By Ian Browne
SportsLine Staff Writer

NEW YORK -- The New York Knicks are decided underdogs in the NBA Finals, which start Wednesday at San Antonio.

And that's terrible news. For the Spurs.

For weeks now, the Knicks have been defying the odds -- and the opposition.

Really, they are a deceiving underdog.

They are the first No. 8 seed to reach the NBA Finals. But anyone who follows basketball even remotely knows that the Knicks are no normal No. 8 seed.

It was a combination of things -- the shortened season, so many new faces, injuries and blatant dissension between coach Jeff Van Gundy and since-fired team president and GM Ernie Grunfeld -- that caused the Knicks to stumble so badly during most of the regular season.

But since that memorable Sunday in April at Miami Arena -- when the Knicks trailed by 20 points in the third quarter on national television and rallied for an 82-80 victory-- this has been a team on the verge of something special.

Over the last 23 games, the Knicks are 17-6. OK, so the Spurs have only lost six of their last 48. Other teams might be wary of a team even hotter than Texas.

But if they've learned nothing else over these last few weeks, the Knicks have learned to fear nothing and no one.

Not the East's top seed, the Miami Heat, whom they knocked out in the first round when Allan Houston's running jumper in the lane somehow found net after a tantalizing roll around the iron.

Not the Indiana Pacers, who were anointed heavy favorites in the East long before the season started. It was the Knicks' young legs that made Indiana's aging team look like they needed pacemakers long before their six-game upset in the Eastern Conference Finals was completed.

And surely not the Spurs, even though young Tim Duncan is the most dominant player in the game and Admiral -- and admirable -- David Robinson is on a gallant quest for his first ring.

"Without a doubt, we can beat the Spurs," said Marcus Camby, whose recent coming of age is reason numero uno the Knicks are here and not on the golf course.

Latrell Sprewell has the ability to carry the Knicks to the NBA Championship.(AP)

When it was learned following Game 2 against the Pacers that Patrick Ewing was finished for the season, there was reason to think the Knicks' joyride would come to a crashing halt. In actuality, it might have been the best thing that could have happened to them.

Is it a coincidence that the 25-year-old Camby has turned into a scoring, rebounding and shot-blocking machine with no Ewing? Of course not. Van Gundy has been forced to go with Camby early and often, which has forced the gangly big man to dig deep within himself and rediscover what made him the college player of the year at Massachusetts in 1996.

And it's somewhat ironic that Camby's main competition for the award that year was Duncan, then a junior at Wake Forest. Nobody mentions the two players in the same sentence anymore. Duncan has long since passed Camby and everybody else.

But Camby has played the best basketball of his life these last couple of weeks, giving hope that the Knicks won't get swallowed up inside in the land of the San Antonio giants.

Of course, Camby can't do it by himself.

Human bricklayer Chris Dudley is going to have to use all of his fouls wisely and be a presence on the defensive glass like he was against the Pacers.

Larry Johnson will have to make a swift recovery from a sprained MCL that left him in the hospital as the Knicks were finishing off the Pacers in Game 6. And a few more miracle shots like he hit against the Pacers in Game 3 wouldn't hurt either.

Truth be told, the Knicks can't hope to outplay the Spurs up front. They can only hope to hold their own.

It is in the backcourt, however, where the Knicks can really cause problems.

Latrell Sprewell can be the wild card in this series much like Camby was against the Pacers. The dynamic shooting guard needs to go on scoring sprees -- and lots of them. His quick hands and tenacity on defense will set up his thundering dunks at the other end.

Allan Houston doesn't provide the same type of flash as Sprewell, but he can be just as dangerous. Look no further than the 32 points he buried the Pacers with in the clincher.

His defense is also much improved and largely underrated. Reggie Miller didn't just shoot horribly on his own in the conference finals. Houston forced him into a lot of bad shots.

Of course, you'd be hard pressed to find a team in the history of the finals with a worse starting point guard than Charlie Ward. But Ward will play an inconsequential role at best with Chris Childs getting all of the key minutes.

Quietly, Childs is having a solid season. He gets the second unit running and he's played terrific defense in the playoffs.

And after dealing with the likes Tim Hardaway, Mookie Blaylock and Mark Jackson the last few weeks, Childs will be somewhat relieved to be looking at Avery Johnson in this series.

But don't be so sure the series will be won up front or in the backcourt. It could come down to heart. And nobody has had more lately than the Knicks.

Let's face it. It's hard to know just what the Spurs are made of when their will gets tested to the limit. They have steamrolled through the first three rounds against Minnesota, the Lakers and Portland, winning all of their road games in the process.

But what about when the palms really get sweaty? Like the Knicks' palms did in Game 5 at Miami or Game 5 at Indiana?

If the Knicks need any further inspiration, they can just look to the bench at the 7-foot-1 Georgetown grad in street clothes. Ewing made just one demand of his teammates once he found out he couldn't play any more.

"Get me my ring," pleaded the proud center.

The Knicks are four wins away from doing just that.

Prediction? Knicks in 7.