PHILADELPHIA VS. INDIANA MILWAUKEE VS. ORLANDO MIAMI VS. CHARLOTTE NEW YORK VS. TORONTO SAN ANTONIO VS. MINNESOTA L.A. LAKERS VS. PORTLAND SACRAMENTO VS. PHOENIX UTAH VS. DALLAS

Wednesday, May 30 Style's the same, but these Knicks are different By Mitch Lawrence Special to ESPN.com A crazy thing happened the other night when Patrick Ewing watched his first Knicks playoff game from celebrity row in Madison Square Garden. Kurt Thomas is now starting and thriving in the Knicks' lineup. For the first time, the crowd's booing wasn't directed at him. That's not all that's new in the Knicks' playoff season. The team basically is. True, they play the same style. The emphasis is on defense and rebounding first. The New York fans continue to expect way too much. They still have the most bizarre off-court stuff happen to them. And Jeff Van Gundy still gets more out of the talent he has than anyone else could. "But for people to talk about us like this team has been together in the playoffs, that's incorrect," Van Gundy said. "We're in unchartered waters." They'll likely end up in water that's too deep, owing to a lack of low-post scoring threat, very little size and muscle up front and suspect rebounders. But they're also just one more win -- Wednesday in Toronto -- from getting to the second round for the 10th straight season. Just don't call them the old Knicks. Yet even in New York, they're still thought of as the Ewing Era Knicks. After they lost to Toronto by 20 in Game 2, the sports radio wizards talked of how the Knicks would bounce back after what Van Gundy termed a "wretched loss." Why? Because the Knicks always have. "I didn't know how this team would handle it," Van Gundy said. "As a group, we're very different. You don't know how players will react in the pressure of the playoffs when they've got new roles or they're new to the team until they start playing." Out with the old: Ewing, the only Knick to command a double-team and the one player who could get the benefit of the whistles late in games, is now sitting in the $1,500 chairs. Larry Johnson, a dependable low-mistake player who always drew the toughest defensive assignment up front, is sidelined with back troubles. Johnson Ewing So now they've got a new starter at power forward and center, both first-time post-season starters. Kurt Thomas, a long-time reserve, has been thrust into Johnson's role. After sitting out Game 3, due to a hostage crisis at his mother's house only hours following the playoff opener, Marcus Camby will be back in Toronto to man the center spot as the Knicks try to close out Vince Carter. Jackson Rice What else is new? Glen Rice, still complaining about shots, got more than enough touches and minutes last game at ... power forward. Mark Jackson is the new starting point guard, with Charlie Ward now coming in off the bench. Is that enough changes for one team? "With all we've had, I had no idea what we were going to do coming into the playoffs," said Van Gundy. "We have players with playoff experience, but you just don't know how they'll react together for the first time." So far, so good. “ This team is known for when things go bad, they rally together. That was a prime example. It's a trademark. ” — Othella Harrington In Sunday's win in Toronto, they withstood a fourth-quarter rally to take a 2-1 series lead. But when they fell behind in the fourth quarter, "I didn't know if we'd crack or execute,." Van Gundy later admitted. They held up just fine. They still know how to get the ball into Houston's hands. They can still get to the line with Sprewell or Houston late. And their defense was good enough to stop Vince Carter's assaults. "This team is known for when things go bad, they rally together," said Othella Harrington, who got his first ever playoff start, replacing Camby, in Game 3. "That was a prime example. It's a trademark." Just on a newer version of the Knicks. Ewing's departure was the biggest change. Even though injuries had limited him in the last three seasons, he could still come through with big playoff efforts, like his 20-point, 10-rebound performance in the Knicks' Game 5 win at Miami last season. His controversial trade for Rice, who gave the Knicks three perimeter scorers at two spots, leaves a void that figures to be exposed in the playoffs. "Patrick provided a stability," said Van Gundy. "You knew what you were going to get. You were going to get basket protection. The only time of the year he offensive rebounded? In the playoffs. So we're different. This is the path we have chosen." It won't lead to a title because they don't have a Shaq or Duncan. But it was endorsed, at least privately, by the very same players who wish that Ewing were still around to draw in the defense. "That's the way you get open shots in this league, in the playoffs -- you need guys to get doubled," Van Gundy said. "Whatever it is, on post plays, isolations and pick-and-rolls. That's what we have to get from someone." So far, it hasn't hurt them in the playoffs, but those are the Raptors they're in the process of defeating. Rice, for instance, had his best scoring game in weeks at the expense of Jerome Williams. But who's to say Houston or Sprewell can draw extra defenders in the second round. "Patrick looked to score more than Larry (Johnson) does, so with the attention he got, that freed Allan and me up, a lot," Sprewell said. "Teams doubled down more and that opened it up for us." "Without Patrick, we have been affected," said Houston, whose field goal percentage dipped from 48 last season to 45 percent. "We've had tougher shots. We didn't get as many wide-open looks as in the past. I know I had more hands in my face. But it's a new challenge." For the new Knicks. Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com. 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