Now Is Time for Knicks to Prove Themselves

The New York Knicks have contended throughout the exhibition season that once the regular season began, they would play up to their potential and up to expectations.

If not, Stu Jackson’s debut as coach could be an embarrassment.

Up first for the Knicks was the champion Detroit Pistons, who on an ordinary night would be formidable. But this season opener was no typical evening because Detroit raised its championship banner to the rafters of the Palace of Auburn Hills.

The players on the club that swept the Lakers, 4-0, will receive their championship rings. It is a certainty the Pistons will ride the momentum of the pregame excitement into the new season. That is not good news for the Knicks.

“All I can say is that we would be ready to start the new season anyway,” John Salley said before last Friday’s game. “But with the banner going up and the rings and everything, we’re going to be ready.”

Again, it is not good news for the Knicks, who did not exactly end the preseason in impressive fashion. They committed 24 turnovers in a 112-109 loss to Milwaukee Tuesday. The Knicks finished the exhibition season 4-5 and showed a disturbing propensity for sloppy ballhandling.

“We’ve got to straighten that out,” Gerald Wilkins said. “Turnovers are a killer, and especially against the Pistons. They’re the champions. We definitely have to raise our level of play against them. If not . . . “

He need not finish. The Pistons, despite losing Rick Mahorn in the expansion draft, are the team to beat in the NBA. They still have the multitude of scoring weapons, they still have that impenetrable defense and they have the added adrenaline of the ceremony.

And even though guard Isiah Thomas said the Pistons are no longer the Bad Boys, that style hasn’t disappeared, considering that Thomas and center James Edwards each was fined $2,500 for two preseason fights.

“I think they’ll be the same team, if not better,” Trent Tucker said. “They know what it takes to win now.”

What the Knicks have on their side is the knowledge they defeated Detroit all four times they met last season, including two at the Palace. But they did it with the full-court press, which the Knicks now use as a secondary defense.

The preseason was dedicated to shoring up the half-court defense, which was a weak area last season. In the nine preseason games, the Knicks at times functioned well while playing man-to-man defense, mostly because Patrick Ewing became a force in the paint.

But where the Knicks have suffered is in turnovers. They played effectively in the half-court offense, but “we were not getting up enough shots because of turnovers,” Jackson said. “If we cut down on the turnovers, we’ll be all right.”

But in terms of talent, this Knicks club is decidedly weaker than the one Rick Pitino had last year, at least temporarily. Pitino had Sidney Green to call on as Charles Oakley’s backup at power forward and Kiki Vandeweghe to spell Johnny Newman.

Green was selected in the expansion draft by Orlando and Vandeweghe, as expected, was placed on the injured list Thursday because of his bad back. According to the Knicks, Vandeweghe began shooting and running this week in California but is not expected back with the club any time soon. When he does return, he’ll be ready to play, General Manager Al Bianchi said.

Jackson has used rail-thin Kenny Walker at power forward. When Newman is on the bench, Jackson will move Wilkins from the backcourt to small forward and bring in Tucker at guard. That unit could be effective on offense because of its quickness. Defensively, it could be a liability.

The only reliable reserves the Knicks have are Tucker and point guard Rod Strickland. “I still think we have the talent on this team to be successful,” said Mark Jackson, who will start at point guard, although he’s not in peak shape physically. “It would be nice to have (Green and Vandeweghe), but we’ve improved over the preseason without them, so I think we’ll be all right.”