Knick Defense Keeps the Heat On

To instill the pride that fuels their defense, the New York Knicks keep a chart in their locker room showing how many times each player has been knocked on his rear end.

If someone isn’t taking his share of charges, everybody knows it.

The Knicks also post a chart of deflections, showing how many times each player has gotten his hand on the ball to disrupt an opponent’s offense.

“You’ve got to have players with the courage to step in front of guys instead of acting like you were a step late and bailing out,” coach Jeff Van Gundy said. “If your best players will put their bodies in front, everybody follows along. If your best players are what you call dodgers, everybody will be dodging.”

No official statistic is kept on charges taken, but the Knicks would undoubtedly be atop the league leaders if it were. In every game, the Knicks step in front of players and draw offensive fouls, one of the reasons they’ve already broken one long-standing defensive record and are on pace to break more.

The Knicks have allowed only two teams to score 100 points (the Celtics reached 101 in an overtime game Nov. 10; the 76ers had 101 on opening night) and are holding opponents to an average of 83.5 points -- more than two points lower than the record for an 82-game season set by Mike Fratello’s walk-it-up Cleveland Cavaliers of 1996-97.

The Atlanta Hawks own the overall record of 83.4 points allowed per game in the lockout-shortened 1999 season.

The Knicks have already broken the record set by the 1954-55 Fort Wayne Pistons for holding opponents under 100 points in consecutive games. New York’s streak was at 31 entering Friday night’s game against Detroit.

“No matter how many great scorers we have, defense has been our identity. And everybody on this team, nobody excluded, knows that that’s who we are,” Allan Houston said. “And once you think of yourself that way and know who you are, that makes you conscious of it on a consistent basis.”

It takes two things -- effort and commitment -- to play dominating defense night-in and night-out in the NBA, and the Knicks have been able to summon those two factors a lot lately.

In winning nine of their last 10 games, the Knicks held opponents to 80.8 points a game.

The Knicks have become a perimeter-oriented offensive team with three scorers -- Houston, Latrell Sprewell and Glen Rice -- who get the majority of their points from the outside.

And since jump shooting can be so hot or cold on any given night, the Knicks have bought into Van Gundy’s constant preaching that they must maintain a consistent standard the only place they can: on defense.

“We’re going to try to do two things: get back and take away easy baskets and make teams play 5-on-5, and not give up second shots. That’s how we base our whole defense,” Van Gundy said.

Once the Knicks take away the transition game, they try to keep the ball out of the low post. When they deny an entry pass on a high pick-and-roll play, they don’t just have one player trying to deflect it, they have two -- the player defending the ball and the player defending the player who set the pick.