Empty the Bench

The Knicks’ playoff dreams sustained a stress fracture the same time Jamal Crawford did.

Jamal Crawford, the Knicks second leading scorer, will be out for the remainder of the season barring some kind of miracle healing process. New York will sorely miss his scoring punch, outside shooting and ball handling skills. Before the injury, Crawford was posting a nice fantasy line: 17.9 points, 4.5 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1.8 three-pointers in 38 minutes. Also of note was his 84% FT shooting on 4.7 attempts per game. The man set to take his place is Nate Robinson, who is considerably less savvy on the offensive end, especially in terms of passing, basketball IQ, IQ and perimeter shooting.

Although Thomas said he will miss Crawford’s shot-making ability, the 26-year-old’s ball-handling also will be sorely missed on a team two games off the pace for the final playoff spot. With Steve Francis out (right knee), Stephon Marbury and Robinson will have to handle the ball more than ever.

Thomas was trying to avoid that with the erratic second-year Robinson, whom former coach Larry Brown once called “the farthest thing from a point guard.”

“God bless his soul, yes, he probably will have to [handle the ball]. And forgive me, Lord, for the things I’m going to say to him,” Thomas said of Robinson before erupting into laughter.

Fantasy owners will certainly have a hard time replacing his production. This is obviously a boost for Quentin Richardson, assuming he can stay on the court himself. New York is already without the services of Steve Francis, so there are a lot of minutes up for grabs in the Knick backcourt. Nate Robinson might be worth a look (a look, not an add just yet), but it remains to be seen how the Knicks’ rotation adjustments will work out.

“Very disappointing, obviously,” Crawford said after yesterday’s practice, where he was dressed in sweats and flip-flops. “You never really expect something like this to happen. But I guess it’s part of life.”