nycballer
10-10-2008, 09:29 AM
Taller rivals don't intimidate Knicks' RandolphBY ALAN HAHN | alan.hahn@newsday.com
October 10, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Rarely in the life of Zach Randolph has he heard someone tell him he isn't big enough. So to ask him if he and fellow 6-9 forward David Lee can handle their business in the frontcourt for the Knicks against bigger opponents every night gets an emphatic response.
"Oh, yeah, I can bang with the best of them," the 260-pound Randolph said. "Ain't no backing down. You can be 7-5, whatever. Height don't mean nothing. It's about the kind of heart you got."
A knack for rebounding helps, too. Randolph (13) and Lee grabbed 22 of the Knicks' 50 rebounds in Wednesday night's 113-111 preseason loss to the Raptors. They also totaled 41 points, with 22 by Lee. Though they didn't play the entire game against 6-11 Jermaine O'Neal and 6-10 Chris Bosh, they held their own.
"I remember playing Bosh in the past and he'd have 15 points on layups and duck-ins," Lee said. "I think tonight he had to shoot jump shots and Jermaine O'Neal had to work hard for his points."
Bosh had 20 points and seven rebounds in 25:02. O'Neal had eight points and six rebounds in 17:53.
With 6-11 Eddy Curry slowly getting back into form after a week-long bout with a bacterial infection and 6-11 Jared Jeffries out until mid-November with a broken leg, the Knicks have no choice but to play small ball. But even when Curry is at 100 percent, that doesn't mean Mike D'Antoni will shy away from going with smaller, faster lineups against bigger teams. He's made it clear he plans to use 6-8 Wilson Chandler a lot at power forward, as he did against the Raptors. At one point, D'Antoni had three guards on the floor along with Chandler and Lee.
Tonight against the 76ers, the Knicks face 6-10 Elton Brand and 7-foot Sam Dalembert. The key is to get the bigs running and keep them running. "You've got to just look at it as they'll have an advantage if they go to a straight post one-on-one," Lee said, "and we'll have an advantage when we're out running on the fast break."
D'Antoni expected Lee to thrive in the up-tempo system, but there was skepticism that Randolph, known for his methodical, pound-the-ball post-ups, could fit in as easily. But D'Antoni came away from Wednesday's game impressed with Randolph's adaptability, while still getting his numbers.
"He's a stat guy. The guy's unbelievable," D'Antoni said. "I was looking down in the second quarter and he had 10 points and nine rebounds. He's got a knack for getting 20-10s. There are only about three or four guys who can do that in the league, and he's one of them."
Notes & quotes: Curry, who didn't play in Toronto, practiced here yesterday and said he plans to play tonight ... Allan Houston, who also sat out Wednesday's game, said he plans to be in uniform for tonight's game.
SOURCE : NEWSDAY
October 10, 2008
PHILADELPHIA - Rarely in the life of Zach Randolph has he heard someone tell him he isn't big enough. So to ask him if he and fellow 6-9 forward David Lee can handle their business in the frontcourt for the Knicks against bigger opponents every night gets an emphatic response.
"Oh, yeah, I can bang with the best of them," the 260-pound Randolph said. "Ain't no backing down. You can be 7-5, whatever. Height don't mean nothing. It's about the kind of heart you got."
A knack for rebounding helps, too. Randolph (13) and Lee grabbed 22 of the Knicks' 50 rebounds in Wednesday night's 113-111 preseason loss to the Raptors. They also totaled 41 points, with 22 by Lee. Though they didn't play the entire game against 6-11 Jermaine O'Neal and 6-10 Chris Bosh, they held their own.
"I remember playing Bosh in the past and he'd have 15 points on layups and duck-ins," Lee said. "I think tonight he had to shoot jump shots and Jermaine O'Neal had to work hard for his points."
Bosh had 20 points and seven rebounds in 25:02. O'Neal had eight points and six rebounds in 17:53.
With 6-11 Eddy Curry slowly getting back into form after a week-long bout with a bacterial infection and 6-11 Jared Jeffries out until mid-November with a broken leg, the Knicks have no choice but to play small ball. But even when Curry is at 100 percent, that doesn't mean Mike D'Antoni will shy away from going with smaller, faster lineups against bigger teams. He's made it clear he plans to use 6-8 Wilson Chandler a lot at power forward, as he did against the Raptors. At one point, D'Antoni had three guards on the floor along with Chandler and Lee.
Tonight against the 76ers, the Knicks face 6-10 Elton Brand and 7-foot Sam Dalembert. The key is to get the bigs running and keep them running. "You've got to just look at it as they'll have an advantage if they go to a straight post one-on-one," Lee said, "and we'll have an advantage when we're out running on the fast break."
D'Antoni expected Lee to thrive in the up-tempo system, but there was skepticism that Randolph, known for his methodical, pound-the-ball post-ups, could fit in as easily. But D'Antoni came away from Wednesday's game impressed with Randolph's adaptability, while still getting his numbers.
"He's a stat guy. The guy's unbelievable," D'Antoni said. "I was looking down in the second quarter and he had 10 points and nine rebounds. He's got a knack for getting 20-10s. There are only about three or four guys who can do that in the league, and he's one of them."
Notes & quotes: Curry, who didn't play in Toronto, practiced here yesterday and said he plans to play tonight ... Allan Houston, who also sat out Wednesday's game, said he plans to be in uniform for tonight's game.
SOURCE : NEWSDAY