over Boston.

Mike Bibby is expected to return Wednesday night against Golden State after missing the opener because of a lower-back injury. Bibby, 33, is more of a traditional, pass-first point guard than Toney Douglas, who struggled running the offense at times last season. "I don't know if he's a better playmaker, he's a different playmaker," D'Antoni said in comparing Bibby to Douglas. "But Mike's also been in the league 58 years. That helps. He's got experience, he knows how to run a team and he'll make open shots."

Bibby, now a 14-year veteran, struggled during the playoffs with the Heat last season. A starting point guard throughout most of his career, he now will be relegated to a backup role behind Douglas.

"I'm going to play the role that's given to me," Bibby said. "However minutes he wants me to play, that's how many minutes I'm going to play . . . It doesn't matter if I'm starting, backup, 18th man on the bench, as long as we are all working together for one goal, and that's to win."

In addition to using Bibby to run the offense, D'Antoni said he will continue to use Carmelo Anthony as a "point forward" at times because he believes he can be a playmaker at certain spots on the floor. "If I had to do it, I'll do it," Anthony said of being a facilitator. "Toney is our point guard and that's whose hands the ball is going to be in. When the time comes, if I have to go get the ball, I'll go get the ball."

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