With centers Nazr Mohammed, Vin Baker and Bruno Sundov all off to slow starts this preseason, coupled with the emergence of Mike Sweetney, it is becoming increasingly likely that Lenny Wilkens will feature a three forward line-up of Sweetney, Kurt Thomas and Tim Thomas.  

All three players are roughly 6-8, so they would surely be undermatched versus centers such as Shaquille O'Neal, but with such centers being a rare commodity, the trio would not likely be defensively exposed on most nights.

"It's a great combination," Sweetney said, "but, I mean, it doesn't matter which big man on this team I play with."

Although Thomas said the Knicks might give up too much height against certain teams, Wilkens was optimistic they could offset the deficit.

"I think if we play good team defense, we overcome it," Wilkens said. "It's not one person. We're the type of team where it takes everybody, and I think that we can be pretty good at it."