ATLANTA – He may be a reluctant sixth man, but Latrell Sprewell has been the Knicks’ main man through two games of their Eastern Conference semifinal with the Hawks.
On a night when a lethargic Knicks team searched for earlier energy, Sprewell provided it off the bench once again, pouring through 31 points in the Knicks’ 77-70 victory last night at the Georgia Dome.
Sprewell rescued the Knicks from an early 13-2 deficit with 17 points in the first half and gave his team the lead for good with a breakaway dunk that put them up 54-52 late in the third quarter.
With Allan Houston shooting just 1-for-8, Patrick Ewing (12 points) limping on his tender Achilles and no on else except for Mark Camby (11 points, 13 rebounds) stepping forward to take control of the game, Sprewell carved up the Hawks’ defense, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 15-of-19 from the free-throw line.
After scoring 31 points in Game 1, Sprewell has emerged as the most dominant player on the court with no answers coming from Atlanta.
“He has played well,” said Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens. “He’s tough. But we’ve got to make him work. We didn’t make him work. We have to make him defend somebody.”
Keep this up and it will be hard to keep Sprewell on the bench next season if he remains with the Knicks. Pardon us if we looked ahead a bit and wonder whether the team’s probable playoff MVP will be a member of the team next year.
It’s no secret Sprewell would rather start and while he has accepted coming off the bench for the remainder of this season, he’ll likely want some assurance that things will be different next year if he is going to commit to the Knicks.
Take it a step further, and it’s easy to see a scenario where Garden president Dave Checketts and his new general manager may have to eventually be forced to make a choice between keeping Sprewell or convincing Van Gundy to make him a starter.
Yes, the offseason is still a long way away, especially now that it looks as if the Knicks will make quick work of a Hawks team that is deficient in scoring and depth. But the better Sprewell continues to play in these playoffs, the more leverage he’ll likely have to push the Knicks to either start him next year or trade him.
“We all would like to play more,” Sprewell has said before the game. “I think everybody on this team, if they could, would play 48 minutes. When you’re competitors and you’re playing in the league and it’s the playoffs, everybody wants to play and be a part of winning. Everybody wants to contribute.”
Including Camby, who was not happy about playing just 10 minutes in Game One. He made the most of 27 minutes last night by having an impact on the offensive and defensive ends. Sprewell and Camby are close and have discussed their bouts of frustration over the way they’re being used in Van Gundy’s rotation.
“I don’t think he’s discouraged,” Sprewell said of Camby. “But I think he’s like me in a sense that I would want to start and I would want to play a lot. We all want to play. We want to play as much as we can and be part of the success that we’re having. He just wants to compete like we all do.”
The early thinking at the Garden is that Sprewell won’t be traded in the offseason, his talent too unique to give away without getting something substantial, i.e. Gary Payton, in return.
The Knicks were flat last night. They made just one of their first 15 shots and trailed 13-2 early. Sprewell entered, and while his impact wasn’t immediate, he did convert a three-point play to close the Knicks deficit to 14-13.
Sprewell’s value has grown over the last month where he helped the Knicks qualify for the playoffs and upset the top-seed Heat in the first round. Now the Knicks are two wins away from reaching the Eastern Conference finals.
“We have talent 1 through 10, really,” Sprewell said. “We’ve got a lot of guys on this team that can play. It’s nice when everybody contributes.”
Sprewell says he is too focused on the Hawks to think about what could happen in the offseason and what his options might be. But he remains a reluctant sixth man though his performances would suggest otherwise.
“I still feel the way I did in the past,” he said of his role coming off the bench.
Winning has made it a moot point for him to complain. Van Gundy’s rotation is working. There will be no waves for now.
“After you go through certain things over and over again, you kinda accept it,” he said. “I think that’s where I’m at.”
He will leave all the speculation – and there figures to be plenty – for the offseason. Will Sprewell demand to start during the offseason? And if Van Gundy’s stays, will Sprewell’s role change or stay the same?
What if Sprewell makes it clear he doesn’t want to be the team’s sixth man, again? Will the Knicks be forced to trade him? Or do the Knicks keep Sprewell, keep Van Gundy and force the coach to make him a starter? Or is Van Gundy pushed out so a new coach can figure out a way to keep Sprewell happy?
All are volatile issues that will be addressed whether the Knicks get past the Hawks or not. Perhaps Knicks fans better enjoy this while they can.
