The Knicks Fix

Isiah Thomas coached that game in Dallas like he wanted it bad. I've never seen him so intense, riding the players and working the officials. No one more than Nate Robinson felt Thomas' wrath throughout the game. Beforehand, it seemed that rookie Mardy Collins might get the start to replace injured Steve Francis. But Isiah decided to go with Nate Robinson, the second-year player.

But Nate was on a very short leash. And Isiah held a rolled up newspaper.

Several times in the first half Thomas was visibly angry with Robinson’s inability to go hard through screens. On one occasion, Thomas called a 20 second timeout just to rip into Robinson for not getting through a screen that allowed Josh Howard to hit consecutive threes. On another, Robinson had just checked into the game and fouled Devin Harris, who scored off a curl. Thomas immediately yanked Robinson.

He continually was in Robinson’s ear, but by the second half the tone turned from punishment to encouragement. Thomas kept slapping Robinson on the backside as he barked at him. Bottom line, Isiah knows with all of the injuries, he needs Nate right now. So no more kid gloves treatment. No more looking away during his antics.

Before the game, Thomas said he believed Robinson had started to understand how he wants the second-year guard to play. “I think he gets it now,” Thomas said.

He had better, because the Knicks are going to rely a lot on him and Collins for backcourt minutes without Francis and Quentin Richardson, who underwent season-ending back surgery on Thursday. The Knicks already have been without Jamal Crawford (fractured ankle) since the end of February.

The Knick youth – Robinson, Frye, Collins and Balkman – are going to play major roles as the Knicks desperately hang on to fading playoff hopes. If anything, it’s invaluable experience. And maybe, with Thomas focusing his attention on Robinson, N8 the Gr8 might actually start to develop.

* * *

*- In the same arena in Dallas was the potential for an ultimate tongue-twisting introduction: Knicks rookie Renaldo Balkman and Mavericks executive (and former Knick) Rolando Blackman.

Rolando, Renaldo. Blackman, Balkman. We have clearance, Clarence. Roger, Roger. What's our vector, Victor? Tower Radio clearance, over. That's Clarence Oveur. Roger.

* - No complaints about travel today. Instead, an appreciation. Because it is the travel part of this career that allows me to visit and experiences places such as the Capitol Mall in D.C. or Quincy Market in Boston. Or the Grassy Knoll in Dallas. Or today, when I spent some time at the Oklahoma City Memorial. I was not at all prepared to be so emotionally moved as I was while walking through the area where the Murrah Building once stood. It is so quiet and solemn.

The statue of the weeping Jesus outside of what was the front entrance, or the time walls separated by a reflection pool or the messages and memorials to those who died, the children . . . it made an impact on me in a way I never expected. I had the opportunity to visit Ground Zero with the Islanders a little over a month after 9-11and I remember how I felt that day. I felt a similar helplessness and conflict and sobriety today walking through the OKC Memorial. There's definitely a desperate spirit there among the empty chairs and big blue sky.

I'm not much for sanctimonious lectures or political soap-boxing, but I will say there are times when you travel this country, you get to see how far we've come as a nation. And then there are times you see how much further we still need to go as a society.

It's official, Quentin Richardson is done for the season, as we and a few other papers (the Daily News and the Newark Star-Ledger) reported on Thursday -- despite Isiah Thomas's claim that on Wednesday the team did not know any of this.

Actually, Isiah this morning said the Knicks only found out yesterday that Richardson was to undergo season-ending back surgery last night. Somehow Richardson went from sitting on the Knicks bench for Wednesday's game against Cleveland to taking a flight to Miami the next day and undergoing a spinal microdiskectomy -- not exactly your run-of-the-mill arthroscopic procedure -- that night.

For the facts on microdiskectomy, click here: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007250.htm

It's not quite career-threatening, but you have to believe any surgical procedure done on the spine involves some risk if not some concern.

I hope Q knew not to eat or drink after midnight on Wednesday. Oh wait, he didn't know he was going to have the surgery, according to the Knicks. Not until after an MRI and CAT scan were done Thursday morning and the renown neurological surgeon, Dr. Barth A. Green, said Q had better get to Miami quick.

Q's back must have been far more troubled than anyone in the Knicks medical staff knew. Otherwise, he should have been down to see Doc Green much sooner, no? Or do they just invest millions in players and then hope conservative methods will heal serious and chronic problems such as Q's back trouble?

Second opinions are as common at the Garden as overcooked chicken fingers.

But what's also an interesting revelation in all of this was Isiah this morning saying he knew all along that Richardson would one day require this procedure. But he went through with the draft day trade of Kurt Thomas to Phoenix for Q-Rich and the draft rights to Nate Robinson.

“We weighed all our options and we were willing to take the risk. We knew at some point in time this would occur, when there would be a surgery," Thomas said. "The chances of him coming back from a surgery we thought would be performed would be good. I thought it was best at that time to have two players and maybe one day deal with the surgery and move forward from it.”

Tough time to have to deal with the surgery.

* * *

Quick update on the Dallas Mavericks' injuries: Avery Johnson said Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard are game-time decisions, but he certainly didn't give any reason to believe either will play tonight against the Knicks.

"I like to err on the side of caution," Johnson said after the Mavs shoot-around. "If I see any type of danger, the guy's not going to play."

Would be a huge break for the Knicks, who need all they can get right now.

Please don't take a turn to negative town. - Vince Vaughn, in Wedding Crashers.

Oh but it's just too easy...

Steve Francis wasn't on the team charter from New York to Dallas this afternoon. I was told by someone close to Francis that he suffered a high ankle sprain in his right leg when he went down in the first quarter Wednesday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks said X-rays taken during the game were negative for any serious damage. After today's practice, the Knicks weren't saying anything more than what they said last night, which was that he has an ankle sprain. They are not giving a timeframe.

But considering its the same leg that has had the tendinitis in his knee -- and not to mention Isiah Thomas' loss of patience for the dribble-happy veteran who has publicly complained about his playing time -- it's hard to imagine we'll see Francis in a Knicks uniform again.

Of course we thought this in January, when he left for a six week hiatus in Houston to rehab his knee. Then again, a few weeks ago, when on Feb. 26 he announced that his knee hurt too much to play. Five days later, after Jamal Crawford was lost for the season, Francis came back and dropped 26 on Atlanta. He also nailed that game-winning three against Washington that might prove to have changed the course of the Knicks future. James Dolan handed Thomas the contract extension off that win.

So, what we really should say here is either Francis is done for sure and headed for an off-season buyout that both sides will welcome, or he'll go for 30 points next Monday against Detroit and lead the Knicks to a playoff berth, thus earning Thomas perhaps another extension on top of the aforementioned extension.

I give up.

* * *

By the way, you know how I'm always going on about the doom-and-gloom weather we seem to bring with us to any warm-weather city? Well, here in Dallas? Severe thunderstorms. Possible hail, which leads to you know what.

Any day now the locusts will be coming.

Locusts, I tell ya!

* * *

Heads up, Francis wasn't the only player to hurt his ankle last night. Dirk Nowitzki didn't play in the second half against Milwaukee because he twisted his ankle. He didn't practice today and right now the Dallas Mavericks are saying he will be re-evaluated tomorrow before the game against the Knicks. If he doesn't play, that would be a huge break for the Knicks.

I don't think there's confusion. It's pretty simple. You play well, you stay out on the floor longer. If you don't play well, then somebody else gets in . . . When he's played well, he's played a lot of minutes." - Isiah Thomas

It's a battle of wills and Isiah will prove to Steve Francis, as he did to Stephon Marbury early in the season, that he'll win the battle every time. Especially with a contract extension in his pocket.

“I haven’t done anything to Francis what I haven’t done to Marbury," Thomas said after this morning's shoot-around. "Marbury had the same complaints and issues earlier in the season. The hardest player I’ve been on this season is Marbury. He didn’t have a bad week, he had a bad month, for me. He had a bad month-and-a-half. But I thought it was the right thing to do and I thought it was worth it. I think it helped him. Nobody’s had it tougher than him.”

Say what you want about Francis being made out to be the easy scapegoat headed for a buyout and being the outsider who never wanted to be here and never has been able to find a niche with Marbury in the backcourt. Conjure up as many theories and conspiracies you can. I've done it all season. But this is one situation where there's no issue here, no conflict, no controversy. No favoritism. No ulterior motive.

In fact, it's as simple as this: Isiah is not going down with Steve Francis dribbling the ball into a crowd of defenders or playing matador defense or clowning around (mistakenly identified at this time of the season as "keeping the team loose") or lounging on the floor at the end of the bench. (I know what you're thinking, then what's his excuse for playing Nate Robinson?)

"Hey, I just want to win," Thomas said. "Whoever can help me win the game on that night, on that particular night, that’s who I play.”

* * *

* Allan Houston was a surprise guest at the shoot-around this morning. "That's our new free throw shooting coach," Thomas said, probably half-joking.

* First impressions of rookie Randolph Morris after watching him in a few post-up drills with post-up guru Mark Aguirre: nice soft shooting touch. He was dropping shot-after-shot off the glass on some very smooth inside-pivot (i.e.: Jack Sikma) moves.

* David Lee was at the shoot-around. Quentin Richardson was not, but has, Thomas said, done some shooting "on the side." No word on either for tonight.

This ad was banned in China because it insulted national dignity.

Ralph Nader has tried once again to get LeBron James to try to have a conscience about his riches in a letter sent to the Cavaliers all-star that you can read by clicking here . Nader has reached out to LeBron a few other times -- April 2005 and Dec. 2003 -- about the integrity of his endorsements, whether it was Asian sweatshops that hire children to make his shoes or the obesity problem with children in the U.S. as it is associated with fast food and mainly McDonalds.

LeBron, as usual, did not comment after this morning's shoot-around. He might be available at 5:30 p.m. tonight before the game.

Interestingly, Nader also names Stephon Marbury in the letter. While he credits Marbury's conscientious effort to promote NBA-quality sneakers at an affordable price, Nader questions whether Steve & Barry's also uses sweatshops to make the shoes.

When the Starbury One sneaker line was introduced, Steve & Barry's said they did not use sweatshops.

The Knicks, as usual in back-to-backs, didn't have a shoot-around this morning, so Marbury wasn't available to comment.

We'll celebrate the 100th entry of the Knicks Blog with this encouraging piece of evidence that Eddy Curry and Jared Jeffries are NOT the worst free throw shooters you've ever seen.

Note -- Stop it after his second attempt. The rest is just B-roll.

OK, I couldn't go out with a blog like that previous one. The boys in the dot-com department would be killing me.

So here goes...The Knicks have 16 games left. They have 30 wins. You think they really get in the playoffs if they just play .500 basketball the rest of the way?

Let's do it Mike & the Mad Dog style. . .

Dog: Tues-dee against the Dallas Mavericks
Mike: Gonna reach here, but I'm gonna say a win (1-0)

Dog: Wow, OK, starting off strong. Now, Thurs-dee against Portland at MSG
Mike: That's . . . a win (2-0)

Dog: Two-and-oh! AT Cleveland
Mike: That's . . . a loss (2-1)

Dog: Back down to earth. Next is home against the Magic.
Mike (mumbling): Give em a win (3-1)

Dog (noting how many games are left): Home against Cleveland
Mike (again, mumbling): Give em a win (4-1)

Dog: OK, AT Dallas
Mike (dismissive): Loss (4-2)

Dog (getting antsy): AT the Hornets, in a back-to-back -
Mike: Where's the game?
Dog: Oklahoma City, Mikey.
Mike: Call it a loss. (4-3)

Dog: Open the final month against the Sixers at home
Mike: Give em a win (5-3)

Dog: At the Garden against Minnesota . . .
Mike: ehhh, give 'em a win (6-3)

Dog: Milwaukee on da road?
Mike (somewhat surprised by the record so far): Gotta say win (7-3)

Dog: Wow, that's three straight. Most all year. Now, against the Pistons at the Garden, possible first-round matchup
Mike: That's a loss (7-4), Pistons are playin' for a home seed throughout

Dog: Fair point, Mikey. OK, AT Chicago, back-to-back off the Pistons game
Mike (feeling better about things): Give 'em a loss (7-5)

Dog: AT New Jersey, battlin' for that spot
Mike: I'll say a loss (7-6)

Dog: AT Toronto, maybe Atlantic Division implications?
Mike: Give 'em a loss (7-7)

Dog: That's three in a row aftah winnin' three. Moving on, against the Nets at the Garden, home finale and awl dat
Mike (realizing this is taking too long): Win (8-7)

Dog: Close it out in Charlotte, who is going nowhere. It'll mean more for da Knicks
Mike: Yeah, so give em a win (9-7).

Is 39-43 enough to make the playoffs? Let's go to the phones . . .

Will the Knicks make the playoffs? VOTE HERE

I had to do this and I won't take credit for it. But it's funny.

Another writer and I were looking at the Toronto Raptors bench on Sunday and took notice of Jorge Garbajosa. After a quick Google, we came up with a classic Separated-at-Birth.
Here's Garbo..........and here's Kevin Rowland of Dexy's Midnight Runners.

Too much to digest right now. My man Balk Man. There are enough archived blogs here to prove my appreciation for this guy's hustle and personality. But to suggest that he might be the answer to David Lee's absence? That the Knicks proved they could play a fast-break style without Eddy Curry?

What? Aw man, crazy. Let's not totally ignore the fact that Toronto shot 2 of 21 from three-point range.

TWO.

Of TWENTY ONE!

Can we let a guy put together more than one solid game before we start anointing? It's like the Dynamic Duo. How'd that go? Then we were handing Jared Jeffries the Defensive POY after one game back from his injury.

Then there's that Q and A with James Dolan that ran on Sunday. I learned nothing from it other than the fact that he went to SUNY-New Paltz.

But I ain't bitter. I just need some time to filter all of this. Too many one-liners are coming at me at one time. I'm in wise-crack overload.

I'll hit you all back after practice today when my head is together.

“When I see or think green, I just see the Celtics," Isiah Thomas said. "But we’ll honor the green for one day but we’ll do it in honor of St. Patrick and not the Celtics.”

Green and Orange. The official colors of ... yuck.

It was May 24, 1994 and the Knicks were in the midst of their unforgettable run to the NBA Finals. Isiah Thomas had just retired as a player and was handed the keys to this new NBA franchise in Toronto.

"When we first started we just had a piece of paper, an idea," Isiah said of how the Raptors were born. "I remember watching sports, we were behind Curling. It was always baseball, football – hockey was understood as No. 1 – but we were behind Curling. We’d get maybe a 15-second sound byte in the end. But it’s amazing what has happened with basketball in Toronto and how people have embraced it.”

It's not Isiah's fault that they named the team "Raptors" or created uniforms that looked like something you'd see in kids pajamas. It's also not his fault that he didn't think to include the one symbol that unifies anything Canadian with its ultra-proud citizens: the Maple Leaf.

It took over a decade for them to figure out that adding the color red -- Canadian red -- as a third uniform might actually get people to embrace this team. Throw in a little leaf on the uniform, too. Enough already with Barney and the shameless intention not to sell the team to Toronto but to instead sell jerseys to kids all around North America.

The Raptors actually did a lot of right things under Thomas and Glen Grunwald, including some terrific drafting and trading. Think about the players who have come through here, from Vince Carter to Tracy McGrady to Chris Bosh and now this dude Andrea Bargnani. Bryan Colangelo's decision to make the Raps a more Euro-styled team -- with Bargnani and Spaniards Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon -- makes sense in this very foreign-heavy, cosmopolitan city that likes it's soccer and cricket and, yes, curling.

But it's been 40 years since they won a Stanley Cup here, so I don't know how much they really know about hockey.

I'm so gonna catch hell for that.

This picture is just crazy. Renaldo Balkman crazy. I think I found my costume for next Halloween. But I love Flavor Flav. Doing it his way for longer than anyone wants to remember. See, that's what a rebel is all about. Hate to tell you, but tattoos and piercings are no longer rebellious. Not when millions of other so-called rebels are doing it too.

You want to be original? Do something like wear a clock around your neck. But don't do exactly that because it's a look that's already taken.

The announcement Jim Dolan made yesterday is curious only because of the timing. The Knicks had developed a perfect atmosphere that was very much a rebellious Us-vs.-Them, which is bad from a media standpoint but great if you're a coach. They seemed to be following the "SIUTA" mentality -- Stick It Up Their A**es. They fought back against the negative vibes. No one more than Isiah Thomas, who admits he has a "sickness" inside him that wants to endure the punishment of New York because he is hyped by the challenge to overcome it.

And now, it's gone.

But then again, the media is still here to keep them honest. Dolan said wanted some journalists to get all-in. OK, you got me. I'm all-in. Let me see what you do Wednesday night in Toronto -- a hockey city, don't forget, so it's special to me -- against the Atlantic Division-leading Raptors. This is the first of three games against them in the final 19. They have a five-and-a-half game lead on you as I write this Tuesday morning.

Go on and catch 'em if you can.

Even Zeke, who brought up his championship aspirations yesterday, seems curious to see if the Knicks can do it.

“We’ll see where we are at the end of this month,” he said.

We'll know then if this is truly a season worthy of praise. Dolan might be satisfied, but you as fans shouldn't be. Not yet.

It might feel good
It might sound a little somethin
but damn the game if it don't mean nuttin
What is game? Who is game?
Where's the game in life behind the game behind the game
I got game, she's got game
We got game, they got game, he got game
It might feel good
It might sound a little somethin
but ---- the game if it ain't sayin nuttin

Citing the achievement of the "evident progress" he demanded last summer, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan gave Isiah Thomas a contract extension to remain the team's president and coach. Dolan announced the multi-year extension on Monday at the team's training facility, while Thomas ran the team through practice.

"We said he had to solve this crisis," Dolan said, "and he did."

After a 23-win debacle under Larry Brown last season, the Knicks (29-34) are in the eighth-and-final playoff spot in the East with 19 games left in the season. Dolan said the team's performance over the past few weeks made him "absolutely convinced" Thomas should stay.

He will continue to hold both positions. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Thomas said he was happy with the extension, but "there's a lot of work still left to be done."

"The most important thing is we keep our team moving forward and we stay focused," Thomas said, "and continue to try to get into the playoffs."

I'll have more on this in tomorrow's paper.

No one benefited more during the past three off days between games than Eddy Curry, whose diesel engine was struggling to get into high gear over the past few weeks since the all-star break.

Perhaps its the mileage he's racked up this season that has caused the Big Fella to hit the wall at this point of the season. Consider the fact that Curry has never played as much as he has this season. The load is heavy, especially when your body is already a heavy load to carry all its own.

If all goes accordingly -- knock on wood, of course -- Curry will likely pass his career high for minutes in a season Saturday against the Washington Wizards. The previous career-high was 2,154 minutes, which he did in 73 games for the Chicago Bulls in 2003-04. This season, Curry has logged 2,130 minutes in 61 games.

Curry already passed last year's total of minutes (1,865 in 72 games) back on Feb. 21 against Philadelphia, his 54th game of the season. In the next game, Curry passed his career-best point total (1,070), which also took place in the 03-04 season. Curry now has 1,180 points.

Stephon Marbury's scoring explosion has allowed Curry to catch his breath a little and take a back seat in the offense. But if the Knicks are going to make the playoffs, it will have to be on Curry's broad back. He's hit the 20-point mark only twice in the past seven games.

Perhaps more alarming -- and a greater sign of fatigue -- is Curry's effort from the foul line in the past 11 games. After hitting 9 of 11 from the line in the overtime loss to Utah on Feb. 10, Curry's free throw percentage hit a season-high of 62.5 percent, which was almost a full 10 percent improvement from the 52.7 percent clip he shot 16 games into the season. But in the past 11 games, Curry has made just 44 of 83 from the line, which is 53 percent. Those are costly points he and the Knicks have lost.

This blog was boring and full of stats. It must be baseball season.

Nothing like eight know-it-alls asking you for details about an injury you know will only heal with rest. David Lee is generally adept at handling the media, but even his patience seemed to be tested after today's practice. You know the conversation is coming to an end when the phrase, "I'm not a doctor," is uttered.

Clearly the high-ankle sprain is still bothering him enough to make Saturday's game a concern. Will it be the seventh straight game he will miss because of the injury?

Lee isn't used to sitting out this much. He says it is the first time he's missed a game since his sophomore year in high school, when the lefty broke his left arm. He came back that year and played righty.

He can't do that with this injury. Lee's game is all about his legs. Both of them. His quick-leap ability is one of the main reasons why he is such a good rebounder and why, at 6-9, he converts so many dunks and layups down low. Without them, he's an undersized power forward who can't shoot. Kind of like me.

"If you can't jump, what can you do?" Lee said, referring to his game (and, perhaps, mine). "As much as I'd like to think I can sit out there and stroke threes, that's not my game."

He then paused and added, "Yet."

* * *

* The Knicks had their team photo taken yesterday. Jamal Crawford was there and the boot over his surgically-repaired right ankle will likely be touched up to look more like one of his ugly Reeboks. I can say that because I know Jamal hated his sneakers as much as I did. Some might say he did drop 52 in em. But I say he suffered a season-ending ankle fracture in em.

* Thomas was asked what part of Jared Jeffries' game, besides the foul line, needs to improve: "[Shoot]," Thomas replied, "The foul line!"

* 14-year-old Knicks fan Drew Meyers came up with a new nickname idea for Nate Robinson: "The Dunkin' Munchkin." His father, Jon, emailed it to me and I have to say I like it better than what I came up with last week, when N8 the Gr8 was battling that stomach virus: "The Hurling Derbish." (I know, I know.)

"Steph's free throw is not what lost the game. There was 14 of them. We have to make free throws to win in this league. We can't look down at Steph. Those free-throws are the toughest to make at those points in the game." - Quentin Richardson

It's a wonder no one has yet promoted the idea that there is a conspiracy by the NBA to get the Knicks into the playoffs. Doesn't anyone find it suspicious that the Knicks get free throws with under one second left in regulation in two of their last four home games?

(Remember Channing Frye's game-winners with eight-tenths of a second to go against the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 28 and that marginal foul called against Andrew Bogut? Well, at least last night the foul Dick Bavetta called on Ray Allen was more legit.)

Hey, the officials gave the Knicks every opportunity to win last night's game against the Sonics. They sent them to the line 22 times in the fourth quarter -- 22 times! -- which is more than twice the amount of times the jump-shooting Sonics went to the line (10) in the entire game.

But while the refs -- be it by some crazy secret NBA order or not -- can get you free throws, they can't hit them for you. So the six misses the Knicks had out of those 22, including Stephon Marbury's final attempt with :00.9 left on the clock, were costly.

With or without the officials' help, the Knicks get to the line, there's no doubting that. It's one of their strengths and a reason why they'd be a dangerous team in the playoffs. They're tied with Sacramento for the third-most free throw attempts per game (29.9) in the NBA. But of the top 5 teams that get to the line the most, the Knicks have the lowest shooting percentage at 72.78 percent. And that's why they can be their own worst enemy as they try to just make the playoffs.

Though Q is right, you can't put the blame solely on Marbury, his miss stands out because it was the last one. But it was also his first miss of the night. He was 6 for 7 from the line in the game, with 4 of 5 coming in the fourth quarter. Malik Rose hit 5 of 6 from the line in the fourth. Steve Francis hit 5 of 7. Eddy Curry hit 2 of 4.

Curry, a notably subpar free-throw shooter, was only 5 of 10. He's made just 302 of 496 foul shots this season, for an alarming 60.9 percentage. We blogged this earlier in the season - just imagine what his scoring average would be if he was just an average free throw shooter, which is between 70-75 percent. But never mind that, consider how many more wins the Knicks might have had if he were a better free throw shooter. Perhaps two wins, maybe three? Might not sound like a lot, but think about where the Knicks would be in the playoff race with those 2-to-3 more victories.

Jared Jeffries is another story. Some guys just aren't good shooters and he falls in that category, despite all of his extra work on his form after practice. Jeffries missed all four of his free throws against Seattle. If he made just one, Marbury's miss wouldn't have meant as much. Jeffries has hit just 16 of 44 from the foul line for an almost comically-awful 36.4 percent clip. It's a wonder teams just don't automatically foul him when he touches the ball.

* * * *

Sometimes the most bizarre scenes unfold in the postgame locker room. I took a seat at David Lee's locker, which is next to Marbury's locker, to prepare to talk with Marbury, who always is the last Knick player to speak to the media. Marbury insists on showering and getting fully dressed, including fixing his tie in the mirror, before he takes questions. So what happens on a night like this, when clearly every member of the media wanted to talk to him, is you wind up with a crowd of grown men (and a few women) gathered around Marbury's locker.

Marbury then arrives wrapped in a towel, which drops as he turns his back and proceeds to get dressed in front of the mob (after all, it is his locker). I just sat in Lee's stall, scanning the crowd of people who formed a semicircle around this man as he methodically got dressed -- deodorant, lotion, underwear, long johns, socks, pants, shirt, shoes, tie, jacket -- and found it just an amusing scene.

One morning, as you step out of the shower, just imagine being greeted by about 20 strangers holding cameras and tape recorders. And as you towel off and get dressed, they're just standing there...waiting.

Weird, man. Just weird.

It's been a while since I've replied to some of your comments to the blog. It's a slow week, so now is a good time. Thanks in advance to all of you who take the time to read and especially those who comment.

* * *

In response to "True Grit" Nykat said: ". . . yeah he probably wasn't quite as hurt as he let on, but I still commend him for not being a distraction by complaining about minutes, asking for a buyout or sulking . . . "

My reply: It concerns me that you lower the bar so much that a guy who doesn't complain should be commended. The point was that in showing no interest in being a role player, Francis seemed to carry himself above the other vets, such as Malik Rose (who has actually won something in his career), Kelvin Cato and Jerome James. Now all of a sudden we're supposed to greet him as a conquering hero come back to save the team?

I expect more out of people, especially professionals. I would hope you would, too.

* * *

In response to "Melon! Get Yer Suit on! We Need Ya!", WT asked, "How do you feel about Ryan Smyth?"

My reply: I've been saying the Knicks need a bona fide power forward for about half the season. The Knicks. (But he's a great addition to the Islanders).

* * *

In response to "Losing No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn, Pt. II," Jon said, "Any word on how the 'new' MSG is going? I thought Sheldon Silver and his cronies shot that down."

My reply: Silver, the Assembly speaker, did have a hand in halting the Moynihan Station project, which was to be constructed within the Farley Post Office building across the street from the current MSG. But Silver is believed to be in favor of the bigger MSG V project that would take place at the Post Office because it will also include something like 10 million square feet in office space. Cha-ching. I believe we'll be hearing more about this in the coming year.

* * *

In response to "Game Time," Jeff said: "With Curry and Lee as the two main building blocks on this team, we desperately need help with interior defense. A shotblocker is a huge need that I don't think will be addressed during the deadline."

My reply: You can only hope that Thomas does not make another miscalculation with the mid-level exception this summer. The past two years he used it for defensive purposes -- James as a shot blocker and post defender and Jared Jeffries as a defender -- and both times it has been a bust. Jeffries is playing better lately, but where he was a few weeks ago, you would think he could only get better. To follow Nykat's thinking, however, I commend Jeffries for putting in extra work after practice to improve his game.

* * *

In response to "Hall Doesn't Crown King Again," bigtool said: "chris mullen is a bum and so is king"

My reply: Your name says it all, bigtool.

* * *

In response to "Star Gazing," KnicksFan said, "Absolutely the worst blog entry I've read that I can remember."

My reply: At least you can remember it.

* * *

In response to "Not About Gay, But Can He Play?," Phil said, "Who in the hell cares"

My reply: Exactly.

* * *

Keep 'em coming Knicks fans. The season is only starting to heat up. I'll try to reply mailbag-style at the end of the regular season. We'll see if by then the Knicks are a playoff team.

So tell me, right now, do they make it?

Leadership is action, not position. -- Author Unknown

Steve Francis and Josh Childress both left the Phillips Arena parking lot at the same time after Saturday's game. Childress, of course, let Francis drive right by him to the exit.

I watched Stevie Wonder throughout that game with a very cynnical eye on his sudden turnaround, from ready to hang up his sneakers for the season to hanging on the rim as he posed for the Knick bench after a steal and dunk. Initially, all you want to do is carve up a guy for what appears to be a lack of interest in being a role player on a team that is on the playoff bubble. How he talked about wanting to be there for his teammates in one breath and then suggested playing even 10 minutes a night would be bad for the longterm health of his knee.

What Francis is doing now can't be defined as stepping up and being a leader or showing veteran grit. No, it's called opportunity. Now that there is a bigger role for him to fill -- after Jamal Crawford's injury -- Francis has suddenly decided it was worth the longterm risk to play.

Clearly he didn't want to sit the bench behind others and play a supporting role, which is what veterans such as Malik Rose, Jerome James and Kelvin Cato have done all season. We challenged Thomas for those 10 games where James started at power forward but barely played five minutes, but James never said a word. He gave what he had and when he went to the bench he offered his support to his teammates. Same for Rose, who has gone many nights without getting into a game and then has come in to take on challenges such has defending Shaq with every ounce of energy he has. And on the bench he's there with words of encouragement and advice.

Kelvin Cato hasn't even dressed for most games, but he, too, is very active during games. If he's not talking trash to the opposing players, he's grabbing a rookie such as Renaldo Balkman and giving him advice and suggestions during timeouts.

To be fair, Francis has done much of the same when he has been on the Knick bench, but it is reasonable to question his unwillingness to wear the uniform and accept a limited role. Is it the taunting from opposing fans around the Knick bench, who remind Francis that his superstar status has plummeted like Britney Spears? Get over it.

Fans and teammates are always quick to forgive, so if Francis can continue to provide points and assists and, most of all, minutes, and help lead the Knicks to a playoff berth, no one will care that a week ago he was leaning toward calling it a season.

But it shouldn't be forgotten.

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Quick good-on-ya to my buddy Brandon Tierney, a Brooklyn boy who lived a childhood dream by calling his first Knicks game as the play-by-play man on Saturday's radio broadcast. Sure, it was a fill-in spot, but B.T., who usually does the pregame show, was excited and admittedly had butterflies. I'm sure by overtime, the butterflies were chased away by pure adrenaline.

From the Associated Press:

Fourth-quarter operating income from Madison Square Garden fell by a little more than half to $35.2 million from $75.3 million a year ago, including $29.4 million in team-related expenses, which the company said was mainly related to "personnel transactions" at the New York Knicks basketball team.

The company didn't provide a breakdown of those costs. The costs are in addition to the $18.5 million Cablevision previously disclosed it paid to settle the contract of former head coach Larry Brown, who was fired after one season.