Remember the Three Percent Rule
Fixers, Knicks fans and New Yorkers: you are powerless.
Dig the passion, tho. There’s nothing like 19,000 total strangers finding harmony in misery. Chanting and booing. It’s all you got.
But the gritted-teeth statements that you refuse to spend your money to see this slop at the Garden until James Dolan makes changes are essentially useless. Remember what Dolan said a year ago: the Garden’s teams make up three percent of Cablevision’s revenue.
Three percent.
You really think they’ll feel the absence of your ticket?
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I keep hearing about this moment caught on camera in the fourth quarter last night that shows Eddy Curry laughing on the bench. It is here I will recall what Charles Oakley said to me last night at halftime: “I think you’re going to lose games, but it’s how you lose games,” Oakley said. “We wouldn’t have guys on this court smiling, shaking guys’ hands the whole game, laughing and joking. They’re not serious.”
Ya think?
In Oakley's words: “I don’t see no leaders. It’s just bad karma.”
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I don’t blame the fans for conjuring the “Fire Isiah!” chant, but what is solved if Thomas is gassed and Stephon Marbury remains? Do you expect whomever takes over – since you asked, Don, the guess here is Dolan would go short-term with Glen Grunwald as GM and Herb Williams as coach – to so easily rid the team of No. 3?
If you remove No. 3, you remove the tension from the room. And this isn’t a good tension, which is what accountability usually produces during the grind of a long season. This is the tension of a player that most of the team has a difficult time liking, let alone respecting.
Truth is, they collectively had a great respect for Isiah. Sorry, did I just write “had”? Surely I meant “have” . . .
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Still too early to present lists of candidates, but since you're asking, I think Greg Anthony should get an interview to see how he compares to the more obvious big names such as Colangelo and Kiki.
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Gotta love the wars-within-the-war. One city tabloid reports something, the other shoots it down. The Post today promoted a suggestion that the Daily News has been the victim of some bad scoops, a "hoax" as it was written, especially regarding the story that Isiah threw the team out of practice on Monday.
I've heard conflicting reports on the matter. Not enough to go on. But I can say this with confidence: This beat is so much fun!
* * *
Just got into Dey-twah. Raining and miserable. Fitting. Don't forget it's an 8 p.m. start.
I’ll check in tonight pregame.
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Comments (20)
it started with Marbury setting the tone by bailing when he was told he wouldn't start... in these days of salary caps and guranteed money you can't just cut a player and they (the players) know it.... look how many teams tolerate Artest and rodman before him... The loser is going to be future players as teams will be reluctant to give out long term guranteed money to players that have any issues in their background... Isiah thought he could change and motivate Marbury to play winning style Basketball. He was wrong and it will probably cost him his job...
Speaking of shooting down tabloid reports. This is from the Indy Star:
Newsday reported Tuesday that someone with knowledge of the situation said Walsh would "certainly be open" to joining the Knicks with full control over the basketball operations.
"That is complete (expletive)," Walsh said Tuesday. "I would not be a candidate for that job for a lot of reasons. The major one is Isiah. I'm not doing that. Isiah is a friend of mine, and I wouldn't be a candidate for a job he's in."
That a side. We do need people who truly love the game and want to compete every night. Oakley is 100% right.
Speaking of shooting down tabloid reports. This is from the Indy Star:
Newsday reported Tuesday that someone with knowledge of the situation said Walsh would "certainly be open" to joining the Knicks with full control over the basketball operations.
"That is complete (expletive)," Walsh said Tuesday. "I would not be a candidate for that job for a lot of reasons. The major one is Isiah. I'm not doing that. Isiah is a friend of mine, and I wouldn't be a candidate for a job he's in."
That a side. We do need people who truly love the game and want to compete every night. Oakley is 100% right.
hey alan, you sound as fed up as the fans, and that is saying ALOT. is it possible that mardy collins is this awful? is this the end of Q? is it just me, or does curry really hate star-jerk as much as he appears to. curry looks like he has quit, and incredibly, even lee looks like he is unwilling to go all out for this group.
star-jerk has to go, and soon. the team clearly has lost what little respect they ever had for him.
this is painful. anybody want to buy some great seats?
let's have a vote... who would u rather see go Isiah or Stef....my votes Stef
Might as well start thinking about this now:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=08NBADraft-071120&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos1
Kenneth:
I with you: Steph needs to go. Buy him the f out, please! He's a coach killer, as they say. He doesn't care about winning games just winning in individual battles between him and teammates, coaches and the media. I'm no fan of the NY Media (sorry, Alan, though I like your reporting--that's why I'm here), but the Knicks have the shell of a team: Two bigs in Curry and Zach. Decent bench in Lee, Balkman and Robinson, but not a point guard to be had on this team. Ironically, one of the great point guards in the game can't find us a point.
I think Isiah can judge talent. I'm not sure he can coach. Did anyone else notice the lineup last night early in the game when the Knicks were still in it? Marbury, Robinson, Crawford, Collins and Zach. Are you kidding me? Defense? With that group? Is it Isiah's love of guards? We got run out of the building because we played their game (run up and down) rather than the half court pound it inside game that it the Knicks.
I wouldn't mind if Isiah fired himself as coach, put in Herb Williams and stayed as GM. But somebody has to coach this team up. They have no confidence. Reminds me of...oh, wait...Larry Brown.
Ouch.
KFOW
I kept reading from Isiah's children how good Mardy Collins is. I just don't get it. Last yr., he played relatively well against 2nd and 3rd stringers, when play-off bound teams were resting their prime players.
Mardy Collins is supposedly a pure point guard, great D, make good decisions, a playmaker, athletic and has length.
I haven't seen any glimpse of these adjectives.
What I've seen to date is a turnover prone PG with below average mid-range J.
I hope that Mardy proves me wrong.
Who started this manure about Isiah Thomas being able to judge talent?
Who dealt for Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry, Jamal Crawford, Steve Francis, Zach Randolph, Jalen Rose, Penny Hardaway, and all these other bums?
Who signed Jared Jeffries and Jerome James?
So, Isiah found serviceable players in David Lee, Renaldo Balkman, and maybe Mardy Collins. Chandler remains a mystery.
Isiah also drafted Channing Frye and Nate Robinson. One's gone and the other's worth next to nothing.
Isiah found a couple of decent players, one late in the first round and another in the second stanza. That's nice.
Problem is, Isiah brought in all these other clowns, crybabies, and jerks. Isiah's Knicks have no leader, no borderline All-Star, and no clue.
Kick Isiah out and send Marbury, James, Curry, and Crawford with him. Do the Minnesota, clean off the books, get the high draft picks, find a decent gm, keep Jim Dolan in a cage, and finally get it right.
When Oak was being interviewed during the game last night, he was asked if he'd like to work for the Knicks. Oak said he made inquiries about that, but nobody in the Knicks organization ever got back to him.
That sucks. Not even a 'No, thanks' for a guy who left skin and blood (either his own or someone else's) on the Garden floor every damn night?
The Ewing Knicks should be assistant-coaching this team. Imagine Ewing tutoring Eddy, Oak as defensive coordinator, Harper or Anthony teaching the guards.
But no. Dolan could be tapping into what made the last great Knicks team great by having them passing their knowledge along to the kids, but because of some stubborn, stupid vindictive thing in his head, he won't even return someone like Oak's phone calls, and Ewing ends up giving The Knowledge to Dwight Howard.
I know at least part of it is Zeke's grudges against people he used to play against, and that should stop. These kids need people to teach them toughness, but the toughest Knicks ever can't even get an interview for a job.
Why Greg Anthony ??
Realy what does he have on his resume that stands out at you ?
Other than being completely wrong and embarassed for his negativity towards teh Balkman pick ?
sure, people are wrong abotu draft picks all the time. but his herd mentality was in full view when he joiend in with the rest of the talking heads and bashed a player they knew nothign about.
Anthony was a guard who knew the system and his place in it. But fine - put Mark Jackson in his place, or whomever else you'd choose from the pantheon of former Knick guards, and put them to work.
I'd prefer Harp because he was a better guard than Anthony, but I'd think there would be bad blood between him and the NYK organization after their promise to 'take care of him' after the '95-96 season, then unceremoniously dumping him.
My point is there is a vast resource of former NYK guards who could (should!) be teaching these guys. But Dolan and/or Zeke won't reach out to them.
The guards need to have consistency banged into their heads - but whether that's even possible for Marbury to grasp at this point is a whole 'nother question.
Alan,
You made some great points with the EXCEPTION OF GREG ANTHONY!
That guy is overrated and an idot. He has yet to apologize on the Balkman bashing and many others he missed in the league.
I perfer to go after Jerry C. or Jerry West....
But you are 100% on Marbs! He has to GO!
In for a penny, in for a pound, Larry, Moe and Curly all must go. The problem is, Dolan, aka Larry, is the hardest to get rid of.
I don't know how meddlesome he is on a day to day basis; if he's a PITA, some people won't want to work for him. Or maybe just because he's stupid.
Don -
Maybe all of the above? They're not necessarily mutually exclusive, you know.
Hey Alan Better watch your back after being quoted in N.Y.Observer.They will be after you next.
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