Jae C. Hong/AP
Tim Duncan and Spurs will provide Knicks with one of few serious tests so far this season.
SAN ANTONIO ? Undefeated, but largely untested.
That?s the Knicks through five games, and that?s exactly why Mike Woodson wants to see how the league?s last unbeaten team stacks up Thursday night against the team with the second-best record in the NBA. In winning seven of their first eight games, the San Antonio Spurs have stubbed their toe only in a road loss at the L.A. Clippers.
?It will be a great test for our ballclub,? Woodson said after practice here on Wednesday. ?I?m kind of anxious to see where we are. We?re playing one of the top teams in the league, on their floor. It will be interesting to see where we come out of it.?
When the Heat no-showed at the Garden in the Knicks? opener, that meant that the Knicks had to wait until now to find out how they measure up against one of the NBA?s elite teams. Playing without Amar?e Stoudemire or Iman Shumpert hasn?t hurt them yet as they?ve trailed only once in a fourth quarter, during their win Tuesday in Orlando.
Although the Spurs haven?t raised a banner since 2007 and have not played in a Finals since LeBron James was playing that year for Cleveland, they?re still considered the gold standard. Until they were ousted by Oklahoma City in the West finals last spring, they looked ready to win a fifth title after sweeping their first two rounds.
After seeing the Spurs beat the Lakers Tuesday night on Danny Green?s game-winning three-pointer, the Knicks figure that they?ll get the best from Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker at the AT&T Center.
?They know what it takes to win championships and we?re trying to get there,? Woodson said. ?They?re not gonna beat themselves. You?ve got to come in here and win the game. That?s where we are trying to get.?
The best thing for Woodson and his players is that they?re also going to be challenged in Memphis on Friday when the three-game trip ends. ?I believe in what our team is doing,? Woodson said. ?I believed that this summer when we assembled this team.?
A win over the Spurs would only strengthen that conviction, but the Knicks have to be a little concerned heading in that Ronnie Brewer has developed swelling in his surgically-repaired left knee. Their starting small forward, who had offseason surgery and missed five of the Knicks? six preseason games, sat out practice Wednesday while wearing a huge compression sleeve in an effort to reduce the inflammation, which started during his abbreviated, 17-minute performance in Orlando. But he?s not about to miss such a critical game.
?This is how you measure yourself as a team,? Brewer said. ?You want to have success against the best teams. Miami has won a championship. San Antonio has won championships. Boston and L.A.
?You want to be mentioned with those great teams and great players. So it?s a measuring-stick game for us and I think our guys will step up and play well.?
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