COMMENTARY : Knicks’ Future Not Now

For a team whose recent past includes a trip to the NBA finals and whose current itinerary features a return to the scene of the crime, the future can seem as distant as the horizon. The window of opportunity sometimes appears as small as a keyhole to those who comprise the New York Knicks’ youth movement. Monday’s glimpse into 1996 and the great beyond was brought to you courtesy of the New Jersey Nets.

Those friendly folks from the Meadowlands, who demonstrated tenacity as well as talent against the Knicks a year ago, provided opposition in name only at Madison Square Garden. A 21-point halftime lead convinced Pat Riley that the time was ripe for the public to see what skills the Knicks were nurturing at the end of the bench. Thus were the 19,763 at the holiday matinee able to report sightings of Doug Christie and Charlie Ward.

There is the possibility that the pair will constitute the Knicks’ backcourt some day, that the few minutes they spent in the company of rookie forward Monty Williams late in the fourth quarter was a taste of what’s to come. “You can write that if you want,” said Riley, who would make no such statement. After all, he has yet to sign the contract extension insuring his own future beyond this season.

Nonetheless, the thought did occur to Christie, who made his first shot as a member of the team before missing his next two and committing three turnovers. “I didn’t think of it during the game,” said the 24-year-old swingman acquired from the Los Angeles Lakers for future draft picks Oct. 13, “but when you look at it, you can see that happening. The three of us get together before practice every day and shoot around.”

Williams, of course, stepped up from prospect to contributor after surgery on Charles Oakley’s toe. Not only did he move into Riley’s rotation but he went directly into the lineup. Monday marked his 10th consecutive start and, while it may be mostly coincidental, the Knicks are 9-1 in that stretch. He had nine points and eight rebounds, both season highs, in 23 minutes against the Nets.

The transition has been harder for Christie and Ward, the rookie point guard who earned greater fame in college as a quarterback. While Christie appeared for two minutes at the Meadowlands Dec. 27, Ward hadn’t entered a game since Dec. 18 at Portland. He missed all four shots Monday, including a trio from three-point range, in five minutes of uncharacteristically frenzied activity.

At Florida State, he averaged fewer than seven shots per game in four seasons, preferring to set up teammates. “Everyone else out there had played,” Ward said, “so when I get out, they look to me to shoot. My main focus is to get out there and hit some shots.”

The crowd stirred from its afternoon nap when Christie and Ward touched the ball, urging them on. Christie, sidelined four months by ankle surgery before his activation last month, hit a rainbow trey 80 seconds after replacing John Starks, extending the lead to 29 points.

“It felt good to get that off my back,” he said, “and move forward.” Christie didn’t attempt a shot during the two minutes of his previous appearance. Yet even the cheers of the Garden faithful failed to calm him. “I was still going 100 miles per hour, trying to do everything at once,” he said. The results were two traveling violations, a forced entry pass and two rushed shots that drew iron.

Yes, he was anxious. But he appreciated the reception.

“I was a little surprised,” he said, “because in New York the people really don’t know me yet.” One minute after they welcomed Christie, they treated Ward to a similar reception.

“It feels good that they know I’m here,” Ward said. “I guess they haven’t seen me in a while so it was fun for them.”

Shooting doesn’t come as naturally to Ward as to Christie, yet no sooner did Ward find the ball in his hands than he launched it from deep in the corner, hitting the rim hard. His second three-point attempt was short and he never did find the range. “The shots didn’t go in,” Christie said sympathetically, “but at least he had the guts to take them.”

Not surprisingly, Ward didn’t think it was indicative of his potential or his style of play.

“No one can judge you on the way you play at garbage time,” he said. “Even Michael Jordan, if he sat for 30-35 games and got in at garbage time, would find it difficult. He might hit some (more) shots but he still wouldn’t be comfortable.”

Consider that Jordan’s batting average in his second sport, baseball, might not be much better than Ward’s field-goal percentage (.100) if he faced major-league pitching.

Since the Knicks are not often faced with garbage time, even against the likes of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks, Riley hasn’t been required to render judgment on the pair. With the Knicks scheduled to play tonight in Houston for the first time since they lost the sixth and seventh games of the NBA finals, he wasn’t prepared to place much importance on Monday’s results. It is at practice where he expects them to earn respect.

“Doug’s been practicing hard,” Riley said. “Being new to the team, he has to let the game come to him. He has a lot of skills. From a defensive standpoint, Charlie has some problems. But he’s a good, heady kid.”

Does that mean they have a chance to be the Knicks’ future backcourt? “They’re good, young players,” Riley said. “But Hubert (Davis) and John (Starks) are very young players.”

While it’s true that Davis is 24, the same age as Christie and Ward, Starks is 29. Incidentally, Greg Anthony, who has failed to be summoned in four of the team’s last five games, is 27. But then he appears to have been consigned to the past.

Derek Harper, the point guard of the present, is 33. Judging by his 15 points and six assists Monday as well as his sharp three-point shooting since Oakley limped into the hospital, he is in no danger of losing his job.

“I think they’re going to be a good transition team,” he said, imagining the prospect of Williams, Christie and Ward in future seasons. “I think all three have a bright future, providing they continue to work hard.”

But Christie and Ward can expect to remain seated during the upcoming trip. “The next couple of years,” Harper said with a wink, “I hope I can sit on the bench and make a million bucks.”