NEW YORK – It was with some degree of desperation that the New York Knicks turned to Ron Baker over the weekend when all looked bleak. Faced with double-digit deficits heading into the fourth quarters of games in Milwaukee and Indiana, the coach, Jeff Hornacek, plugged Baker, a third-string point guard from Wichita State, into the lineup and watched the Knicks suddenly come alive.
Over a total of 24 minutes in those games, all in the fourth quarter, Baker had a point differential of plus-30 during his time on the court.
The effect of Baker underscores a fundamental problem for these Knicks, who are 17-20, huddled with seven other teams in the middle of the Eastern Conference.