Trade away Patrick Ewing, retire Larry Johnson, put Marcus Camby on the shelf, and what have the Knicks got? Leading rebounder: Latrell Sprewell.

It's a quirky twist for coach Jeff Van Gundy. Every season, he calls upon his perimeter players to help out on the boards. When they do, the Knicks' big men disappear. It's a disturbing trend that has emerged through five preseason games, and it's certainly not what Van Gundy had in mind all those times he wished his "smalls" would play big.

Sprewell and point guard Mark Jackson each had seven rebounds to lead the Knicks in their 98-91 victory over the Suns Wednesday night in Phoenix. It was the second straight game in which Sprewell topped the rebounding column in the boxscore, and his five-game total of 26 is tied for the team lead with starting power forward Kurt Thomas, who is supposed to fill that role.