CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Here are five observations of the New York Knicks from training camp:

1. Headed for a slow start. Latrell Sprewell's broken hand won't allow Don Chaney to put his starting five together until the regular season. Conducting his first training camp with the Knicks, Chaney wanted to use the preseason to get the lineup -- with new starters at point guard (Charlie Ward or Howard Eisley) and power forward (Antonio McDyess) -- some continuity.

2. Major off-court distractions. Sprewell's absence and the circumstances surrounding how he broke his hand have already caused a major disturbance. The Knicks are meeting with him on Monday back in New York. Kurt Thomas, slated to start at center, was arrested on the eve of training camp after an altercation with his wife. Thomas didn't enter a plea as he faced charges of third-degree assault and risk of injury to a minor. These are the kinds of problems the Knicks don't need.

3. Change in philosophy. Chaney wants to run more than Jeff Van Gundy's teams, and also pick up defensively farther up the court. Chaney says he can live with more turnovers if the offense runs more and produces off the fast break, and he hopes that picking up sooner on defense will increase steals and opponent turnovers. The Knicks will use their exhibition games to see if they really have the personnel to speed up the game at both ends.

4. No more blank checks. The Knicks are committed to salaries in the high $90-million area for this year and next. But in this recession, their owner, Cablevision, has been losing money at a record clip. The trickle-down effect is that when team president Scott Layden tried to make a run this past summer for Dikembe Mutombo, who has three seasons at $54 million left on his contract, he was told no by ownership. It's a major change in philosophy, since Layden and the Knicks have been used to operating with a blank check.

5. Goodbye, Charleston. Having just moved into a new $30 million practice facility in Westchester County -- also housing the Rangers and WNBA Liberty -- the Knicks are likely here in Charleston for the final time. Besides training here before the season since 1991, Pat Riley and Van Gundy used to bring the Knicks to Charleston for their pre-playoff camps.

Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com.