Lack of depth tiring to Knicks' starters
Knicks starters Landry Fields, Amar'e Stoudemire, Raymond Felton and Danilo Gallinari have been feeling the effects of playing more minutes with a shorter bench. Credit: Jim McIsaac
GREENBURGH, N.Y. - All this talk about a lack of depth on the roster Donnie Walsh has built has the Knicks' president a bit defensive.
"All the depth hasn't played, so you don't know," he said.
It was a juicy nanosecond of potential controversy between the front office and the coaching staff. But Walsh quickly ruined that by continuing his thought, supporting Mike D'Antoni's decision to stick to a limited rotation during the last four weeks.
"We've played a short rotation and understandably so, because we're trying to win games," Walsh said. "We started off 3-8 and went to a short rotation and it worked."
The Knicks won 13 of 14 games to move to 16-9 before dropping three straight. But the residual effects of the heavy workload on his starters - as a group, they are logging an average of 38.8 minutes per game in December, led by Raymond Felton (41.9) and Amar'e Stoudemire (40.4) - are being felt as the NBA season approaches the dog days, which generally come in January. That workload seemed to take its toll on the Knicks in their overtime loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday night.
So the question might not be whether there is enough depth on this team to get through the grueling midseason challenges, but whether there is enough depth that D'Antoni can trust as the team tries to collect enough wins to earn a playoff berth.
"I think there is," D'Antoni said after practice Monday. "I've got to use it better, and I'll keep working on that."
In the meantime, Walsh will continue working on upgrading the bench to fill needs at backup point guard and at center, as Toney Douglas (back) and Ronny Turiaf (knee) are playing through physical limitations. The options right now are limited, but the NBA is reaching the point of the season when opportunities begin to present themselves. "The players [offered] have to be better than what we have right here," Walsh said of any potential trade. "And there has to be a deal. If that happens, then we'll look."
If anything, the moves made over the weekend by the Magic eliminated Orlando as competition for Carmelo Anthony, but the Magic's aggressive, win-now trades didn't put any pressure on Walsh to come up with his own blockbuster strategy to climb into the Eastern Conference's upper echelon. "I think when you think that way," Walsh said, "you make bad mistakes."
Coincidentally, Orlando - frantically searching for a backup center after dealing Marcin Gortat to the Suns - has contacted the Knicks about Turiaf. The Magic reportedly offered Chris Duhon, but although Duhon ran D'Antoni's pick-and-roll system well during the previous two seasons, the Knicks are not likely to engage.
Notes & quotes: Stoudemire said his neck was "a little bit sore" but called the muscle issue he's had in the last week "nothing major." He did not participate in yesterday's full-court scrimmage to allow him some rest, but he did participate in non-contact drills. He is expected to play Wednesday against the Thunder.
