NBA

Knicks turn to Darko for defense

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Knicks are desperate for someone to bolster the worst interior defense in the NBA.

Darko Milicic just wants to find some lasting happiness on the basketball court.

Could this pairing give them what they both want — and be what Milicic needs to finally display the talents that made him the No. 2 pick behind LeBron James in the 2003 Draft?

“We don’t know yet, but we like what we see so far,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said.

Milicic has been losing his spirit almost as quickly as the Knicks have lost games. He’s already played for three teams, never able to live up to the hype that followed him when was drafted by Detroit at age 18.

He won a championship ring as a bench-warming rookie, but wasn’t happy then. Nor did he have much fun the last two seasons in Memphis, where he signed as a free agent but then never figured out what was expected of him.

Or, as he describes it: “Starting lineup, lose your position, starting lineup. Middle of the season, get back in the starting lineup. Shoot, don’t shoot.”

And it might have been worse with the Pistons, where Larry Brown had a veteran group that was competing for championships and often kept Milicic stuck to the bench. It was an unhappy start to a so-far unfulfilling NBA career.

“I have enough bad experience in NBA life,” Milicic said. “I don’t think this can be worse than Detroit, so I just want to enjoy it and hope to have a winning season and do the best I can.”

The Knicks acquired him from Memphis in June for Quentin Richardson, one of the only moves they made all summer. D’Antoni said New York was intrigued by Milicic’s array of skills and his ability to run the floor.

D’Antoni doesn’t know yet how well Milicic fits, but he’s hoping the center’s more stable personal life will help him relax better on the court. Milicic’s wife gave birth to their first child, a son, over the summer.

“You have trials and tribulations all along and I don’t think we can draw a comparison to how he was three years ago,” D’Antoni said. “He’s now married with a child, 24 years old and comfortable living in America. During those other years, might have been uncomfortable, you never know what happens. But we think we’ve got him at a good spot and we think that he’s intriguing at least and hopefully he’ll be a contributor.”

Milicic is excited about the chance to play in D’Antoni’s offensive system, but realizes the team needs him more for his defensive abilities. With 6-foot-9 David Lee as an undersized center, the Knicks were worst in the league last season with 204 blocked shots — NBA leader Dwight Howard had more by himself.

“If I can help this team with rebounding and blocking shots, I’ll do that,” Milicic said. “I’m going to try to score I don’t know how many points, but I’m going to do the stuff that will help this team because this team, we have a lot of players that can score here. Scoring is not a problem with this team. All the little stuff is going to help this team win.”

The Knicks think he can score, too, because D’Antoni’s system will allow him to play facing the basket when previous teams tried to use the 7-footer as a traditional, back-to-the-basket center. Milicic just hopes for some consistent minutes after feeling he was too often benched as soon as he made a mistake, and he figures to get some chances early, because center Eddy Curry is sidelined with a torn calf muscle.

Maybe D’Antoni’s system is what Milicic needs to finally become the player he was supposed to be when the Pistons took him ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. D’Antoni isn’t sure, but he hopes he’s the coach who can finally turn Milicic’s potential into results.

“Everybody tries everything and I think a lot of times it’s who you’re playing with and your surroundings, and I’ve quit trying to figure it out, because it’s like playing golf,” D’Antoni said. “Oh, I’ve got it down now, that’s when you start slicing them and hooking them and everything else. We just will take what it is and try to get the most out of it.”