by Stop Mike Lupica on December 11 at 10:09AM
First things first: Madison Square Garden, James Dolan, and Isiah Thomas settled the Anucha Browne-Sanders sexual harassment suit yesterday. (The same one they lost in court. They'll probably end up paying over $11 million dollars to settle the suit now. They could have avoided the bad press, lawyer and court costs, and settled for less than $10 million six months ago.)
This is important.
Why? Because it puts Isiah Thomas on the chopping block, for real. Forget all the "assurances" James Dolan has issued through PR flanks; his word is not bond, and there are enough examples out there to prove that point.
Several weeks ago we wrote (during the big Knicks losing streak), based on what the Daily News had written, that Isiah Thomas was safe in his job. Here's why: firing Isiah Thomas while the ABS sexual harassment case was still on appeal would be a bad decision from a legal standpoint. Certainly James Dolan is smart enough to know that.
Now that's no longer a deterrent to firing Isiah Thomas.
**************
There are several reasons to believe Isiah won't get fired, namely that James Dolan has supported Isiah Thomas for a long time, and that he still is sort of indebted to Isiah for all the bad press he's gotten, over the Larry Brown and Anucha Browne-Sanders situations (both of which, it can be argued, might have been "caused" by Dolan's poor decision making). And there is the Knicks most recent turmoil, which again may have originated because of Dolan's meddling: namely, it was Dolan who pushed for Marbury's benching in favor of Mardy Collins, and the result of which may have been the team losing their respect for Thomas. Once you are viewed as being unable to make decisions of your own as a "leader", your so-called "followers" tend to lose their interest in what you are saying; after all, you are not the boss anymore. Because of all these reasons and situations that Dolan keeps creating, he owes Thomas a bit of loyalty.
But there are also reasons to think that things aren't as solid for Isiah as they might seem. One, he still seems to have his hands tied as a GM. He's made one trade in the past two seasons. ONE. That was to get rid of Larry Brown's junk (Steve Francis). That's it.
Prior to the start of last season, Isiah averaged about one trade a month. Now he's doing one trade a year. You think something's up? You think Isiah couldn't have pulled something off with that expiring contract of Jalen Rose, if Dolan hadn't brought him out?
I don't know if that's the case, but my instincts tells me that Isiah is being severely limited in what kind of transactions he can make as a GM. And that's the first sign that he doesn't have the full support of James Dolan.
************
Does Isiah have the support of his players?
Last season, the Knicks were exciting and fun to watch. They might have fully behind by double digits in almost every game it seemed, but they were rarely blown out. They would mount furious comebacks based almost purely on effort, and played hard every game.
They lost by 20 or more points only six times last year. Six.
Two of those loses where at the end of the season, when they were shorthanded (no Crawford, Marbury, Lee or Richardson) at Chicago (April 10th) and Cleveland (March 23). Look at those boxscores, and you'll see big minutes for Jared Jeffries, for Mardy Collins, for Channing Frye.
When they were "full strength", they lost four games by 20 or more points: by exactly 20 points at Philly (Feb 21); by 22 points at Phoenix (Dec 29), by 21 points at Philly again (Dec. 23), and by 23 against Denver (Dec 16), the famous "Brawl" game.
20 points is certainly an arbitrary number, of course. There were games the Knicks lost by 19 points, by 18 points, and what's really the difference? And there were games, no doubt, that the Knicks lost by what seems like a closer margin at the end (say, 10 points), in which they were really blown out for the majority of the game and managed to make it look close.
Still, picking that arbitrary number of 20 points or more: The Knicks have lost three games by 20 or more in the last month: against the Warriors (108-82); at Boston (104-59), against Philly (105-77). In two other games they were blown out by more than 20 for most of the game, only to make it look good at the end: against the Suns (115-104), and yesterday against the Mavs (99-88).
It's hard to argue this team is worse, talentwise, than last year's edition. The "loss" of Steve Francis (snicker) and Channing Frye (marginal player on a team that is heading for the lottery this year in Portland) has more than been offset by the addition of Zach Randolph, who has been the Knicks best player and hardest worker. It was Randolph, in fact, who helped the Knicks make last night's game somewhat respectable at the end.
**************
The Knicks had another awful 1st period. Something, anything, has to be done to fix this recurring problem for the Knicks. Their starters always fall behind the other team early.
Yesterday the Knicks trailed 28-19 after the first, and that's only because of Nate Robinson's two baskets in the last minute at the end of the first (a jumper with 41 seconds, then after a Dirk brick, a three pointer with time running out) made it that close. It was 28-14 with less than a minute left.
The Knicks had a total of two assists that first quarter, both from Crawford to Nate Robinson on those two baskets at the end of the first.
The good news? Fred Jones, as a guard, doesn't turn the ball over much. The team only had three turnovers in the first quarter - two by Curry (an offensive foul and a bad pass that was picked off by Dirk), one by David Lee (traveling).
The bad news? They aren't moving the ball. Instead they just go one on one against whoever they are defended by.
**************
Let's cut to the "comeback" portion of the evening. With 6:00 minutes to go in the third quarter, they trailed by 23 points. The crowd was chanting "Fire Isiah" and my focus was on what the camera would show in the stands. Rev. Jesse Jackson eating popcorn, looking bored. Who was that guy next him? Can you imagine being the dude who brought a ticket near courtside for the Knicks-Mav's game, and Jesse Jackson sits down next to you?
There's Rachel Bilson (no worries, I'll have photos up later tonight) courtside, too... near the press seats.
All of a sudden, the Knicks come back, the crowd is chanting "de-fense" and into the game. MSG is a very simple place. Play hard, compete, and the fans will love you. New Yorkers have a special place in their heart for the hardworkers on those 90's Knicks (Starks, Oakley) more so than they do, apparently, for Allan Houston, Patrick Ewing or even Bernard King. They love the hustle, the effort.
The comeback, if you look at the Knicks' scoring, was purely on the back of two players: Zach Randolph and Fred Jones. Looks like those players haven't given up on the team.
Crawford shows up in that stretched with one big three pointer (that cut the lead to seven, the closest the Knicks got), and several missed layups and jumpers.
Jamal Crawford complained about the efforts of the team after the second loss to the 76ers team over the weekend:
The Knicks need the effort from Crawford game in and game out. They need him to facilitate the offense, while finding time to feed the big men: his buddy Curry (rapidly losing interest and focus in the game) and Randolph, who, if not feed the ball often by the guards, while start to force the situation too much and dribble on his own, leading to high turnover numbers.
Curry has failed to break double-digits in points in 5 of the last 7 games he's played. Prior to that, he was the team's leading scorer at 18.8 ppg.
**************
Leave a comment
This is important.
Why? Because it puts Isiah Thomas on the chopping block, for real. Forget all the "assurances" James Dolan has issued through PR flanks; his word is not bond, and there are enough examples out there to prove that point.
Several weeks ago we wrote (during the big Knicks losing streak), based on what the Daily News had written, that Isiah Thomas was safe in his job. Here's why: firing Isiah Thomas while the ABS sexual harassment case was still on appeal would be a bad decision from a legal standpoint. Certainly James Dolan is smart enough to know that.
Now that's no longer a deterrent to firing Isiah Thomas.
**************
There are several reasons to believe Isiah won't get fired, namely that James Dolan has supported Isiah Thomas for a long time, and that he still is sort of indebted to Isiah for all the bad press he's gotten, over the Larry Brown and Anucha Browne-Sanders situations (both of which, it can be argued, might have been "caused" by Dolan's poor decision making). And there is the Knicks most recent turmoil, which again may have originated because of Dolan's meddling: namely, it was Dolan who pushed for Marbury's benching in favor of Mardy Collins, and the result of which may have been the team losing their respect for Thomas. Once you are viewed as being unable to make decisions of your own as a "leader", your so-called "followers" tend to lose their interest in what you are saying; after all, you are not the boss anymore. Because of all these reasons and situations that Dolan keeps creating, he owes Thomas a bit of loyalty.
But there are also reasons to think that things aren't as solid for Isiah as they might seem. One, he still seems to have his hands tied as a GM. He's made one trade in the past two seasons. ONE. That was to get rid of Larry Brown's junk (Steve Francis). That's it.
Prior to the start of last season, Isiah averaged about one trade a month. Now he's doing one trade a year. You think something's up? You think Isiah couldn't have pulled something off with that expiring contract of Jalen Rose, if Dolan hadn't brought him out?
I don't know if that's the case, but my instincts tells me that Isiah is being severely limited in what kind of transactions he can make as a GM. And that's the first sign that he doesn't have the full support of James Dolan.
************
Does Isiah have the support of his players?
Last season, the Knicks were exciting and fun to watch. They might have fully behind by double digits in almost every game it seemed, but they were rarely blown out. They would mount furious comebacks based almost purely on effort, and played hard every game.
They lost by 20 or more points only six times last year. Six.
Two of those loses where at the end of the season, when they were shorthanded (no Crawford, Marbury, Lee or Richardson) at Chicago (April 10th) and Cleveland (March 23). Look at those boxscores, and you'll see big minutes for Jared Jeffries, for Mardy Collins, for Channing Frye.
When they were "full strength", they lost four games by 20 or more points: by exactly 20 points at Philly (Feb 21); by 22 points at Phoenix (Dec 29), by 21 points at Philly again (Dec. 23), and by 23 against Denver (Dec 16), the famous "Brawl" game.
20 points is certainly an arbitrary number, of course. There were games the Knicks lost by 19 points, by 18 points, and what's really the difference? And there were games, no doubt, that the Knicks lost by what seems like a closer margin at the end (say, 10 points), in which they were really blown out for the majority of the game and managed to make it look close.
Still, picking that arbitrary number of 20 points or more: The Knicks have lost three games by 20 or more in the last month: against the Warriors (108-82); at Boston (104-59), against Philly (105-77). In two other games they were blown out by more than 20 for most of the game, only to make it look good at the end: against the Suns (115-104), and yesterday against the Mavs (99-88).
It's hard to argue this team is worse, talentwise, than last year's edition. The "loss" of Steve Francis (snicker) and Channing Frye (marginal player on a team that is heading for the lottery this year in Portland) has more than been offset by the addition of Zach Randolph, who has been the Knicks best player and hardest worker. It was Randolph, in fact, who helped the Knicks make last night's game somewhat respectable at the end.
**************
The Knicks had another awful 1st period. Something, anything, has to be done to fix this recurring problem for the Knicks. Their starters always fall behind the other team early.
Yesterday the Knicks trailed 28-19 after the first, and that's only because of Nate Robinson's two baskets in the last minute at the end of the first (a jumper with 41 seconds, then after a Dirk brick, a three pointer with time running out) made it that close. It was 28-14 with less than a minute left.
The Knicks had a total of two assists that first quarter, both from Crawford to Nate Robinson on those two baskets at the end of the first.
The good news? Fred Jones, as a guard, doesn't turn the ball over much. The team only had three turnovers in the first quarter - two by Curry (an offensive foul and a bad pass that was picked off by Dirk), one by David Lee (traveling).
The bad news? They aren't moving the ball. Instead they just go one on one against whoever they are defended by.
**************
Let's cut to the "comeback" portion of the evening. With 6:00 minutes to go in the third quarter, they trailed by 23 points. The crowd was chanting "Fire Isiah" and my focus was on what the camera would show in the stands. Rev. Jesse Jackson eating popcorn, looking bored. Who was that guy next him? Can you imagine being the dude who brought a ticket near courtside for the Knicks-Mav's game, and Jesse Jackson sits down next to you?
There's Rachel Bilson (no worries, I'll have photos up later tonight) courtside, too... near the press seats.
All of a sudden, the Knicks come back, the crowd is chanting "de-fense" and into the game. MSG is a very simple place. Play hard, compete, and the fans will love you. New Yorkers have a special place in their heart for the hardworkers on those 90's Knicks (Starks, Oakley) more so than they do, apparently, for Allan Houston, Patrick Ewing or even Bernard King. They love the hustle, the effort.
The comeback, if you look at the Knicks' scoring, was purely on the back of two players: Zach Randolph and Fred Jones. Looks like those players haven't given up on the team.
Crawford shows up in that stretched with one big three pointer (that cut the lead to seven, the closest the Knicks got), and several missed layups and jumpers.
Jamal Crawford complained about the efforts of the team after the second loss to the 76ers team over the weekend:
Eddy Curry and Jamal Crawford have both underperformed this season. After playing well for the first three or four games (Crawford was averaging 25 ppg and 7 apg after three games), Crawford fell off a bit with the Marbury situation. Despite lacking a true point guard in several games since (Mardy Collins and Fred Jones have started as many games as Marbury since that game against the Heat), Crawford has only topped five assists twice in those 16 games: in the victory against the Nets last week (29 points, 7 assists), then in the next game against the 76ers, a loss (28 points, 8 assists).
"A lot of it is just effort," Crawford said. "When you compete you always give yourself a chance to win. Some nights we compete harder than others. We got to get better than that. It's something we shouldn't be talking about."
The Knicks need the effort from Crawford game in and game out. They need him to facilitate the offense, while finding time to feed the big men: his buddy Curry (rapidly losing interest and focus in the game) and Randolph, who, if not feed the ball often by the guards, while start to force the situation too much and dribble on his own, leading to high turnover numbers.
Curry has failed to break double-digits in points in 5 of the last 7 games he's played. Prior to that, he was the team's leading scorer at 18.8 ppg.
**************
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Comments
Dolan needs to allow Zeke to return to Team GM and let Herb Coach.
No one gets fired and the team gets a blue collar former Knick Player, with a personable, nice guy reputation... Hopefully that'll stifle the boo birds... I honestly believe it's the current regime's only chance for success... Allow Zeeke to fiocus on what he's been successful at, and give Herb a real chance at proving he belongs in the NBA Coaching Fraternity.
GO KNICKS!!!!
good post stopmikelupica. this has been the craziest season yet.