Knicks Happy About Mutumbo

[wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

> Still need a point guard and for McDyess to be/stay healthy....
> 
> DEKE'S A BIG PLUS 
> 
> By MARC BERMAN - NY Post
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> 
> October 10, 2003 -- WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - Maybe the season won't be a disaster after all. 
> Keith Van Horn believes the Knicks can compete with anyone in the East. Allan Houston agrees, calling Dikembe Mutombo's addition "icing on the cake." Certainly, the Knicks are at the very least playoff contenders now. 
> 
> The Knicks are thinking big thoughts with a potential frontline of 6-10 Van Horn, 6-9 Antonio McDyess and 7-2 Mutombo, who officially signed last night a three-year deal of which $8 million is guaranteed. A buyout clause is included in the third year. Mutombo will attend his first Knick practice today and suit up tomorrow against Latrell Sprewell's T'wolves at the Garden. 
> 
> "We've got us a center," Don Chaney declared before last night's 84-75 preseason loss to the Nets at Wachovia Arena. 
> 
> But is he the same sharp-elbowed center that earned him eight All-Star Games? Mutombo, 37, played just 24 Nets' games last season and some league executives believe he's become too slow, not the same paint intimidator. 
> 
> "What he brought to the table in 1996 is what he brings to the table in 2003," Chaney said. 
> 
> "It's about his heart," Knick GM Scott Layden said. "We think he's going to make a big impact on our team. He's going to help this team, there's no question. He's going to help us win." 
> 
>  
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> "I feel we can compete with any team in the East as the team stands right now," added Van Horn, who sat out last night with a strained groin. "I don't see any team on any given night we can't beat. We're not in a situation where we're severely lacking talent here. There's a lot of talent on this team." 
> 
> And a lot of ifs. It's a mystery whether McDyess' left knee will withstand a full season, and Mutombo is no sure thing. But if all goes according to Layden's fantasy, the Knicks could boast the league's biggest frontline after having the NBA's puniest team last season. 
> 
> "Realistically, I think we can compete for the East even if we didn't have Dikembe - if McDyess plays more games," Houston said. "He's icing on the cake. Very good icing. 
> 
> While starting center Kurt Thomas is a good defender and believes he's a shot-blocker, he's barely 6-9 and now could be expendable for a standout point guard such as Nick Van Exel. 
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> "It's going to be tough to take me to the bench, I promise you that," Thomas vowed. "It's going to be hard for him to just walk in and get the starting job." 
> 
> "[Dikembe's] talented enough where he totally changes the game defensively," Chaney said. "When there's penetration, you don't have a guy who can consistently block shots. This guy can protect you in a lot of ways." 
> 
> So the Knicks have two players - Van Horn and Mutombo - Eastern powers, the Nets and Sixers, both traded. 
> 
> Van Horn took his first dig at the Sixers, saying "All the players there know there's a revolving door. It's kind of joked about in the locker room." 
> 
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