In the lane

PROVING GROUND: At least on paper, the New York Knicks believe they have a more talented roster than the Heat, which has them particularly confounded about the divergent directions of the teams. “Guys discuss that a lot,” forward Carmelo Anthony said after the Knicks lost to the Milwaukee Bucks. “We talk about that amongst ourselves, kind of what is it. What’s happening, especially with the talent with have in this locker room, we still can’t figure out exactly what it is. It’s hard to pinpoint it.” The Knicks won the previous meeting between the teams 114-103 Dec. 6 at AmericanAirlines Arena, a month before the Heat began their revival, with the teams also to meet Dec. 25 at Madison Square Garden and March 31 in Miami. INVISIBLE MAN: A year ago, Luol Deng was settling in as the Heat’s answer to Chris Bosh’s absence at power forward, playing as a stretch four in an up-tempo offense that seemingly revived his career. He then cashed out that success into a four-year, $72 million free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Lakers that the Heat found way too rich for their taste. What money couldn’t assure was playing time, now regularly inactive amid the Lakers’ youth movement and lottery-preservation campaign. At 31, it’s as if Deng has become an albatross, viewed as a remnant of the recently ousted Lakers’ front office. “I know people are on me. I know everybody is talking about it. I can’t control that,” Deng told the of coming to be viewed as salary-cap ballast. And yet it is the Deng and Timofey Mozgov contracts agreed upon by since-deposed Mitch Kupchak that Magic Johnson said should create a grace period in his takeover of the front office. “We are a team that just signed two big free agents last summer and they are four-year deals at a high number,” Johnson said. Already, it has become a case of waiting for next year. “Hopefully,” Deng said, “the situation next year will be better.” FIGHTING FIZDALE: Former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale is refusing to accept the status quo in his first season as Memphis Grizzlies coach, even if it means dramatic changes to the starting lineup. “What am I supposed to do, settle for mediocrity and stay at a .500 mode and not do anything and just be OK with that?” he said. “That’s the problem. The whole image of this group is that that’s been OK, and if we’re underdogs and we don’t win it, that’s OK. No, I won’t settle for that. I’ll continue to shuffle until I find something that works best to give us the best chance to hold the trophy. And if people don’t like it, they can kiss my . . .” D-BREAKS OF THE GAME: Throughout his NBA career, including his half-season stay with the Heat, Derrick Williams simply has gone by D-Will. And then Williams moved on to the Cleveland Cavaliers. And then, days later, veteran point guard Deron Williams signed with the Cavs. Since seniority has its privileges, “D-Will” belongs to Derrick Williams no more. “We’re figuring that out,” LeBron James said in advance of the Cavaliers’ two recent losses to the Heat. “He’s been bumped because he’s younger than D-Will, but we got to figure out his new nickname.”