KNICKS HAVE A BIG PROBLEM.

Byline: JOE STEVENS

The New York Knicks have been so horrible -- and so overpaid -- for the past few years that someone deserves the blame for their woes.

And I blame Patrick Ewing.

Ever since the Big Fella left them in 2000, they haven't won a playoff series and have spiraled out of control similarly to Michael Douglas in the 1993 film ``Falling Down.''

The Knicks are down, way down, and the spiraling doesn't look close to stopping.

Of course, I jest when I put blame on Ewing. Trading the franchise's all-time leading scorer, when he was 38 after 15NBA seasons, might not have been that wrong -- other than for sentimental reasons.

But the Ewing exodus is the obvious point from which the Knicks' awful run started. Some might argue that point came in 1997, when Cablevision took full control of the Knicks, NHL's New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden.

Cablevision and the Dolan clan, though, lived off their predecessors' moves to make it to the NBA Finals in 1999 and Eastern Conference finals in 2000. Then, things went awry.

The big story in New York still is that James L. Dolan continues to be a laughingstock as the head of the Knicks. His basketball man, general manager/coach Isiah Thomas, has made some awful moves and likely will be fired at the end of this season -- unless the Knicks miraculously make the playoffs.

As it stands now, the Knicks are 15-21 and in the hunt in the league's worst division. Steve Francis is out with an injured knee, and apparently the injury is so bad that he had to leave the team to rehabilitate it in Houston.

Quentin Richardson has back spasms and also is out. Add to the mix an array of suspensions from a brawl with the Denver Nuggets, and the Knicks have some excuses of why they remain so putrid.

``We just got to get healthy,'' Thomas said. ``I really think if we can ever get healthy and play with a complete roster and get everybody playing the roles and parts that they're supposed to play within this team, I do think the longer the season goes, the better team that we'll become. At the end of the season, we could be one of those teams fighting for a position.''

Thomas has always had a guard's mentality, and he assembled the Knicks' roster as if forwards and centers hardly matter. He has got a roster loaded with overpaid guards -- Francis, Stephon Marbury, Jamal Crawford and Richardson -- and poor big men.

While it is true that Eddy Curry is coming into his own as a center and Channing Frye sometimes shows potential, the other big men on the roster, including Jared Jeffries, Malik Rose and Jerome James, are not even close to comprising a competitive frontcount.

When the Knicks visited LosAngeles on New Year's Eve and the Clippers pounded them inside, Thomas said this about the Knicks' offensive woes: ``It's tough right now because we don't have a lot of shooters on the floor. Teams have found out that by double-teaming Eddy, you'll leave some guys open who are just not knocking down the shots right now. When you are not making shots, then you are just spiraling downhill.''

Thomas was right about the spiraling downhill part, but the lack of shooters hardly is the big worry. It's the lack of big men, who have been gone since Ewing has left.

At least the Knicks showed some sort of life when they brawled with the Nuggets, although that wasn't something to admire.

For a brief time, Knicks fans could get their focus off how horrible the team has been in the Cablevision era and how awful Thomas' moves have been.

Instead, some of the focus was on how Thomas can be an instigator.

Some say he instructed his players to foul hard, and that is not hard to imagine, considering his history of similar actions.

On paper, the brawl appeared to start the Knicks' best run of the season. They won four of five following the fight, and a short-lived buzz hovered around New York, although maybe that was just coincidence.

``We were a pretty united group before (the fight),'' Thomas said.

``Coming out of training camp and going into training camp, that was one of the things we focused on. We didn't need an artificial stimulus to unite us. I'm not going to give that the credit for the players' hard work and what they've been able to do. They're better men than that.''

So the Knicks have returned to another humdrum season in which they're chasing New Jersey for the ``coveted'' Atlantic Division crown and an automatic playoff berth. They will continue to talk about how injuries have ruined their season, but in reality, the lack of big men and ridiculous roster have ruined the year.

``I think we have a chance to be real good,'' Richardson said. ``I like the makeup of our team. We have a lot of guys who can play different positions. We got a lot of versatility.''

But still nobody like Ewing.

All-NYC team: Although Marbury has been inconsistent and on underachieving teams throughout his career, he still might be the best active player from New York City. An All-Star team of players from the five boroughs who also were prep stars in the city should be: Marbury (Brooklyn), Rafer Alston (Queens), Ron Artest, Lamar Odom (Queens) and for lack of a big man -- Sebastian Telfair (Brooklyn).

Life of Riley: It must have felt nice for Pat Riley to oust Stan Van Gundy as the Miami Heat's coach last season and then lead the Heat to an NBA title. But after that, one question is this: What does he have left to prove?

Riley took an indefinite leave from the Heat last week for knee surgery that he had Friday. The timing of the surgery couldn't have been better -- the Heat were heading out on a six-game trip, and Shaquille O'Neal still wasn't with the team.

Riley probably endured less pain with the surgery than he would have on the road.

Why Maggette? Corey Maggette recently said that he doesn't believe his future is with the Clippers. He continues to be the source of constant trade rumors, and his agent asked the Clippers to trade him.

Just two seasons ago, Maggette averaged 22.2 points per game and, with Elton Brand, was a team leader.

If indeed the Clippers trade Maggette and try to make it look like he didn't buy into a team concept or the idea of playing defense, that will be an oddly twisted lie.

Maggette is far from the reason why the Clippers have been inconsistent this year, and if they move him, it is highly unlikely they will get someone back with comparable skills.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos, 6 boxes

Photo:

(1) New York coach Isiah Thomas has a team loaded with overpaid guards, like Steve Francis, left, and Stephon Marbury.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images

(2) The Philadelphia 76ers are looking for any team to take on Chris Webber's contract.

Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images

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- Ross Siler