NEW YORK — Jeff Van Gundy has taken another walk to the hot dog stand.

I have learned the former Knicks coach, who quit 19 games (10-9) into the 2001-02 season, again is leaving the profession for the foreseeable future and, no, his decision has nothing to do with Saturday night's Game 7, 103-99, playoff elimination home loss to the Jazz.

According to an impeccable source, Van Gundy's mind has been made up for weeks, if not months, to distance himself from the stress of the sidelines regardless of whether Houston got bumped early on or took the season to the championship limit.

It's his choice.

Given the Rockets' rude first-round sendoff, the third time in Van Gundy's four-year tour (six of six in Tracy McGrady's 10-year career), it's highly unlikely owner Les Alexander would choose to resign the free-agent control freak, anyway.

As evidenced by how the Jazz beat their opponents to countless rebounds and loose balls, the Rockets are desperate for livelier bodies and a more "athletically inclined" coach.

In fact, a source reveals an Alexander emissary already gauged the interest of at least one targeted replacement.

The timing of Jeff's departure is weird on two counts.

His brother, Stan, who quit as Heat 21 games into last season, only just resurfaced as a candidate for various openings (Bobcats boss Michael Jordan and GM Bernie Bickerstaff interviewed him last week) throughout the NBA.

And guess who was slapping five with Jerry Sloan after last night's upset?

Assistant coach/ex-Knicks president Scott Layden, who was mortally stunned and offended when Jeff abandoned the franchise.

No coach neutralizes Steve Nash's celestial effectiveness more adroitly than Gregg Popovich, whose scheme is title-tested and anchored, fore and aft, by defensive fiends, Tim Duncan and Bruce Bowen.

The idea is for The Bo-Constrictor to squeeze Nash, no help, thank you. That transforms the two-time defending MVP into more of a scorer than a passer, because his 3-point outlets (Raja Bell and Shawn Marion) are shut down.

Consequently, the Suns' dependency on capitalizing off fast breaks and pick-and-rolls becomes increasingly critical.

Never again will Dirk Nowitzki be compared in the same sentence, paragraph or story line with Larry Bird. I can't seem to recall the Hall of Famer ever standing in one spot or another allowing two smaller defenders to dictate his shot allotment or permitting it to confine his offense to a remote area.

Larry Legend, I'm guessing, would have picked apart the Warriors with passes, motion, hostility and disdain.

At the same time, in all fairness, Bird was never forced to cover offensive explosiveness/nimbleness owned by the likes of Stephon Jackson and Jason Richardson.

It's safe to say the imperfectly constructed Mavs will reappear next season fortified by imported athleticism, a guard with a playmaker's mentality and a catch-and-score center who must be taken seriously by the defense.

I blame the Bulls' blowout in Game 1 entirely on the Heat. Pat Riley's old and infirm team was so shuffleboard slow Chicago's reactions to the Pistons' man-to-man-eating defense and 2-1-2 zone were on a time delay.

What's more, Detroit felt sufficiently challenged by the Bulls as a result of their flouncing of the defenseless champs.

Jason Kidd (14.0 points, 13.2 assists and 10.0 rebounds) averaged a triple-double against the Raptors, the 10th time in NBA playoff history someone has accomplished that feat.

Kidd has now done it twice, the first against the Celtics in 2002. Wilt also distinguished himself twice, while Oscar Robertson and Fat Lever accounted for one a piece.

Magic Johnson is the all-time leader with four.

Sure, New Jersey ousted the division-winning Raptors — and, come the playoffs, there are no such things as "bad wins" — but the way the Nets opened Game 5 and closed Game 6 should not leave Jersey clamoring for Cleveland.