Allan Houston thinks the impending Shaq to Miami trade may threaten the Knicks chances in the Atlantic unless they get a big man.

"With the possibility of somebody going to Miami, we're going to need somebody to bang up against him and clog up the middle," the Knicks' captain said of Miami's pending acquisition of Shaquille O'Neal.

"I'm sure Isiah will do everything he can to make that happen. That would be the biggest thing for us."

Two big men the Knicks have been looking at lately are the Cavalier's Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Golden State's Erick Dampier.