The Knicks Fix

Alan:

Question...why is it that NO reporter ever criticizes Isiah's coaching decisions? I quote Larry Brown..."I don't quote effort, I coach execution." Its not like the Knicks have not been giving a much better effort, but when a team routinely blows 4th Q leads, usually it falls on execution.

I have to say Isiah's in-game management, decisions coming out of time-outs, his use of time-outs, his combinations on the floor, etc. It is very easy to target the players and yes, they have deficiencies, but no one, not one single reporter, ever criticizes how Isiah manages a game.

I think that players like to be coached. I think this team would be better with a good X and O's coach. Isiah even said that when he was coached by Bobby Knight, he didn't draw up plays...he said to read the D and play on instinct. Isiah speaks of younger players on this team, but they have to learn to execute better and that is on the coaching.

WFAN: John Minko predicts Isiah will be fired today.

Please be true!!!

It hit me last night right between the eyes what this team is. It has taken some time, but after the years of non-reality, no-consequences, avoidance, rhetoric over reality, rhetoric over action, Dolan's soul has finally penetrated all the way to each and every player.

The Knicks are the basketball equivalent of a functioning alcoholic.

They put on the suit each day, their hair is combed and the tie is straight, but there's a bottle of gin in the briefcase. Rotted out on the inside, it only takes a little push to knock them over. They go through the motions every day but no longer with any purpose or even reason. Its all just time. Beginning and ending each day which can't help but come, beginning and ending each day with the drink, their souls lost somewhere way in the back of the refrigerator that hasn't had food in it for three years; just rotted take out and vodka. These guys are in danger of seriously loosing their minds if this goes on much longer. A terrible fate for a group of very likable players.

@Zippy - Do you ever actually read this blog? Or game stories? Or anything? Isiah gets murdered on everything, from management to development to, yes, in-game decisions. Substitutions. Plays out of timeouts. Rotation. Not calling timeouts. Calling timeouts. Suiting up Jerome James. A playbook that doesn't have any plays other than one-on-one stuff.....

It just hit me that the Suns are going to attempt to do with Shaq/Amare what the Knicks wanted with Cury and Zach... only the Suns are going to be a lot more successfull at it.

Alan, I'm sure you've heard about or read the story Berman wrote about Isiah using the team's youth as an excuse. It's probably one of the most annoying things I've ever heard... does he really think we are that stupid? Please, allow me to dig deeper:

Let's look at our original starting 5 and our rotation players:
Marbury - 11 years experience
Crawford - 7 years experience
Richardson - 7 years experience
Randolph - 6 years experience
Curry - 6 years experience
-----
Jones - 5 years experience
Jeffries - 5 years experience
Lee - 2 years experience
Robinson - 2 years experience
Balkman - 1 year experience

How ironic that Lee-Robinson-Balkman are 3 of our most effective players....

Our youngest:
Chandler - NEVER PLAYS
Morris - NEVER PLAYS
Collins - HARDLY PLAYS

Youth as a problem? I think somebody forgot to tell that to the Blazers....
Roy - 1 year experience
Aldridge - 1 year experience
Webster - 2 years experience
Jack - 2 years experience
Frye - 2 years experience
Jones - 4 years experience
Outlaw - 4 years experience
Blake - 4 years experience
Pryzbilla - 7 years experience

This isn't even including Oden, who will make them an even better team next season in his 1st season on the court...

When will the excuses end and the accountability begin?

A what the heck trade proposal:

Miami gets:

ZBO and either JJ

We get:

Jason Williams, Smush Parker and Mark Bount

It works at RealGM

We get salary relief, especially after next year and the possibility that Eddy goes back to scoring. Miami gets a post scorer replacement for SHAQ, moves Marion to SF and gets rid of some salary in Blount and Parker.

@ above me...

It makes sense for us, but Miami is trying to cut salary so they aren't taking on long term contracts.

Giaps,

I hear you. Realize that while Miami adds some salary, Blount's contract goes till 9/10 and Parker till 8/9. Plus they're clearly getting the better the players. If they take J James the salary ends in 9/10 and ZBo's ends in 10/11. But they already have Dwade under contract and regardless of the cap will be able to give him the most money. If they're winning in the meantime Dwade will stay, if not, he might bolt. I'm not saying this is a no brainer just it might be make more sense for Miami then it appears at first.

I'm sure this is an unofficial statistic, but the Knicks must lead the league in this category - shots that happen late in the shot clock (five seconds or less).

I think this is the curse of Isiah. Dolan is making him go to war with the players he brought in. Dolan may never fire the coach. To watch Isiah suffer is worth the money that he's dishing out. This is the only theory that make since to me.

How about a rebuilding effort led by Jerry Colangelo, Mike D'Antoni, and Derrick Rose?

I read conflicting reports about how well D'Antoni and Kerr get along, so he may be willing to get out before Nash's injuries catch up with him. Colangelo, with his Phoenix roots, must have some relationship with D'Antoni.

that's rite crawford a sixman he is the perfect bench player along with nate.
expiring contracts N picks will doo.
morris i know can play better D than any of our bigmen.
collins would be great if he got his confidence back a big p.g is great to have..
balkman n lee are my only keepers.lee got moves if lee can get 10-15 touches a nite his numbers would be like 16-25 point N 10-20 rebounds...
balkman can average 10/10/2//2=points/bound/blocks/steals.
collins with confidence can give u 10-15/4-8/2-4/4-8...

itz very sad we have sad players we have losers/exclude lee n balkman.

crawford only scores cuz he takes 15-30 shots a nite=if he was good he would be averaging 30 a nite he got skillz but no mind to put it to good use.taking bad shots he crawfords game itz like he is in rucker park all the time...

THE KNICKS WILL BE GOOD WHEN ZEKE IS GONE ALONG WITH A FEW PLAYERS...

STAY TUNED FOR MORE KnowLedge...

Interesting piece, Willis. Next, I’d like to see a trained shrink analyze the co-dependent, dysfunctional Isiah-Dolan relationship. There’s a master’s thesis there for some enterprising young psych student.

Rarely has so much incompetence been wielded with such arrogance and bravado . . . in the face of such dismal failure.

Dolan need only look across the river to realize not all rich kids who inherit a sports franchise run them into the ground. What’s shocking is that Daddy Dolan doesn’t even seem to be trying to help his kid stop making such a fool of himself . . . and such a mess of a family asset.

It would all be high farce if the fate of the Knicks weren’t hanging in the balance. It would almost be fun to watch the Dolan/Isiah train-wreck . . . but these are the Knicks they’re destroying. There outta be a law . . . or at least a league, to pull a Cleveland, and help us stop the bleeding . . .

All of New York was desperately waiting for an update on Jared Jordan. Here's an idea for your next blog "Whatever Happened to Walker Russell Jr." Come on man, you're better than that

ACCOUNTABILITY...
IT IS ALL ABOUT ACCOUNTABILITY.

when there is no accountability it trickles down from the ownership and all the way down to the players.
why get better?why work on your jump shot?
why do anything when there is no hope at the end of the tunnel.

THE PLAYERS LOOK AT THE KNICK'S MANAGEMENT
AND IT PROBABLY TAKES THE FIGHT OUT THEM.

the bad coaching,
the awful trades
mismanagement of the young players

UNTIL DOLAN COMES TO HIS SENSES AND DISMISSES ISIAH
THE FRANCHISE WILL CONTINUE TO SINK INTO THE ABYSS.

HOW MUCH LONGER WILL HE ALLOW THE KNICKS TO BE ONE OF THE WORSE RUN FRANCHISES IN THE LEAGUE.

its sad...

Alan,

Read your article on the Jermaine O'Neal talk, good stuff. But I think if we can get O'Neal for Zach we should. O'Neal has one less year than ZBo and it's that critical free agent off season.

Isiah needs a player in his corner badly, even if it's the locker room. If healthy he is a rebounder and shot blocker. Besides let him take the rest of the season off, get a high draft pick. And then we can be optomistic about something, next season...again.

Trane, Infinity - its called Dolan's Labyrinth or something of the sort. Dolan has never been responsible for anything in his life, so how could he even know how to demand it of others. What he is good at, like all addicts, is maintaining a facade to support the habit. And its difficult, nasty work.

I remember some comic talking in the voice of a heroin addict at a job interview: "hard worker? I've got a $150 dollar a day habit and no job - that's hard work" or something to that effect.

Dolan's one brush with demanding responsibility was very revealing and must have certainly mirrored a "lesson" taught to him by his Dad (maybe a great business man, but not much of a father if we judge by the fruit): Zeke and Marbury together undermine and defame Coach Brown, the Knicks rebuilding consists of a bunch of nice young players, but no team. The downward trajectory is now at terminal velocity. Finally, after all the damage is done, long after the time of action is gone, the opportunity to salvage the situation buried, Dolan rouses himself to teach Zeke a lesson in "responsibility" - "Its your players and you hated the coach, you coach the team" You made your bed, now sleep in it.

What madness, you've destroyed the club, so you stay??????

Rich kid grown up in a life with no consequences, running a business that is all consequences, that has only results - wins and losses, as the arbiter of success; damn well doesn't care about results. Its never been a problem before, why would it be a problem now? Just so long as its not HIS mess, Zeke, its all you; just so long as he doesn't have to admit he was wrong (hiring Zeke, allowing Brown to be forced out, coddling Starbury, never halting the civil war betwen Sanders and Zeke, not settling the case, etc...etc....) just so long as he doesn't "give in" to the idiots who come to the Garden and boo, he's doing great.

The parallels between Dolan World and Bush World are not coincidence.

Alan – you’ve now made a number of references to Isiah being replaced after the season is over. What’s this based on? Common sense? Wishful thinking? Inside info? Certainly, I hope you’re right. But I don’t quite understand it. If Dolan is prepared to get rid of Isiah, why would he wait? Financial reasons? And if he’s planning to fire him, do you think Isiah is being blocked from making moves before the trade deadline?

Willis – I, too, have thought about the parallels between Dolan World and Bush World. The incompetence. The paranoia. In effect, both have moved the goal posts when it comes to gross mismanagement of their respective organizations. I almost posted the other night: Which, relatively, is in worse shape? The Knicks, with Dolan and Isiah? Or the USA, with Bush and Cheney? I read a review of a play in the L.A. Times once that started with the line: “How bad is bad?” I think of that line often these days . . . in terms of both, Dolan and Bush.