Perhaps playing with a sore back that’s not getting any better is finally taking its toll. With Keith Van Horn out, Allan Houston is not just playing basketball with a muscle strain in his lower back, he’s trying to carry an entire franchise.
Before the Knicks hosted Philly last night, Houston had scored just 19 points in the past two games without Van Horn. Since the opponents were the Lakers and the defending Eastern Conference finalist Pistons, the Knicks really had no chance without a lift from their two big scorers. Three, if you count Antonio McDyess.
Houston’s back was hurting more than usual before the Piston game Friday at the Palace of Auburn Hills, then he turned his ankle in the first half.
Don Chaney benched him for a key nine-minute stretch of the second half, feeling Houston was hobbling. He shot 1 of 9 in the first half, 4 of 13 for the night with four turnovers and nine points.
“I’m not putting my back as an excuse because when I had good games my back was sore,” Houston said. “I’m not going to say now it’s my back.”
One scary thought is Houston’s sore back may never heal this season if he doesn’t shut it down for a week. Chaney won’t even let the thought enter his head.i Only when they are at full strength with Van Horn and McDyess, but not now.
“I can’t afford to,” Chaney said. “It’s a dilemma. We really can’t score. He has to play.”
Chaney says Van Horn’s absence is affecting Houston, who disagrees.
“The Laker game was foul trouble, [Friday] it just wasn’t a good-shooting night,” Houston said. “Over a long period of time it’s better if we just got to make shots. We can’t be looking at what we don’t have. It is what it is. We have guys out. We can’t afford to think about we don’t have this, don’t have that.”
The offense shot 39.5 percent against the Pistons, negating their feisty defensive showing when they held Detroit to 39.7 percent shooting. Chaney feels if they play defense with that tenacity, they should win most games.
“Had we shot the ball better, we probably could’ve won this game,” said Chaney. “The defensive pressure was there. Whenever you keep a good team like that to near 40 percent that’s a great thing, but we just couldn’t score. If we play the way same way we did defensively vs. Philly, we should win the game.”
Without Van Horn, Shandon Anderson has been thrust into the starting lineup at small forward. He took a team-high 18 shots, but made just seven against Detroit.
Teams are leaving Anderson wide open, daring him to hoist his ugly shot from the perimeter. He’s been erratic. Anderson shot 1 of 5 from the 3-point line at Auburn Hills. Anderson’s spirited season last year prompted the Knicks not to make an offer to Lee Nailon, who signed with Atlanta.
The Knicks never led against the Pistons nor did they lead against the Lakers and are desperate. The Knicks were 3-9 entering last night, on the verge of dropping to 3-10 – the same 13-game mark as last season.
“We played great defense,” said Thomas, who was 5-of- 17 against Detroit. “We just couldn’t hit a shot. I led the way with all the bricks I put up.”