Collins Gives the Knicks a Reminder

mardy_collins_250.jpg
Mardy Collins had nearly faded from the memory banks, and the Knicks’ rotation, by the time tipoff arrived last night. Nate Robinson, reformed but still explosive, had burst past him. Fred Jones, more seasoned and savvy, had slipped by quietly.

It took less than a quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers for Collins to shove himself back into the discussion, and perhaps the Knicks’ still-evolving rotation. Collins entered the game late in the first quarter and caused instant havoc, collecting four steals, a blocked shot and three free throws in 10 minutes.

Collins did not play in the second half of the Knicks’ 103-90 victory at Madison Square Garden. His performance was timely, coming in the Knicks’ next-to-last game of the preseason. Collins had not played a minute in the previous two games and had, by all appearances, lost his foothold in Coach Isiah Thomas’s guard rotation. But the soft-spoken Collins, who is not prone to wild declarations, calmly insisted he had no concern about his role.

“I know I bring a different aspect from Nate and Fred,” said Collins, who said playing as the first guard off the bench was “always the goal.”

The problem, other than the Knicks’ usual glut of guards, has been a slow-to-heal left knee. Collins had arthroscopic surgery in May and is not 100 percent. Thomas held Collins out of two preseason games in part to protect the knee, which took a beating in training camp.

Continue