Knicks Are Playing an Unfamiliar Role

If the Knicks called any city other than New York home, they would be the darlings of the sports world right now.

It’s an irresistible story, isn’t it? A team scraps its way into the playoffs and defeats two higher-seeded teams, prolonging the tenure of its embattled coach in the process. By now, the screenplay should already be in the works.

Except New York doesn’t do lovable. You don’t ask a team from New York to play the role of America’s sweethearts. That’s just bad casting, like choosing Woody Allen to play an action hero.

New York is supposed to be for bullies. It’s the home of the giants, not the little guys with the slingshots.

Still, shouldn’t sports fans who value persistence and effort in the face of adversity pull for Patrick Ewing as he plays through pain and keeps winning? Can’t workers who feels unappreciated by their bosses identify with Jeff Van Gundy, who is not guaranteed a job next season despite coaching the Knicks to the conference finals?

The Knicks aren’t soliciting riders for their bandwagon. They know better. Maybe it’s a product of spending so much time in New York, where the two toughest things to find are a parking space and sympathy. So you will never hear them use the word “underdogs” to describe themselves.

“We never really think in those terms anymore,” Van Gundy said. “We’ve fought our way through a lot of different things, so here we are.”

Here they are, all right, with the early lead and homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference finals after beating the Indiana Pacers, 93-90, in Game 1 on Sunday. Game 2 is 5:30 (PDT) tonight at Market Square Arena.

Their journey has been almost as astonishing as their current position. They have changed the complexion of their team as much as any team in the NBA--yes, even the Lakers. In trading Charles Oakley to Toronto for Marcus Camby and sending John Starks to Golden State in the Latrell Sprewell trade, the Knicks lost their toughness and attitude, becoming a finesse team.

They had to adjust to Sprewell and his me-first offensive attitude. Then he was sidelined 15 games because of a stress fracture in his right heel and they had to adjust to him all over again when he returned.

The Knicks have had to go at it with an injury-ravaged Ewing, his right wrist not fully healed from a fracture last season and his left leg hampered by a sore Achilles’ tendon that kept him out of 12 games this season. He has slowly had to come to the realization that, after 14 seasons and more than 22,000 points, it was time to let others become the focal point of the Knick offense.

All of that resulted in a .500 record through the first 42 games, and a jittery Madison Square Garden President Dave Checketts cut loose General Manager Ernie Grunfeld, amid indications that Van Gundy could be next.

Checketts met with Phil Jackson about Van Gundy’s job. When that surfaced he denied it, then admitted he had lied. Another week brought another clandestine meeting with Jackson, and even less comment from Checketts.

And the team keeps winning, making life miserable for Checketts. The better they do, the worse he looks. You’ve never seen a team executive walk out of the arena with such a concerned expression after a huge victory as Checketts did Sunday.

The players don’t appear worried at all.

“It’s not in our heads, it’s not in our faces,” reserve center Herb Williams said. “It’s above our heads and we don’t have to deal with it. That’s for somebody else. Guys on this team, you can’t get concerned with management and what’s going on with that. You have to focus on playing basketball. Even with the coaching situation, never one time has Jeff ever come in and said anything about him not coaching or him not being here. He’s always been professional, he’s always approached the job as whatever he can do for this team to win. And nothing’s ever changed.”

Van Gundy might not have changed his approach, but he did change his strategy, freeing Sprewell and Camby.

Sprewell led the Knicks in scoring through the first two rounds of the playoffs and his breakneck--er, perhaps up-tempo is a better word choice in this case--style of play was what propelled the Knicks to victory.

But one thing became clear during the fourth quarter of Game 1 on Sunday, when the pace slowed and Sprewell made only one of five shots: the Knicks need Ewing.

He came through with six points in the final 2:09, including four at the free-throw line, a place of many miscues in years past. The game almost turned into a referendum on Ewing, with Knicks and even Pacers offering toasts to him.

“He gets unwarranted criticism in New York,” Reggie Miller said. “He’s been the backbone of that team for so many years. He’s always proving the media and the fans in New York wrong, when it should be the other way around. He’s been there so much for them.”

If this team falls short, ultimately it will be remembered as another failure for Ewing.

Yes, it’s the fifth time the two teams have met in the playoffs in seven years. But this series has much more personal history for the Pacers than the Knicks.

If you look at the rosters from the 1995 conference semifinals, when Indiana won in seven games, you can find six Pacers who still have prominent roles on the team today: Miller, Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, Dale Davis, Derrick McKey and Antonio Davis. The only Knicks still on the current team are Ewing, Williams and Charlie Ward.

As long as the name on the fronts of the jerseys hasn’t changed, the feelings haven’t changed.

“It’s the same,” Mark Jackson said. “The foundation has been laid. It’s New York, so it’s the same.”

It’s New York, so it’s not a Cinderella story. It’s just one that gets better all the time.

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J.A. Adande can be reached at his e-mail address: j.a.adande@latimes.com

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SAN ANTONIO 86, PORTLAND 85: Sean Elliott made a three-point shot with nine seconds left as the Spurs came from 18 points down to take a 2-0 series lead. Page 8