NBA Notes : Knicks Look Like Title Contender

All you had to do was look at their faces. Watching the New York Knicks’ players and coaches as they walked off the Forum floor Tuesday night, you saw young faces enlightened by possibility, and by the knowledge that they can win anytime, anywhere and under any circumstances.

They had just become the first team to beat the Lakers at the Forum this season, and they had done it by coming from behind in the fourth quarter, just as they had two nights before in an equally uplifting victory in Portland, Ore.

Certainly those were not the faces of players who believe their team is one season, or one player, away from being contenders. Coach Rick Pitino can dodge the question all he likes, but by winning back-to-back games in two of the league’s most difficult arenas, the Knicks proved once and for all that they’re a legitimate contender for an NBA championship.

One distinguishing quality of all of Pitino’s teams is that they are stronger in the second half -- in the second half of games and seasons. Well-conditioned by half a season of running and pressing, his Providence teams improved dramatically in the latter days of winter. Last year’s Knicks were 14-28 at one point, a .600 team thereafter.

There is no reason to believe they can’t do better than 27-14 the rest of the way. The worst part of the schedule is behind them. When their current trip is finished, they don’t have to go to the West Coast again. Of their final 39 games, 23 will be at Madison Square Garden, where they’re 17-1.

Yes, they have their shortcomings. Aside from Patrick Ewing, there’s no reliable post-up scorer. They’re overly reliant on the three-point shot. They give up too many easy baskets off their press (in five games on the Western trip, opponents shot 54.7 percent from the floor).

But the bottom line is, they know how to win. Even more important, they now expect to win the big games.

The half-ourt defense is getting better all the time, largely because opponents are leg-weary at the end of games. They held Detroit to 16 points in the fourth quarter in their Jan. 11 road win. The Lakers scored 18 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday.

They are a flawed team, but the league has become a collection of flawed contenders.

Rick Barry says he isn’t a betting man, but if he were, he would be willing to wager that his old friend Larry Brown won’t make it to the end of his five-year contract as head coach of the Spurs.

“I don’t see how he’s going to make it through this contract,” said Barry, who roomed with Brown during their playing days in the American Basketball Association. “He really needs to be in college. You get to the pros and you can’t treat players the same way. You can’t have that same kind of control.”

Brown’s return to the pro game has, to be sure, been a trying one. His Spurs finished Wednesday night’s game against Utah with an 11-28 record, and he almost surely will experience the first losing season of his 17-year coaching career.

What’s more, there is an uneasy feeling around San Antonio these days. Brown hasn’t been able to communicate his system to the players. Players are sniping at one another. And team management sat down with the coaches recently and decided that major changes might be needed.

Observers in San Antonio also are coming to the slow realization that David Robinson’s arrival next season isn’t likely to have an immediate impact, and Brown might have to endure several losing seasons before his fortunes turn around.

“See, I don’t know if Larry can ever be happy,” said Barry, who does NBA color commentary for TBS. “Anyone who knows him feels the same way. Nothing ever seems to be just right. No matter what it is, something’s wrong.”

During a recent radio call-in show in Philadelphia, Charles Barkley took a few long-distance cheap shots at the Atlanta Hawks.

“The Hawks won’t win because the NBA will not allow you to play with more than one basketball,” Barkley said. “They’ve got five great players who are not willing to sacrifice. The Hawks are the most selfish team in the NBA. You can have too much talent. That’s one of their problems.”

After Barkley’s remarks appeared in an Atlanta newspaper, Coach Mike Fratello brought the paper to practice and stomped on it in front of his players. Even the usually taciturn Moses Malone, no doubt one of Barkley’s targets, was moved to comment.

“(The 76ers) have the five most selfish guys in the league in one guy,” Malone said. Suffice it to say he was not referring to Scott Brooks.

In case you’re wondering, the 76ers and Hawks don’t meet again in the regular season. Do you suppose Prince Charles was aware of that when he decided to run his mouth?

Is Chuck Daly sending a message to Trader Jack McCloskey? Detroit’s coach was bemoaning his team’s lack of inside scoring early this week and suggested it might be time for his general manager to find help.

“I think we need another player,” said Daly, “an offensive player, a big guard, or someone who can post up down there. We’re still fighting the problem of no post-up guy. We’re the only team in the league without one. (Adrian) Dantley is not a true post-up player.”

Notes

Golden State’s Ralph Sampson, who has missed 13 games after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, is expected to rejoin the Warriors Friday in Philadelphia. The Warriors, who were 10-14 when Sampson left, are 10-4 without him. But anyone who claims the Warriors are better off without him is mistaken. ... Amid all the talk about Portland’s off-court woes, no one bothers to mention one of the team’s main on-court problems: One-dimensional center Kevin Duckworth might be the most overrated player in the league. All he can do is score. ... The 76ers’ Mike Gminski will be an unrestricted free agent after this season, and he expects to command a salary in the $1.5 million to $2 million range. The Lakers, who will have $1.5 million to play with when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar retires, are said to be interested.

Denver, which won 54 games last season, has lost 13 of 18, dropping to ninth in the West at 20-20. After scoring at a record 128.7-point pace in their first 20 games, the Nuggets have averaged 113.2 since. They’ve been hampered by minor injuries, but assistant coach Allan Bristow says that’s not the problem. “We’re just going through a spell where our confidence is down,” he said. “The players we’re going to win with are suited up. It’s just that we’re not clicking.” ... The Celtics, desperate for backup help behind Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, are reportedly looking to deal for 6-10 Utah rookie Jose Ortiz. ... The NBA has received an application for reinstatement from Mitchell Wiggins, the former Rocket who received a lifetime ban for drug use two years ago.