The Knicks got a much-needed win last night, pasting the Detroit Pistons 113-86.

Given the lopsided score, quite a few fans took to Twitter wondering why Mike D’Antoni didn’t pull Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire or Tyson Chandler until the mid-way point of the fourth quarter – especially with three games in three nights looming on the schedule later this week.

To me, the answer is pretty simple: practice. It’s obvious – often painfully so – that the Knicks’ key players have yet to figure out how to get the best out of each other. That comfort level comes from familiarity, from repetition. And with this season’s schedule compressed like ten pounds of… uh… excrement in a five-pound bag…  practice time is in very short supply. So why not give Amar’e and ‘Melo and Chandler a little extra run in a laugher, and treat it as a scrimmage?

It also doesn’t hurt to use the time to build the Knicks’ confidence – another thing that’s been in short supply of late.