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 maki ...
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Article written by Paul Kasabian
Mike D’Antoni Band-Aids New York Knicks’ Center Problem by Starting Ronny Turiaf
November 22nd, 2010 by Paul Kasabian Leave a reply »
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