The Knicks Fix

So now we've reached the point of absurdity, where we promote the fact that the Knicks aren't getting blown out anymore. The flipside, of course, is that in giving these "honest efforts" as Isiah Thomas calls them, the Knicks are only proving they still can't win even when they try.

Jamal Crawford had the most telling quote of the night after the 103-100 loss to the Pacers:

"It's probably more frustrating to lose like this," said Crawford, who missed his desperation three before the buzzer, "than lose by 30."

If there was a game you could expect the Knicks to win, it was this one. The Pacers had lost seven straight and were without Jamaal Tinsley (sore left knee) and Jermaine O'Neal (bruised left knee bone). And yet Kareem Rush (24 points) was the latest fairly anonymous bench player to light up the Garden (admit it, unless you are a Missouri fan, a Pacers fan or participate in fantasy hoops, you know about as much of Kareem Rush as you do John Salmons).

The Knicks are wearing the look of a team waiting for the big IT to happen. The salary-dump trade. The locker-room shakeup. The departure of a few relieved veterans. The coach? Yeah, that's a good one. You'll have to wait until at least April for that.

Isiah maintains he has no plans to move anyone, but word around the league is the Knicks have made it pretty clear they're open for business. What they're not open for is adding any more salary. If they move anyone, it'll be for expiring contracts or smaller contracts.

The Pacers turned 18 Knick turnovers into 35 points -- almost a basket a turnover! No ground gained in the so-called playoff race either, even with the Nets losing. Still six back with six teams ahead of them. Thirty-three games to go.

And yet there was Wilson Chandler, dressed but did not play. And there was Randolph Morris, didn't even get to put on the uniform. Instead, Jerome James was in uniform. Maybe one of these games, Isiah says, he'll get a chance to play.

Good. Because you worry that the 32-year-old backup center, who has never been in shape since he "got paid," isn't getting any ticks when your team is 21 games under .500.

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I'm not saying they miss Stephon Marbury, but the Knicks desperately miss a true point guard. Crawford isn't a PG, he's a scorer. And maybe he's a one-dimensional player, but it's a damn good dimension to have. Sometimes they get away with the clear-it-out-for-Jamal set, but lately Crawford has looked worn down from the schedule and, probably, the added responsibility in the backcourt.

Nate Robinson is hobbled by the thigh bruise (he only played nine minutes against the Pacers), but even with him in the lineup getting big minutes, the Knicks still had nothing like the kind of structure you need down the stretch to win games.

Isiah said during the trip that the point guard play has hurt the Knicks. Has he realized that he never properly planned for the end of Marbury's reign at that position? Of the two young guards he's brought in, Nate won't even call himself a point guard and Mardy Collins hasn't shown the proper amount of assertiveness to run an offense (which generally comes with confidence). Collins, who showed so many promising signs toward the end of last season, seems to be completely confused by the merry-go-round of starts and DNPs all in the same week.

Fixers, we discussed it right here last June, before the draft, that the Knicks had to focus on getting a true point guard; a floor general and a ball-mover. We talked about it and debated the idea of finding the Marbury successor now. Get someone you can develop so he's ready when Marbury leaves. I know my pick was Taurean Green and, yes, he's not even cracking the lineup in Portland right now. No way he'd be ready to handle things if he were here. But at least you'd have something to work with. And if you did your scouting on Green, he's got the makeup: smart, a proven winner, can hit from the outside and confident. The knock against him is his size (5-11), but I think Isiah has heard that one before. Bottom line is, you weren't drafting him to start now. You'd have drafted him to be ready in two years.

Instead, he's someone else's property.

Now you have to draft someone this year and hope he can be ready sooner. Welcome to Baptism by Fire: Derrick Rose, DJ Augustin, Ty Lawson (my personal favorite...I always like the Carolina kids), et al.

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Marbury, by the way, has remained away from the team while he recovers from bone spur surgery on his left ankle. The surgery was performed on Jan. 22 and a team spokesman said Marbury is still in pain and wearing a protective boot. He hasn't attended either the Clippers game Monday or Wednesday's Pacers game, nor was he at practice on Tuesday.

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Before the game, Thomas was asked about former Knick great Charles Oakley’s recent critical comments of the current Knicks, which include, “They have a lot of guys making money, that doesn’t mean you have talent” and labeling the team as a “disgrace.”

Thomas gave a long pause, glared at the questioner and replied, “I’ll pass on that.”