Knicks work on becoming cohesive unit
Chauncey Billups (4) during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at Madison Square Garden. (Feb. 23, 2011) Credit: Christopher Pasatieri
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Carmelo Anthony can't help but envision a bright future in New York. But before he and the new-look Knicks can think about winning playoff games and championships, he knows they must work out the kinks.
That's how Thursday's practice was spent, going over schemes and getting the newcomers up to speed with coach Mike D'Antoni's way of doing things.
"We're just trying to clean some things up," Anthony said after his first practice. "Get everybody on the same page, offensively, defensively, and try to make this run."
That playoff run continues with tonight's game in Cleveland, the start of a three-game road trip that includes stops in Miami and Orlando before the Knicks face New Orleans at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
The Knicks showed that with the acquisition of Anthony and point guard Chauncey Billups, they still can put up plenty of points, defeating Milwaukee, 114-108, on Wednesday night. But in the absence of a raucous homecourt advantage, D'Antoni is cautioning his players against a letdown against a 10-47 Cavaliers team that recently lost 36 of 37 games - the only victory was against the Knicks in overtime Dec. 18 in Cleveland - and acquired point guard Baron Davis before Thursday's trade deadline.
"We've got to have the same excitement and the same kind of energy going into these games . . . until we get things ironed out," D'Antoni said.
With only 27 games left in the regular season, D'Antoni must find a delicate balance between pushing his team toward the playoffs and pushing them too hard in practice.
"Everybody's excited [but] we can't go too fast and we can't get too 'let's do everything today,' " he said. "It's going to take a little bit [of time] and we have to understand that probably the most important thing is we're mentally fresh and physically fresh and be able to play with our talents . . . We've got to make sure we take care of Amar'e [Stoudemire]."
And the newcomers from Denver, too.
But if the Knicks (29-26), who are sixth in the Eastern Conference, are to maintain or improve upon that status, the jelling process needs to take place quickly. Anthony said he's confident that he and the five other players acquired in the three-team trade with Denver and Minnesota will help the Knicks in the long run.
"We're getting closer to becoming a complete team," he said.
Wednesday's win was a sign of good things to come at the Garden. But offensive talent alone can get you only so far.
D'Antoni said he'd like to work his new players into the rotation, but he's not sure how he will be able to do that in the near future. He stuck with three holdover bench players - Toney Douglas, Shawne Williams and Bill Walker - against the Bucks.
"Right now I have a comfort level with the guys that were here, but I do want to see glimpses of the other guys and I would love to be able to add another player to the rotation and see what we have," D'Antoni said. "But I want to go slow because we've got to make the playoffs. That's the No. 1 goal and these games are really, really important and I just can't get too far ahead of myself."
