AS YOU gather around your Thanksgiving feast today and say Grace over the blessings in your life, please take a moment to offer a little prayer that James Dolan comes to his senses and fires Isiah Thomas as president and head coach of the Knicks.
It is painfully obvious to those who care about the Knicks and especially those at the Garden for Tuesday night’s meltdown against Golden State that Thomas has lost his players and his team and now needs to lose his job.
If the Knicks were ever going to respond to him as their coach and leader, it would have been Tuesday night. They had lost six straight games, including a winless four-game West Coast trip. Stephon Marbury had been reinstated to the starting lineup against an opponent who was 2-6 and allowing a gaudy 114 points per game.
But instead of showing their fans they still have life, energy and passion to wear the Orange and Blue, the Knicks authored one of the worst performances ever witnessed at the Garden. They committed 27 turnovers Tuesday, didn’t block a single shot and played without intelligence or aggression en route to an embarrassing 108-82 defeat.
Chants of “Fire Isiah” were heard as early as the second quarter and continued throughout the game. Those too discouraged to boo simply left the building with six minutes remaining in the game.
Dolan witnessed all this from his courtside seat, flanked by Garden COO Steve Mills. They should listen to their customers and tell Thomas he’s like that turkey on your table: all done.
Last night’s 98-86 thumping in Detroit offers even more reason to take immediate action.
It wasn’t that long ago when the Knicks were a flagship franchise of the NBA. Now they are a laughingstock. It has been one embarrassment after another over these last few months. Losing a sexual-harassment case in federal court a month before the season began stained the Garden, and things haven’t gotten any better.
Already we’ve seen enough to know this season is going nowhere if things stay the same. Thomas likely lost his team when he played Marbury against the Clippers after the point-guard went AWOL in Phoenix upon learning he was going to be benched. Reportedly, the team voted he shouldn’t play when he returned. But Thomas played him 34 minutes in Los Angeles and this after Marbury threatened to reveal some personal dirt about the head coach.
Since the Knicks keep more things in house than the Bush administration, who knows exactly what went down? But our eyes can see it’s time for the Thomas era to end. The Knicks may not have the best talent in the NBA despite the highest payroll, but committing 27 turnovers and failing to a block a shot is inexcusable. “This one’s on me,” Thomas said after the game.
The whole season is on him. He offered the typical coach-speak vowing to “regroup” and “play better” the next time out, but Garden fans understandably have lost their patience.
They’ve seen players come and go without real improvement. Marbury, Eddy Curry and now Zach Randolph (seven turnovers Tuesday night) showcase more of their flaws than their assets. Yet, there is enough talent on this team to compete at a high level night after night.
Charles Oakley was sitting courtside Tuesday night and Chris Mullin, the Warriors GM, was in the stands and New Yorkers couldn’t help but be reminded of the days when basketball mattered at the Garden. Oakley told a reporter these Knicks have bad “karma” and lack leaders. If leadership doesn’t come from the coach, it comes from nowhere.
Regardless of how things went last night in Detroit, if this season is to be salvaged a change must be made now. So when you pray over your turkey, say a prayer that Dolan listens to his Garden customers and fires Isiah.