PORTLAND – Jeff Van Gundy knows what it’s like to see his club play with the “mental toughness” necessary to beat good teams on the road. His Knicks did it late last season during their magical run to the Finals.
But that attribute has been missing this season, as evidenced by the 13-18 road record the Knicks took into their five-game wicked West trip that began last night here.
“Against good teams on the road, it’s about mental and physical toughness,” Van Gundy said. “Do you have the toughness to withstand a run by another team, a call that doesn’t go your way?
“You get banged, do you stay down or do you get right back up and do your next assignment? That’s what winning on the road is about – physical and mental toughness.”
Their lacking both those elements was noticeable all the way back on Nov. 11 when the Knicks blew a nine-point, fourth-quarter lead in Minnesota and collapsed in the din of Target Center. They have yet to post a road victory over a Western team with a winning record. Entering last night, their only Western road wins were over Dallas, Houston, Denver and Golden State.
“To win on the road against good teams, you can’t have random possessions on offense, which we’ve had, particularly in transition, where we’re a poor conversion team,” Van Gundy said. “And your best players have to step up and make plays late in games.”
The Knicks hammered the Blazers in their last meeting Feb. 3, but that was at the Garden when they feasted on home cooking, shooting 35 free throws to Portland’s 13. Van Gundy believes the key to that win was motivation.
“The biggest difference is we got humiliated by Orlando in the game before,” Van Gundy said of the 98-77 Garden slaying. “We always react fairly well after a humiliating performance. It translated into more aggression defensively against a good team and also taking the ball to the basket.”
Latrell Sprewell should be a key to whether the Knicks have success on this trip. Bred on the Western Conference, Sprewell knows those teams better than his teammates. The Knicks face Sacramento tomorrow, Seattle Wednesday, Vancouver Friday and the Lakers Sunday.
“You build confidence that you can go into other peoples’ places and win, that’s the biggest thing,” Sprewell said. “I think it’s a good challenge for this team and an opportunity if we finish this trip strong, I think we’ll prove a lot of things to a lot of people.”
Sprewell had been on a tear the last three weeks. He averaged 22.7 points on 51 percent shooting in his last three games and had been playing with a lot more consistency than Allan Houston since the All-Star break.
“I’m just comfortable,” Sprewell said. “I just feel this is the team I belong on and I really feel comfortable with it.”
Spree thinks this club may be ready to go on another road run like last season’s squad.
“I think we’ve just grown together,” Sprewell said. ” We’re definitely more familiar with each other and are on the same page.”
The Knicks hoped to take advantage of a Blazers team that had struggled to a 6-6 record over its last 12 games, had lost three straight at home and were without Arvydas Sabonis (sprained foot). The more mobile Jermaine O’Neal, a 21-year-old, 6-11 reserve, was expected to take on Patrick Ewing, who is 16 years his elder.
“They’ll trap more,” Van Gundy said. “He’s a better offensive rebounder. They’ll go to other places to get a post-up game. They’re no worse. They’re just different.”
“Patrick dominated Sabonis the first time,” Marcus Camby said. “He wasn’t that much of a factor. Granted, they’ll miss his toughness. But they haven’t been playing particularly good basketball right now. If we could come out, jump on them early and maintain the lead, we should be fine.”