HOOPSWORLD | Basketball News & NBA Rumors

Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni has some habits.

For instance, Leandro Barbosa started only 11 games for him in Phoenix in 2005-2006, but still managed to play nearly 200 more minutes than Kurt Thomas, who made 50 starts that season.

The point is some of D’Antoni’s most-important players can be found on the bench when the game tips off.

As Knicks fans are well aware, D’Antoni likes Toney Douglas in that combo-guard, sixth-man role. The second-year defensive stopper from Florida State is seeing over 24 MPG while making 38% of his 3-point attempts. Most impressively, Douglas has dropped his turnover rate (percentage of possessions that end in a turnover) from 9.4 as a rookie to 8.0 this season, which is good enough for 12th among shooting guards and third best among point guards.

But as capable as Douglas has become, his new teammate Chauncey Billups will always be the model for efficiency among NBA guards. He’s accurate (38.9% career 3-point mark, 89.4% career free throw mark), smart, and turning Douglas into a better player.

“Him being a veteran, teaching me along the way about a lot of good things,” Douglas told HOOPSWORLD, “I’m just looking forward to it. I think we’re doing fine. We can only get better.”

Douglas and Billups were made for each other. Not only can the latter teach the former about playing intelligent basketball, but the two happen to complement each other on the court as well. Billups, a 13-year veteran, has lost some speed and has trouble keeping quick point guards in front of him on defense, but seems to do fine against bigger shooting guards. Meanwhile Douglas has the arm-reach to suffocate opposing point guards and the quick feet match them step for step.

“Of course,” Douglas said. “He’s bigger than me, he’s stronger. I like guarding the ball when they bring it up, no matter what.”

Since the Knicks will likely face off against Boston in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, someone is going to have to guard Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. Billups can probably handle the lightening-fast Rondo in small doses, but ultimately that assignment will fall on Douglas.

And when it comes to offense, Douglas feels both he and Billups are interchangeable.

“It’s whoever gets it,” he said. “Whoever wants to bring it up. Sometimes it will be, ‘I got it,” and sometimes it will be ‘You take it up.’ We both know both positions, so it don’t matter.

“It helps a lot,” Douglas continued, “because the teams struggle to guard versatile players, and that’s a good thing.”

Douglas helped push the Knicks’ win streak to seven games with 22 points against the Nets on Friday and 21 points and seven assists against the Pacers on Sunday. But even though Douglas is improving as starter Landry Fields has struggled, D’Antoni won’t hear any complaints.

“It’s whatever coach wants me to do,” Douglas said. “I don’t care about starting or coming off the bench. I just want to win. When I get on the court, I want to play hard and give it my energy, do whatever. A lot of people always say, ‘You should be starting.’ But I don’t say none of that. I don’t care. Whatever it takes for the team to win. I’m for it.

“I’ve always been a starter,” he continued. "I can adapt to anything. It doesn’t matter. Last year, sometimes, I didn’t even play. I can adapt to it.”

Now Douglas plays a lot (he averaged 28.3 MPG last month), and he’s noticeably more confident. He’s not only excited about his first preseason, Douglas is supremely confident as well.

“I’m looking forward to it a lot,” he said. “It’s going to be a great feeling. Especially playing on the road or at Madison Square Garden. I’ll be prepared.

“Nobody wants to go on the court and feel like we’re not better than anybody,” Douglas continued. “At the same time, you’ve got to play your game on the court. You can’t just say, ‘we’re gonna beat them.’ Any team on the court can beat anyone.”

Kemba Declares

Kemba Walker decided to pull a Costanza and leave the University of Connecticut on top. The point guard has declared for the NBA Draft according to an Associated Press report.

Walker, who coach Jim Calhoun advised on the decision, will reportedly make his announcement public at a press conference on Tuesday.

"It would be a lot of fun if I came back," Walker told the AP last week. "These guys are my brothers and I love them. So, if I have an opportunity to come back, it would be special."

Walker finished the season averaging 23.5 PPG and 5.4 APG before ultimately helping the school win its third national championship.

Curry Can Keep His Talents Where They Are

The Miami HEAT will not be signing former Knicks center Eddy Curry, Adrian Wojnarowksi reported at Yahoo! Sports.

Curry did have several workouts with the HEAT after being waived by the Denver Nuggets, but ultimately president Pat Riley decided against signing the veteran.

Wojnarowski writes that several teams, Miami included, will be paying close attention to Curry over the offseason to determine if he’s improved his conditioning enough to return to the NBA in 2011-2012.

{AUTHOR_BOX}Walsh Lashes Out

Knicks president Donnie Walsh was rumored to be interested in the Indiana Pacers position—essentially his old job—if Larry Bird were going to retire. So when the French Lick native told reporters he’s leaning toward a return, the media approached Walsh—who was in Indianapolis to see the Knicks beat the Pacers—for his thoughts on the subject.

"I’m angry about that," Walsh told Marc Berman of The New York Post. "There’s absolutely no truth to it. I never talked to [Pacers owner] Herb Simon or anybody else about it. To me, it’s something someone makes up.

"I’m glad he’s coming back," Walsh continued. "He doesn’t need it. If it’s interfering with his lifestyle, I could see him saying: I’ll go to Florida and fish all day."

Walsh was also asked about the rumors concerning Kentucky coach John Calipari, who would supposedly replace coach Mike D’Antoni and Walsh.

“I don’t know nothing about that," Walsh said. "Some of it is promotion by people who want to get in the press."

But despite the New York media’s repeated hounding, Walsh is still open to the idea of returning to the Knicks next season. He admits the years are catching up, but Walsh is still trying to forge a winner.

"I’ve been doing it so long, I don’t want to say it’s a big part of my life," Walsh concluded. "It’s not the truth. It’s just part of what you are. And I don’t want to end it until I’m done and happy with it."

More Twitter: Make sure you are following all of our guys on Twitter to ensure you are getting the very latest from our team: @stevekylerNBA, @AlexKennedyNBA, @jfleminghoops, @TheRocketGuy, @EricPincus, @joelbrigham, @alexraskinNBA, @stephenlitel, @TommyBeer and @YannisHW.

NBA Chats: HOOPSWORLD editor Jason Fleming will host his weekly chat tonight at 8 p.m. EST. These chats fill up fast so getting in early always helps your odds. You can always find the next NBA chat here: Upcoming HOOPSWORLD Chats.