The Knicks Fix

Clever, Alan.

Scott Skiles was canned on Christmas Eve after leading his team to the Eastern semi-finals 7 months ago and we are stuck with the Grinch who stole Christmas from Knicks fans still lurking on the bench.

There's something wrong with this picture.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to my fellow Knick faithful.

To the lottery we go! Ho Ho Ho!

AH: Did Zeke really blame the hostility of New York, in general, and Knick fans, in particular, on not drafting Bynum? Laughable. FYI, I'm a Knicks season tix holder since 01-02 (nice timing, huh?) A quick anectdote: Right after Chucky's Son signed Zeke they had a pre-game event for some tix holders (Mills, Zeke, and Anucha were all there). Zeke told the crowd then that New York would not accept a rebuilding project and that he would win now. It's safe to say that he hasn't had a clue for four years...and counting...I've been rooting for these guys since I was 6 yrs old and The Animal, Cummings and Eddie Lee were starting. I had more fun then rooting for the team than I do now.

Alan,

Thanks for the humor. We need something to soothe us over. Looks like we get the BIG Lump of coal for Christmas this year. Thank goodness for low expectations. Not surprised at all.

It's a shame because we have been such good Knick Fans all year.

FIRE ISIAH! DUMP DOLAN PROTEST & WALKOUT
CLOTHING DRIVE TO BENEFIT NYC’S HOMELESS SHELTERS

SUNDAY DECEMBER 30, 2007 AT 11:00 am
IN FRONT OF MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

PROTEST = Stand with us outside the Garden, Be Heard.
WALKOUT = We are encouraging all fans that attend the game against the Bulls to make a statement by leaving the Garden at the end of the 3rd quarter and join us in our protest.
BENEFIT = Donate a clothing item to NYC’s homeless shelters for those less fortunate.

Have a SAFE & HAPPY HOLIDAY

Joe V.

Pathetic. I'm sorry why don't you just put a bif pivture of Santa shooting hoops.

nicely done alan.

happy holidays everyone.

is everyone having the same problem i am with getting their posts rejected the first time?

joe v, who is organizing the rally? is there a website or email contact? i'll be there and would like to plan some eye (press) catching shenanigans. color is always helpful, the pink slip was very media friendly and effective. and when we march out of the garden it should be in mass, with signs in hand and a chant from our lips.

POWER TO THE KNICK FANS

an interesting analysis in todays nytimes, which some of you might have missed because of the holiday:

A statistical analysis provided by 82games.com helped illustrate the problem — and pointed to Curry as the main culprit. Over the first 23 games of the season, the Knicks were, on average, outscored by 7.9 points (per 48 minutes) when Curry and Randolph shared the court. When Randolph played without Curry, the Knicks were outscored by only 2.3 points per 48 minutes.

Most striking is that Curry, the Knicks’ leading scorer last season, is a greater drag on the team. The Knicks are outscored by 16 points per 48 minutes when Curry plays without Randolph.

Roland Beech, the founder of 82games.com, noted that these plus-minus statistics do not account for who else was on the court with Curry and Randolph, and therefore do not tell the whole story. But the career trends of Curry and Randolph are telling.

According to Beech, Randolph has a positive plus-minus rating in nearly every season of his career; Curry has a negative rating in nearly every season of his career.

It was Christmas day in New York and all I could hear
Was Fire Isiah by the start of the year

He’s ruining our franchise, these players can’t play
We long for the good years of ol’ yesterday

When Houston was the 2 guard but wait so was Latrell
When Howard Eisley and Shandon played with Postell

When we drafted Frank Williams, Mike Sweetney, & Weis
And gave 60 million to Antonio McDyess

But it’s Zeke who should exit and be ousted real soon
So we can cheer the return of Clarence Weatherspoon

You see New Yorkers are the smartest fans all around
That’s the reason the Knicks get booed in their hometown

Keep Balkman, and Lee but that Zeke’s got to go
He’s brought in some talent but he wasn’t nice to that ho

A mean spirited woman who everyone despised
Got 11 million by 9 jurors for telling her lies

The fans want instant playoffs so don’t you deny them
But don’t you blame Zeke for not chancing on Bynum

Zeke was hated from day one or haven't you heard
He’s always been a target for dissin’ Larry Bird

But screw Larry the Bird and Larry the Brown
Isiah will die! before he skips town

So hate as you must as the papers persuade
But with Zeke that makes two that’s not in your crusade

Happy Holidays!

sec11rowH -

Protest is being coordinated by disgruntled fans such as yourself. Not to repeat what I posted earlier but...

Any fan who has ever complained about this team, it's coach and ownership needs to show thier support and be heard. I'm not going to beat a dead horse but just think about how you will feel next winter when nothing has been done and we're still losing miserably. I can't bear it without knowing I tried to do something about it.

Yes, we're fanatics. That's what Knick Fans are!

FIRE ISIAH! DUMP DOLAN!

Joe V.

Isiah is in over his head at this point. He brought some value to the team he was handed – definitely. After turning the roster over a few dozen times, he landed a few solid players. (Although almost exclusively through the draft). Not exactly worthy of a ticker-tape parade. But better than what we had. But he seems paralyzed now. He has no ideas how to coach this roster. And he has no ideas how to improve the roster. That’s when GM and coach have to go.

He’s hit a wall. The roster is a mess. The record stinks. His rotations are a joke. His biggest trades are a disaster. His players seem to have lost faith in him. And now he’s THINKING about changing the line-up? Whatta concept? He looked so sad in one of those post-game interviews last week – like he was shell-shocked. Dolan should put him out of his misery . . . and fire him. Let him keep his money, combat pay for putting up with all the abuse. All GMs and all coaches come to the end of their effectiveness. Let’s be generous, and spin it that way. But however you spin it, he’s gotta go. The only reason he still has a job is because Dolan doesn’t want to seem to be “giving in” to media (and fans) who think he should be fired. It’s not a basketball decision. It’s an ego decision. It’s called cognitive dissonance.

The question I’d ask his ardent supporters this: If you don't believe he deserves to be fire now . . . what would he have to do to warrant being fired? How much worse can it get? (And somebody explain to me why his supporters keep invoking the Layden roster. That’s right, he did a crap job, too. So . . . ? ? ? Knicks fans deserve better than Layden AND Isiah one would hope.)

What a turd of website.

Dude calling for the rally really must like to have his pic in the papers. Must be all that reality TV infused into the american pshyce.

The same sort of clowns who hailed "good riddance" to Patrick Ewing.

Have the mice like pide pipers with a sheep like clamor a brewing.

Happy holidays

@baz,

you are a much better poet than you are a connoisseur of basket ball. and your politics obviously suck too, calling the victim a "ho"? i guess all the ho-ho-ho-ing this holiday season got to your head (and dragged you intro the gutter).

still, in the spirit of the season, i gotta give you props on your wordsmithing.

see you sunday joe.

Isiah Thomas said that he thought Andrew Bynum was too young and wasn't sure he could handle big bad New York?
I'd be willing to bet that he did not know who Andrew Bynum was at the time; and tried to wiggle his answer around again; so that the focus can come back to little old Isiah and all of the big bad pressure he has to endure while he toils so deligently at his multi-multi million dollar job......Boo Hoo
He should do his homework.

One of my buddy’s kid is a very good friend of Andrew Bynum:
• I’m so glad that he is not a Knick under Idi Amin’s regime;
• Isiah would’ve ruined AB’s career;
• As opposed to Kareem mentoring AB, it would’ve been Mark ‘the big pout’ Aguirre. Probably Bynum would’ve ended up as a benchwarner in the D-league under Zeke and Aguirre’s tutelage. No thanks.
• Trevor Ariza and Channing Frye are really becoming key contributors to their respective teams. Isiah has such an excellent ‘eye for talent’ for a knucklehead.
• Even Shandon Andersen was a key contributor to the Heat when they won that shiny stuff;
• Joe V. = you are Da Man. Hope to see you on Dec. 30 at the 11 AM rendezvous.

Happy Festivus.......

It was a FACT at the time that had frye been taken off the boards Isiah was slated to take Bynum or Gerald Green BOTH HS'ers. But Isiah correctly noted that NY would not have had the patience for either player to develope so Isiah took the safe route and took frye a stiff who is just now getting tangible minutes for Portland. Remember Isiah is the one who took a little known forward right out of H.S. for Toronto named, Tracy McGrady!!!! Isiah Thomas' evaluation of talent is unparallel!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Too bad the morons who comprise the fan base refuse to realize this!

GO KNICKS!

Isiah has a very good draft record, but to call him unparalled, I'd want to see a late first round/second round all star in the mix. Someone like Parker or Ginobili in Sam Antonio. T-Mac was a great pick, but it was lottery.

David Lee was taken with the last pick in the 1st. round. He could very well turn into that 'star'. Tervor Ariza was a 2nd. rounder. Mardy Collins was a 2nd. rounder. ALL proven to be NBA caliber players. And given seasoning and opportunity could be big contributors to their respective teams.

Uh news flash!! This is what the coach is supposed to do. Find the players that are ready to play the way he wants (defense for 48 minutes).
AT this level with an entire roster of guaranteed contracts that's about all a NBA coach can do. Move players around until you find the right combination. I think the Knicks are the only team in the NBA where at least 12 players are all former #1 draft picks for their original team. Maybe that's the problem. Too many guys that are used to and expect to be the star and center of attention. Not enough guys willing to do the dirty work that does not show up in a box score.

I’d be reluctant to think that a majority of the ardent Isiah supporters have to communicate their opinions by calling ABS a “Ho” (a comment dripping with class) . . . or attacking a blog were some people have differing opinions as a “turd” site. (Now there is an intelligent point of debate.) I know for a fact there are at least some who still support Isiah who can maintain an intelligent debate, without all the gutter epithets. (They just don’t seem to come around here very often.) I just don’t see much point in responding to these kinds of posts.

I’m not exactly sure what “turd websites” would be. We’re lucky to have Spiral Question Mark around. He seems intimately familiar with them.

@sean

look it up, mardy collins was a first round pick. and i'm not sore which mardy collins it is that you believe to be "proven nba caliber", but i have never seen him. the mardy collins i know can't shoot a lick, can't finish, can't creatively distribute, doesn't have a great handle, and, given his regression from the end of last season, he is unlikely to in the nba much beyond next season. his sole attribute is that he is a fine defensive player, both on the man and in the passing lanes.

your opinions regarding the legitimacy of the reign of the false prophet are welcome here, differences of opinion and open dialogue are always valuable. even the vietnam and iraq war have their defenders. yes, they have proven to be misguided fools, but the world needs them around if only as counterpoints to advocates of justice and truth.

so sean, please keep up with your hollow defense of isiah-bitch's tenure. without points of view such as yours, it would be a little bit harder to argue that it is INCOMPREHENSIBLE that this CONVICTED SEXUAL HARASSER remains the face of basketball in this mecca of the sport, given that:

he has averaged FIFTY LOSSES EVERY SEASON for four years in a row:

he has never led the team to the playoffs (in a weak conference);

his inept handling of players roles has destroyed the confidence of several players;

he traded for STEVE FRANCIS;

he traded TWO UNPROTECTED FIRST ROUND PICKS for a lethargic, overweight, one dimensional center (with a serious heart problem, both metaphorically and physically);

he used his veteran payroll exemptions for JEROME JAMES and JARED JEFFRIES;

he drafted CHANNING FRYE over ANDREW BYNUM;

he drafted RENALDO BAKMAN (who is no longer in the knicks rotation) before either RAJON RONDO or MARCUS WILLIAMS (when the knicks clearly desperately needed to groom a point guard);

he traded for zach randolph, when the knicks already had two power forwards (lee and jeffries)..........

i have to stop, i could go on and on, but i can't type anymore, i am laughing too hard at the thought of anyone defending this bum's performance.

@sean, and all you other defenders of the disaster known as isiah, are you sure it's MSG you've been watching the past four years?

SEAN BUTCHER:

"But Isiah correctly noted that NY would not have had the patience for either player (Bynum/Green) to develope so Isiah took the safe route"

If Zeke is too concerned about the fans & the media or is too scared to make the right decision then tell your Uncle that I will personally make the pick next time.

Even better, Uncle Zeke should have a survey next year obtaining the fans & the media's recommendation as to who to draft. Hence, he has a consensus. This way, he is not blaming the fans without any basis.

ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER:
Do you have any idea how many undrafted players or CBA refugees as well as overseas players that made an impact in the NBA that were not drafted by Lord Scoundrel? Zeke is average. Plus, eye for talent applies not only to draft but to trades as well.

The myth has been dispelled many times over.

Mardy Collins???

I'm out of shape and haven't played ball in a while. However, give me a couple of weeks and I'll beat Mardy Collins one on one and even give him a facial.
Yeah, I wish.

Seriously, I don't see what the other 'experts' see or saw in this guy. This dude can't play. Not athletic, not a decent set up guy, can't shoot, not a speed merchant, no power moves, no inside game, can't rebound, average D, not a skywalker. He's a "starter" alright. Someone who would start a fight during a blow-out.

Mardy Collins: Please prove me wrong.

All of the people that swear by Isiah Thomas' eye for talent should be able to see for their own eyes how ridiculous that statement is JUST BY looking at HIS team here in NY.

Draft picks have been marginal and/or lucky at best. McGrady's year; there were very few if any other players you would pick. Certainly none that have done anything good in the NBA. That was a lucky pick. That year after AI at 1; Van Horn at 2, Billups at 3....it was a lousy draft. Mcgrady went 9.

Take a look at 96' draft. Isiah picked Marcus Camby @ #2..........Here are just a few names Lord T. passed on that draft:

Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, Steve Nash; Peja Stojakovic; Jermaine O'Neal, Antoine Walker and others. That's that!!!!

DECEMBER:
Good points of former Knicks contributing to other teams. Why not add Antonio McDyess and Nazr Mohammed to that list.

And while we are at it; let's not forget we had the #2 pick 2 years ago that landed LeMarcus Aldridge. Chi. traded that pick to Portland for Tyrees Thomas. Chicago's bad.
The NYK could have had Aldridge @ #2 and the #9 pick last year. Whoever you wanted but let's say Joachim Noah who Chi. took.
We could have those 2 players ; but instead; WE HAVE Eddy Curry.

ISIAH HAS DONE AN AWFUL JOB AS GM.

signing jerome james,jarred jeffries,trading away trevor ariza stevie francis,trading two lotteriy picks for eddy curry,drafting channing frye over andrew bynum.

AS A COACH HE IS BETTER THAN ADEQUATE BUT AS A GM I WOULD HAVE TO GIVE HIM A FAILING GRADE.

i started out supporting isiah and hoped the stephon marbury trade would turn around the knicks.

I WAS WRONG!

isiah strengths are
1.drafting talent
2.motivation.

he is a great motivator if given the right core of players.but guess what?we don't have the right core of players and I.T. is the blame for that.

WHY CAN"T HE SIGN FREE AGENTS THAT HAVE THE SAME FIRE HE HAD AS A PLAYER.

THAT IS WHY I SUPPORTED HIM IN THE BEGINNING BECAUSE HE WAS A WINNER WHO PLAYED THE GAME WITH PASSION AND FIRE BUT ALL THE PLAYERS HE HAS SIGNED OR TRADED FOR ARE PLAYERS WHO HAVE BEEN KNOWN FOR BEING SOFT AND NOT WINNERS.

we still need shooters on the team.how can you have a low post game philosophy without shooters on your team.

WHAT DID ORLANDO DO?THEY SURROUNDED DWIGHT HOWARD WITH PLAYERS THAT CAN SHOOT THE THREE SO THEY CAN'T DOUBLE TEAM HIM.

WHY HAVE WE NOT DONE THAT?

we have a surplus of small forward that have little to no offensive game.

THAT IS WHY HE SAID HE DRAFTED WILSON CHANDLER...

but that boy still can't get off the pine.

WE SHOULD MAKE A TRADE FOR RON ARTEST.

i know he is crazy but he plays every game with heart and gives 110%

WHO DOES THAT ON THE KNICKS BESIDES DAVID LEE?

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS PLAYERS WHO PLAY WITH HEART AND LEAVE IT ALL OUT ON THE FLOOR.

I think we have to begin to recognize limitations to Isiah's so-called “eye for talent.” I think he’s found some real gems, lower in the draft than usual. He’s picked up some decent individual players. What Isiah doesn’t seem to know, however, is how to put a TEAM together, with talents that complement each other. You can see that his rotations are in chaos, which is another manifestation of the same problem he has building a cohesive roster. For a while, he seemed to be doing a good job finding players he liked. But he’s become paralyzed now that he has to start finding the players we need. He’s shown no ability to do that. The difference between Isiah and Dolan is that Isiah has added value to the team. But he’s hit a wall. Time to bring in fresh management to take the team to the next level. If Isiah’s proven anything it’s that he’s not the man to take this team to the next level.

Spiral Question -

Nothing to do with publicity whatsoever. I can really care less about it. I take it you'll be one of those people that don't stand up for what they believe. I've had my 15 minutes of fame. All set with that, Really.

Accept mediocracy and that is waht you'll get. This organization seems to think that everything is ok. I guess you do too.

how completely insane is this coach?

he sends the teams first-half mvp to the bench and leaves cotton curry in the starting line-up? are you kidding me? this is surreal.....dali couldn't paint this, vonnegut couldn't write it. curry plays 3 minutes, scores 2 points, has no rebounds, zbo ends up playing 33 minutes, gets 9 rebounds and 22 points. HELLO????

am i seeing things, Q is the shooting guard? he is shooting 32% for the season!!! (i swear this is true). n8 is on the bench? this is a line-up change? brilliant! and guess what, Q plays 35, shoots 3 of 12 scores 8, n8 plays 23, shoots 6 of 12 and scores 16.

i HATE this smug incompetent cretan. how can dolan possibly retain him? and what is steve mills doing hanging around this mob?

JoeyV,

What do you think your going to accomplish?
You are a pathetic example of any fan!
I read a real Monkey is going to join your protest?
Spare the Animals!

Hey Moron, your name suits you well.

The Knicks suck and Isiah Thomas is the worst GM in sports. STFU already tool.

Word from the OldSchool: A "Moron" or "tool" by any other name would be: Mark.

Don't feed the trolls, no matter what name they go by.

No need to make personal attacks on folks because you disagree with their opinion's.

Lighten up fellas it's a blog about the Knicks.

And for offended by the "ho" term it just happened to rhyme better.

And as I have said before but don't feel the need to postit every day. If they fire Zeke it's understandable. But I want to be under the cap in two years with high draft picks.

So yes, I want to lose because I don't think our players will bring us a ray allen, KG combo to put us over. I want to have cap space and draft picks like Atlanta, Portland, & Seattle.

I think a new GM will feel the need to win now and mess up our chance to steal a free agent and/or have a top 3 pick in the draft for 2 years.

And sec11rowH, my poilitics are good. But thanks for the compliment.

And yes it eats me alive when I watch games like last night in Orlando.

Happy Holidays

The inability for the Weasel to find a rotation when all these players were hand picked by him means that he either didn't really know what he was getting or never thought about the possibility that players on a team have to play together. At their best, the Knicks put some hustling guys who would be bench players on a good team out there with a couple of chuckers like Crawford or Nate, hope one of them shots 10-20% over his average, and that the hustlers can scrap for boards or turnovers. That is basically what a first year expansion team does.

I thought Zack was a good pick up based on a few Portland games I'd seen on t.v. There is a big difference between putting up numbers on a crappy team and putting them up on a winner though. And its amazing what has happened in Portland since he left (without Oden). I'd like to see how he'd do on a team that is built to compliment his game and coached by someone who has even minimal coaching skills.

You could write a book full of the things the Weasel has screwed up so I'll just put this one out there - having a career sub-40% shooter taking the most shots each night is a sure way t lose a lot of games.

OldSchool has it right. Don't feed the Trolls, and don't respond to gutter attacks. Let's keep this site civil and available to any point of view that's communicated with intelligence and respect. On another web site, "Troll" is misunderstood to imply those of a certain point of view (primarily, anti-Isiah). That was never the intention when "Troll" was developed on this site. It was only meant to isolate and discredit anyone – of any point of view – who sought to disrupt the conversation, and/or debase it with offensive language or attacks.

Personally, I’d welcome more hard-core Isiah supporters because I’m genuinely mystified how they can continue to justify that allegiance. If Isiah hasn’t provided ample evidence that he is incapable of taking this team forward . . . I’d be fascinated to know how bad things would have to get in their eyes to warrant firing him . . .

I did not see the entire game, only Q2 when NYK was competing, had good ball movement, finding the open man, helping out on D, etc...
* Then nother Q4 collapse????

* Checked the boxscores. Comatose Eddy and JJeffries started? What the....

* This is really getting sick;
* I think that Zeke is trying his best to get fired so he can fully collect on the $ 24.0 mil. contract.

Also, it seems like Zeke is now intent on destroying Balkman's confidence and career while building up heartless Curry and dead-wood JJeffries.

The rooks should get some look. Chandler and Morris are just wasting away so ECurry, Q, and JJeffries can get minutes.

Isiah The Genius as work.

SEAN BUTCHER:
My bad... I should've not called you Abdullah. Difference of opinion is welcome and healthy.

MAK - I'd buy the trying to get fired theory - it explains the moronic lies to the press after each game if the Weasel is making sure to do nothing that Dolan's lawyers could argue violated the media policy. That was how Brown lost a chunk of $$$. Remember - you can take his dignity, but you can't take his money.

Does anyone else here think that, barring trades, Zeke should pattern this team after Golden State ? I think they should run Jones, JC, JJ, Lee and Zach to start games. They need to run run run and run !!!! I thought they looked best running cutting and passing with ZBo as center. I thought they lost this one when EC re-entered the game. The ball went to the middle and never came out.

Get rid of Curry for 10 cents on the dollar if you have to. I’d love to have a Mikki Moore type to block some shots. Steph should be told to stay home until we can get rid of him in the off season.

Does anyone agree ????

No reason for Eddy starting yesterday...and Q Rich needs to ride the pine in favor of Fred Jones (he does well running the point).

Jamal should be playing off the ball...he makes better decisions and has less opportunity to toss up those horrible, off-balance shots. he just may have trouble against bigger 2s and that where Jeffries (even Balkman) can help off the bench.

Q Rich has lost his shot & doesn't look to be getting it back after 1 decent game.

Get us better effort, a consistent shooter & a damn shot blocker!

Yes, we are all entitled to OUR opinions. Thanks for the back-up George.

Interesting... I haven't heard anything about a monkey? Where did you read that?

In any event, Gang, it would be GREATLY APPRECIATED to those that show up and support the cause. Someone asked what was it going to accomplish? Here's how I look at it, to watch this team consistently lose game after game after game is starting to wear on me. I guess this is our way of being able to say we did everything we could on our end when were sitting there next winter or the following and are afraid to even turn the game on in fear of being blown out and embarrased as fans.

Embarrased Fans... hasn't that what we've become?

If I was Isiah or Steph short of being fined I would NEVER say a single word to the despised NY Media. Nary a word!

Guys – I’ve been out of town since last week. I can post from time to time but don’t get the games. Will somebody please explain to me what’s going on with Balkman? Is he hurt? Remember last summer in Vegas? He and Nate were the second coming? One night Nate is the team’s high scorer; the next game, he doesn’t get off the pine. (I didn’t like Nate at first, but he showed me a lot last summer. He was really trying to improve his game. Isiah appears to have no idea how to develop his talents.) It’s also fair to say Isiah has completely failed in giving Balkman a chance to develop as a player. Same can be said of Chandler, of course. And let’s not even talk about Nichols.

You know, it’s funny. For all this talk about Isiah’s “eye for talent,” has anybody else notice that his great draft picks can’t even crack the starting line-up on one of the worst team’s in the league? Tell you anything? Okay, he finally started Lee one game, right? But let’s face it, I think we’re learning that Isiah Thomas does, indeed, have a good eye for talent. The problem is, he doesn’t know what to do with it, once he’s got it. He can’t design a roster or rotations that work together as a team. I’ve said it before. He’s good at finding talents he likes. He’s bad at bringing players we need.