Baron Davis, at age 33, didn't think he was going to be a savior when he signed with the New York Knicks in December.
Davis, who has been out since the start of training camp because of herinated disc, participated in his first practice as a New York Knick on Monday. Davis admitted to being a little off but may feel well enough to make his season debut on Saturday against the Houston rockets.
" Everything is rusty,’’ Davis said. “Stamina, timing. I couldn’t play dead in a movie if I was asked to. We’re still taking it one day at a time. I still have strength I have to improve on. There’s still conditioning I have to improve on. The best conditioning you get is out playing basketball. Now that I can practice, it’s a matter of time."
The Knicks can't wait for that time to get a healthy Davis on the court. New York has lost six games in a row, and have a very disappointing record of 6-10. They are coming off a 0-4 homestand, and will now start a four game roadtrip that begins in Charlotte tomorrow night. Mike D'Antoni has had to use three different point guards this season, but has not any consistency from the position.
Toney Douglas has struggled all year by averaging 8 points a game on 32 percent shooting. Iman Shumpert is having a very good rookie season but is more suited at the shooting guard spot.
“Every team goes through adversity,” Davis said. “This is our adversity. There was all the hype about us winning the championship. Judge us at the end of the season. Our goal is to be ready by April.’’
Davis has beaten the intial timetable of 8-10 weeks he was expected to miss because of his back injury. He doesn't want to set his expecations high, but knows what he can bring to the table.
“The way I felt coming into the season to be where I am today is truly a blessing,” Davis said. “Once our offense catches up with our defense, we’ll be unstoppable. I’m confident this season we’ll turn it around."
Knicks rookie center Josh Harrellson broke his right wrist during Saturday night's loss to the Denver Nuggets, and will be out six weeks.
Harrellson has played in all 16 games, averaging 18.5 minutes, 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds this season.
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