The New York Knicks are my team folks. More than the Yankees, Giants or Islanders ever will be. I bleed Orange and Blue- have been since I was 7 years old and saw Patrick Ewing dunk home John Starks' miss to send the Knicks to the 1994 NBA Finals. I was there with Allan Houston's runner against the heat- paving the way for LJ's 4 point play and that improbable Spring of '99. I have also been there through the Charles Smith play, the "finger roll" and of course the brawl with the heat in '97. I've been through it all with this team, every up and down, constantly looking optomistically at the team. However, enough is enough- this team blows. And there is one man repsonsible: Isiah Thomas.
Isiah rode into the city in 2004- On a wave of goodwill form knicks fans because he replaced Scott Layden. And not even 2 weeks into his tenure, Isiah pulled off the blockbuster trade that brought home Stephon Marbury. All looked good, I mean Isiah got Stephon Marbury! Ah but what tangled webs we weave. Isiah then got trigger happy and decided to trade Keith Van Horn and Michael Doleac for Tim Thomas and Nazi Mohammed. Now, the Knicks did make the playoffs in '04, only to get swept by the Nets. Then the wheels fell off.
Lenny Wilkens left early in the next year, and the team finished out of the playoffs. Isiah then felt he still needed to make moves, getting rid of Tim Thomas, Nazi Mohammed, Kurt Thomas and Penny Hardaway while adding Jalen Rose, Malik Rose, Quentin Richardson and Steve Francis. Then they brought in Larry Brown to coach the team- a move everyone questioned because "how could he co-exist with Isiah?"
Well they didnt. Isiah claims Brown begged for the Rose and Francis trades, and after just won 23 win season, Brown was gone- and Isiah came to the bench. Now, after just 37 wins in 1+ years as coach, the fans are calling for Isiah's head. An dit just doesnt have to do with the sexual harrassment suit, or the crazy deal with him and Marbury early in the year (where Marbury threatened to dish dirt on Isiah if he wasn't put back in the lineup), it's the fact that Isiah is a bad coach, and an awful GM.
For all his pluses in the draft- finding David Lee, Renaldo Balkman and Nate Robinson- not to mention Tracy McGrady and Damon Stoudamire, Isiah is ahorrible coach, and his time is up.
Please, for the love of god- the team clearly has quit on him, as evidenced by the historic no-show against the Celtics, where the Knicks needed a 40 foot heave at the buzzer by Nate Robinson to not set the team record for fewqest points in a game. Now, on the heels of Sunday night's poor defensive performance agaisnt the Suns (where the Knicks were completely out-played in the 4th quarter) Isiah's time has run out.
Please Jim Dolan, the fans are begging you. Open yuor eyes and get rid of Isiah Thomas. It will only be step one to fixing your team- but it's a move in the right direction.
- Mike Tramontozzi, WCWP Sports Director
No comments:
Post a Comment