Toney, Toney, Toney

The Knicks are playing great now. They're coming off a 22-point pasting of the Jazz and have gone 5-3 since acquiring slutty bartender Carmelo Anthony (5-1 not counting the unstoppable Cavs) including impressive wins over the Heat and Hornets. However, the most important player on the Knicks roster isn't Melo or Amar'e Stoudemire. It's Toney Douglas.

OK, that's an exaggeration. If Amar'e pokes himself in the eye while he's knotting one of his designer bow ties, then the Knicks are fucked. Stat and Melo give the Knicks consistent production between them: lots of scoring and some defense and rebounding. Landry Fields is going to make some shots and hit the boards. Ronny Turiaf is going to do the dirty work and look confused every time he touches the ball. Chauncey Big Shot is going to distribute the ball, provide leadership, and hit the big shots. Down the roster, the range of possibilities for every player is fairly standard, but Toney Douglas is the biggest X-factor on the team and accordingly his output plays an unfairly large role in the team's success.

Toney Douglas had a decent first year backing up the immortal Chris Duhon. He was a defensive specialist but when the ball was in his hands, it was a bit nerve-wracking. Mainly it was the 3-point shooting. He shot almost 39% last year but it dipped to 35.6% this year and he got a lot of open looks from teams double-teaming Amar'e. With Ray Felton playing well and his shot off, Douglas's playing time went down in the early part of the season but he had his moments. He scored 30 points and was easily the star in a big national win over the Bulls and Derrick Rose.

With Big Shot out for the past few games, Douglas has had time to shine. He shut down Chris Paul and scored 24 points (4-6 3P) against the Hornets and went for 20 against the Jazz (5-7 3P). The Knicks are 7-3 when Douglas scores 15 points including wins in the last four occurrences. He continues to play tenacious defense on a team where it is sorely lacking. Jameer Nelson killed the Knicks last week. He and Derrick Rose loom as potential first-round playoff opponents.

If Douglas can contribute 20-25 solid minutes a game, he makes all the difference. He has been playing with poise recently and having Big Shot as a mentor helps a lot. Douglas has to be able to stay on the court and continue to show that he can play with consistency when Big Shot returns. He needs to lead the team on defense, be assertive on offense, and hit the open 3 when his number is called. His energy and athleticism will inspire the older guys to get some floor burn, but he has to be productive on both sides of the court. Douglas is not going to get a ton of minutes in crunch time, but he will play a larger role on the 2010-2011 New York Knickerbockers than anybody realizes.