The coach who gave Dikembe Mutombo his strongest endorsement wasn't Lenny Wilkens and certainly wasn't Byron Scott.

Eddie Jordan, however, knows firsthand how Mutombo can wreak havoc under the basket. He saw it last season as an assistant coach in New Jersey, where Mutombo had trouble finding minutes in Scott's rotation. And on Saturday, Jordan watched Mutombo bully his young team during the Knicks' 102-98 victory.

"Absolutely he can still be a factor in the playoffs," said Jordan, the Wizards' coach. "With his size and experience it gives your other bigs more time to rest and it gives Lenny some insurance that he's got a guy in case there is an injury.

"I think Dikembe can play longer than spot duty, a little stretch here, a little stretch there. Is he going to be in the top eight? I don't know. Maybe Lenny goes nine or 10. Nazr (Mohammed) is playing well, so it's going to be Lenny's call. But I think he feels a lot more comfortable having Dikembe there than not having him there."

For the second straight game, Mutombo was a presence in the middle. In 29 minutes, Mutombo produced six points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. His experience and toughness could earn him more minutes than Mohammed, the incumbent, or Vin Baker, who is more of a scoring center.

"I just want to let to let my teammates know that I'm ready and I'm getting ready night after night and I'm going to be there for them," Mutombo said. "It's been a long time since I got a chance to play again."