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His starts have gone up with the injury to teammate Patrick Ewing, though his minutes have started to slide. Still, somehow, some way, Chris Dudley will be heard from before the Knicks are through this playoff run.
Dudley will not be mistaken for someone who can score a lot of points. And, even at 6-foot-11, he won't be mistaken for a rebounding machine.
What Dudley does for the surprising Knicks is get in the way, get physical and provide some size in the middle that is missing since Ewing was sidelined for the rest of the playoffs with a bad Achilles' tendon.
Dudley has never been a scorer. In his best year, with the New Jersey Nets back in 1990-91, he averaged only 7.1 points a game. In fact, he's renowned for a terrible free throw motion, making barely more than 46 percent of his freebies in his 12 years in the NBA.
But his size has made him attractive to teams over the years, and he's not been afraid to use it. In 19 games this season in which he's averaged at least 20 minutes per game, Dudley is averaging more than four fouls per outing.
Without Ewing, the Knicks still are trying to figure out whether to use Dudley a lot or go small, and fast, against the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Whatever the New Yorkers decide, Dudley will get his minutes.
And the Pacers will no doubt know about them, one way or the other.
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Dudley has played in more than 40 playoff games in his 12 years in the NBA.