They are joined, Latrell Sprewell and Allan Houston. They are the heart of the New York Knicks, and any title hopes in Gotham start with them. One got pizzaid this summer and one is still trying to get back money he thinks he's owed by his former employer and no, they're not feuding. With no doubt that both are the leaders of this squad in the post-Ewing era, both are under the microscope.

	Houston and Van Gundy are happy with their contracts, but Sprewell is not.

Okay, Houston moreso. Getting $100 mil will do that.

Houston is matter-of-fact when his deal happened. He was more surprised, he says, when the Knicks signed him away from Detroit to the original seven-year, $56 million deal in 1996. (He had an out clause after five seasons.) That contract, he says, was for potential. This one is based on performance. He never seriously entertained being a Bull, or demanding a trade.

"I kept (options) open," he says. "I learned from Detroit that you can expect to be somewhere, and then all of a sudden, a situation comes up that you never expected. But I felt comfortable with them wanting me here. They told me they wanted me here. I wanted to be here."

Though Houston's deal dwarfs the previous franchise record by tens of millions, Coach Jeff Van Gundy, of course, dismisses any idea that Houston's deal will put more pressure on him.

"That's the most ridiculous notion I've ever heard of," Van Gundy said. "To expect him to be significantly better and get 30 a night because he's signed a big contract? I think that notion is perfectly absurd. Is Jordan expected to do less because he (only) makes a million? We have expectations of Allan based not on his contract, but based on his ability, on his game and helping us win and being team-oriented. We're happy for Allan, and I'm happy for his contract."

Sprewell, though, makes no secret about his unhappiness with the team's inability to add size at power forward and center in the offseason.

"We're very small again," Sprewell said. "The man's over there" -- and he points at Scott Layden, the Knicks' GM. "We don't make those decisions."

He was more hoping than certain that there was a way to get Chris Webber to New York. But Sprewell says he made no demands this summer. He says he doesn't have the relationship yet with Layden that he used to have with former president Dave Checketts and ex-general manager Ernie Grunfeld.

"Those guys, they had no problem coming to me and talking to me," Sprewell says. "I don't know why Scott and I really haven't developed that kind of relationship. It takes time; I understand that. So I don't think either one of us is really pushing the issue at this point. Like Jeff and myself, it took a couple of years ... it took time to develop that. And maybe Scott and I are going through that process, I don't know."

One relationship that is fine, both Sprewell and Houston insist, is the one they have with each other. The tabloids insisted otherwise, after Sprewell's post-Game-5 rant against his teammates when they came up small against the Raptors at the Garden last April. Because Houston had a horrible game, the assumption was that Sprewell was targeting his comments specifically at Houston.

"I didn't feel like my comments were directed totally toward Allan Houston," Sprewell said. "I think people felt they were because he didn't have a good game. And I understand that probably the reason he didn't have a good game was because he was in foul trouble. The bottom line is, in years past here we've always had four or five guys, if not more, step up and do their part, especially in big games like that. That was the first deciding game that I had been a part of where we just didn't have guys play to their potential and see what it takes to win a game like that. That's the message I was trying to get across to the reporters at that time."

He worked out with Houston at SUNY-Purchase during the summer, and saw him again at the Taste of Chicago in July. But there wasn't really anything to squash.

"If there was something to really talk about, we would have talked about it," Houston says. "I think one little thing got blown way out of proportion. Media Day was crazy, because everybody was like, 'are you and Spree okay?' There was nothing in the first place."

	Knight

	Spencer

But if Sprewell and Houston are cool, Sprewell still sees a roster with only three big men of any size -- and two of those are Felton Spencer and Travis Knight. It frustrates him, because he sees so much talent at point guard (Mark Jackson, Howard Eisley and Charlie Ward), shooting guard (Houston and Shandon Anderson) and small forward (himself and Clarence Weatherspoon).

"Honestly, I feel we're not big enough," Sprewell said. "Other than Marcus (Camby), he's our one guy that's 6-11 plus. Spoon and Othella (Harrington), Kurt (Thomas) -- Kurt's maybe a true 6-7, but those other guys are like 6-6. They're my height. I feel like they're big and they'll body me, but if the ball's in the air I can jump with them. And you want your power forwards to be able to dominate a guy like myself. If the ball's in the air, there should be no doubt that I'm not getting the ball over those guys. That's what I would like to see. Somebody that you know is going to be a horse down low, and you don't have to worry about rebounding."

Houston agrees, to a point.

"To beat the Lakers or Portland, somebody like that, you still have to have someone who can handle Shaq," he says. "But at the same time, I do strongly feel that if you have a dominant perimeter game, you can neutralize that ... look at Orlando. They've got two guys that are hard to match up with. We've got the same thing."

But Sprewell is asked if it's hard to understand how an organization that quickly agreed to pay Houston nine figures, and who is paying him eight-figure cheddar, and Ward $28 million, and who will buy out the $29 million left on Larry Johnson's contract (details are being worked out as we speak; the Knicks want to defer the $6 million or so that they'll have to pay LJ that insurance won't cover), and who gave Weatherspoon $26 million, and who took on the remainder of Jackson's contract and Knight's contract last season, can't figure out a way to bring in a big man-no matter how much he costs.

"Well, to be honest, yeah," Sprewell says. "We sell out every game, and our fans love the Knicks. And I think they deserve to have that reflected in the personnel on the floor. I don't know if guys are intimidated by the city. I don't know what it is. How can you not love New York and how can you not want to play there. If you're a player, New York is one of the places you want to be. I'm hoping that's not the issue. I can't imagine it could be."

But Sprewell says there's no point in complaining. He's got to play the hand he and Houston have been dealt. The Knicks should be able to run and they still should be able to defend.

"I'd like to see more size here, but I know one thing -- we're working very hard in practice," he says. "Marcus is gonna do his part. And Kurt's very good. We just have to keep him out of foul trouble. He likes to reach a lot. If we can keep Kurt on the floor, and Clarence, and maybe even Felton ... the thing that's frustrating is that we have so much talent at the one and the two and three. We're loaded there. Jeff has guys that can defend and guys that can score and guys that can shoot at all of those positions. Maybe that will balance out."

He tries to convince you. He has to first convince himself.