Big Men Making Big Strides With Their Jumper

Darko Milicic and Jared Jeffries have impressed Knicks brass with their improved range. MSG Photos

Is this the type of offensive production Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni can expect from his two centers when the season begins in three weeks?

“(Milicic) is not quite there yet, but he has a nice range on his shot and we’ll just see how it goes,” D’Antoni said. “Jeffries has improved a lot on his shooting and we’ll just see how it goes, again, with him. But if they’re good shots, they’re good shots. We’ll just figure out who can make them, and if they can make them we’ll continue to shoot them.”

If the 6-foot-11 Jeffries continues to shoot the way he did in the preseason opener against the New Jersey Nets last Sunday, D’Antoni might just let him fire away. After clanking his first 3-point attempt off the side of the backboard, Jeffries, who made only one 3-pointer last season, hit his next three from the side, without any hesitation.

“I’m comfortable,” he said. “They told me they wanted me to extend myself out there and that I could do that if I have confidence and believe in it. I think that’s the biggest part about basketball.”

Jeffries’ newfound confidence on the offensive end of the floor has been noticeable since the Knicks opened training camp last week in Saratoga Springs following a summer of working on his jumper with assistant coaches Dan D’Antoni and Kenny Atkinson, who worked with the big man twice in Florida and once in Las Vegas during the offseason.

His work ethic has also stood out. D’Antoni said Tuesday that Jeffries “works harder than anyone I’ve ever seen,” and even the Knicks’ president has been very impressed with what he has seen from Jeffries so far this season.

“He’s been shooting the ball more and better in our practices than I’ve seen him, so I’m happy for him,” Donnie Walsh said.

“I was really happy for him because I saw him in Indiana and he wouldn’t shoot threes back then but he’d make shots around the baseline. I think it was more of a mental thing. I was happy when he missed the first shot and came back and took another one right away and made it because it’s a confidence factor.”

Milicic is also gaining confidence, and not just on his outside shooting.

The 7-footer admits that he had lost confidence in his game after a disappointing start to his career as a teenager out of Serbia, but the Knicks are allowing him to play the way he learned how to play. And that is an inside-out game. His previous three stops wanted him to play with his back to the basket, causing him reluctance to shoot the rock.

“You have to get your confidence because you have to shoot the ball,” said Milicic, who has only shot five 3-pointers through his first seven NBA seasons. “You can’t pass up open shots. You’re going to (mess) the team up if you pass up open shots. I try to work before practice and after practice trying to get my confidence back, but I’m not questioning my shooting because I can shoot.”

The Knicks will have the opportunity to take a look at their two big men’s perimeter play when they visit Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics on Friday.

There may not be a better team to try to spread the floor against than the Celtics, who have former Defensive Player of the Year holding down the middle.