Two days ago, when Jeff Van Gundy revealed that he would start the ‘Big Backcourt,’ he said point guard Chris Childs “disagrees” with the plan.

But last night, after the Knicks’ 97-72 win over the Grizzlies, Childs denied he said any such thing to his coach. But he didn’t deny feeling peeved about being edged out of the starting lineup for the trio of Latrell Sprewell, Allan Houston and Glen Rice.

“When he said it to me, I didn’t say anything,” Childs said of learning of last night’s starting lineup. “He thought I was upset. But when he said it, I said he’s the coach and he makes the call.

“Whether I’m happy or not, I keep it to myself,” he continued. “I’m all about winning. Even if I don’t agree, you’ll never hear me voice it to anybody outside this locker room. I’ve never caused controversy with my teammates.”

When asked if he would like more playing time, Childs said: “If I was to respond to that, then that would let you know I have a problem with what’s going on.”

Childs, who has been on the trading block for the past two years, was then asked if he is happy as a Knick. He paused a few beats before responding hesitantly: “I’m happy. I’ve been here five years and people didn’t think I’d last that long. I enjoy my teammates very much.

“Things haven’t worked out like I had planned when I first got here,” he added, “but I came from New Jersey and we never made the playoffs. We’ve made the playoffs every year since I got here. I enjoy it.”

Childs said that if he was unhappy, he wouldn’t approach Van Gundy to talk about it.

“If I have a disagreement with something, I keep it to myself,” he said. “I’m one of 390 players [in the league], what do I have to be unhappy with?”

But Childs answered that himself a few moments earlier when he said, “When Charlie [Ward] comes back, some decisions are going to be made, but I can’t worry about that.”

Childs may recognize that if the Big Backcourt works well, then Ward may return as a bench player. Then where would that leave Childs?

He may also be a bit ticked that this move, according to Van Gundy, is not an experiment. In other words, even if the Big Backcourt wasn’t successful last night, which it was, he would still keep Childs on the bench.