Enemy Lines

an opposing team's scout sizes up the Knicks

" Clarence Weatherspoon and Kurt Thomas are going to be I animals inside. New York was the worst offensive-rebounding team in the league last season, but Weatherspoon is good in that area. He and Marcus Camby are going to get some easy baskets off the boards. People aren't going to miss Larry Johnson after they see how Weatherspoon plays....

The Knicks are living on the edge with their lack of depth around Camby. They're one injury away from being not too good....

The new rules are going to make them even tougher defensively. I bet there are going to be some games in the 60s now that Camby—who was already a great off-the-ball defender—will be able to take an additional step or two away from his man....

They're going to miss Glen Rice because scoring is their weakness. I know they're thinking that Shandon Anderson is an upgrade defensively, but they were already the best defensive team in the league....

Charlie Ward is their best point guard, but he's dragging his knee. So the question becomes, How many minutes can Mark Jackson give them at his age?...

Allan Houston has become a little inconsistent. He's one of those guys you wish could play with Sam Cassell's emotions, or Michael Jordan's, and at his age I don't see that changing....

It's amazing how Latrell Sprewell has become a cornerstone of the Knicks. The incident with P.J. Carlesimo four years ago made him tougher and gave him something to prove, and Jeff Van Gundy has given him the opportunity to prove it.