via bleacherreport.com
Allow me to invoke my inner Rick Pitino here to convey the Knicks' tenuous center dilemma at the moment.
Willis Reed is not walking through that door. Patrick Ewing is not walking through that door. Marcus Camby is not walking through that door.
Amar'e Stoudemire walked through that door and proudly declared the Knicks back, but to call him a combo power forward/center is silly because I'm not sure how many centers like to face-up their defender 15 feet from the basket and drive to the hole. I'm also not sure how many centers are as allergic to defense as Amar'e, but that's a different story.
The Knicks' saving grace down low, and perhaps overall, is 6'8" Ronny Turiaf, who serves as the perfect complement to Stoudemire. Turiaf patrols the starting power forward spot these days, moving Stoudemire to the "center" position. This partnership is proving to work wonders as they each fill each other's gaps.
Turiaf is top-20 in the Eastern Conference with a plus-minus of 56 on a list filled with All-Stars. He is the ultimate team player, masking his deficiencies on the offensive end by playing aggressive and timely defense, while making all the little plays playoff contending teams need to make.
The Knicks are a 6-5 team with Turiaf in the lineup, but the injury-prone big man was hurt for three games, all Knickerbocker losses. With Turiaf out and Stoudemire battling foul trouble in one of those losses against Minnesota, Kevin Love torched the Knicks for 31 points and 31 rebounds in a maestro performance that hadn't been emulated since Moses Malone sprung for 32 and 38 in 1982.
When Turiaf returned from injury, he immediately began making all the little plays again, helping the Knicks to a three-game winning streak on the West Coast. He sprung for seven points, eight assists and three blocks in a 125-119 win at Golden State in 35 minutes of play. His court time was peculiar because he had played for over 30 minutes only once prior to this night.
Herein lies a problem, however. The Knicks' saving grace has never played a full season or averaged more than 22 minutes per game through an entire season. So how do the Knicks rectify this situation and find a Plan B when Turiaf is not on the court?
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