I'll say January 29.
New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/37928.htm
ISIAH MAY LOWER BOOM ON LENNY
BY MARC BERMAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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January 7, 2005 -- THERE will be another Knick anniversary coming up one week from today — Lenny Wilkens' shotgun marriage with Isiah Thomas. Wilkens may not be around to celebrate Jan. 14 if the losing and underachieving continues.
The Knicks at .500 are nothing to celebrate and their record will be a losing one if they succumb in Cleveland tomorrow for their fourth straight defeat — a distinct possibility.
Thomas said in preseason the Knicks would "be lucky" to be .500 after 20 games. He took the heat off Wilkens. But after 32 games the Knicks are not where they should be at 16-16, not for a league-high $103 million payroll, as Heat coach Stan Van Gundy pointed out earlier this week. Not for a club that finished out last season under Thomas 29-25.
Thomas' postgame rip-job address to his club — with owner James Dolan in the locker room — after Tuesday's Sacramento loss shows he is running out of patience. The only plausible excuse is they are banged up, still without Jamal Crawford.
The Wilkens hiring last Jan. 14 seemed strange from the beginning — rushed, hammered out in hours, from initial contact to a deal.
Thomas has hardly acted this season as if he considers Wilkens their long-term solution, calling Phil Jackson "an attractive candidate" in preseason and firing assistant Dick Helm after the second game.
The Helm dismissal remains a huge indicator that on some level Thomas does not trust Wilkens' judgment. Wilkens considered Helm his must trusted assistant and had been with him at virtually every coaching stop. Thomas considered Helm useless.
And there are other indications. When Thomas held that press conference days after Helm's dismissal to say he will never coach the Knicks, he forgot to give Wilkens a pat on the back/vote of confidence. In a recent interview regarding his first year in charge, Thomas praised almost every aspect of the franchise's direction, except the coaching.
The other day he held another state-of-the-Knicks address and Thomas did not bring up Wilkens. The silence is deafening.
Something is amiss, as are some of Wilkens' decisions. There was no solid game plan Wednesday to defend Shaquille O'Neal, who blistered the Knicks for 33 points in 36 minutes. Did Wilkens really think either a foul-plagued Nazr Mohammed or rusty Vin Baker could handle Shaq 1-on-1 in the post without double-teaming?
Kurt Thomas, their best defender, should've gotten a chance in the fourth quarter against Shaq. Wilkens stayed with Baker, who the night before against the Kings was behind Bruno Sundov on the depth chart.
The Dec. 22 game in Boston still resonates as an example Wilkens sometimes freezes late. After the Knicks cut it to four points with 32 seconds left, the obvious move was fouling on the inbounds. Wilkens never instructed the players to foul, even as Stephon Marbury kept looking over. Eighteen seconds elapsed before they fouled.
All could be excused if the results looked better. Leading the revamped Atlantic Division is a mirage that even Thomas wrongly clings to as a badge of honor. Don't they realize even if they win the division and get the automatic third seed, they won't get homecourt advantage in the first round if the sixth seed has a better record, the case now?
The Knicks lost three straight last month and delivered a three-game winning streak.
Brendan Suhr, who replaced Helm, is an obvious interim solution. Recently, Thomas told The Post his biggest regret during his tenure was firing assistant Brendan Malone, now with the Cavs, because of their personal relationship.
Brendan's son, Mike Malone, is still on the Knick bench and receiving in-house acclaim. Don't think Thomas wouldn't want to make amends if he had to.
New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/37928.htm
ISIAH MAY LOWER BOOM ON LENNY
BY MARC BERMAN
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Email Archives
Print Reprint
January 7, 2005 -- THERE will be another Knick anniversary coming up one week from today — Lenny Wilkens' shotgun marriage with Isiah Thomas. Wilkens may not be around to celebrate Jan. 14 if the losing and underachieving continues.
The Knicks at .500 are nothing to celebrate and their record will be a losing one if they succumb in Cleveland tomorrow for their fourth straight defeat — a distinct possibility.
Thomas said in preseason the Knicks would "be lucky" to be .500 after 20 games. He took the heat off Wilkens. But after 32 games the Knicks are not where they should be at 16-16, not for a league-high $103 million payroll, as Heat coach Stan Van Gundy pointed out earlier this week. Not for a club that finished out last season under Thomas 29-25.
Thomas' postgame rip-job address to his club — with owner James Dolan in the locker room — after Tuesday's Sacramento loss shows he is running out of patience. The only plausible excuse is they are banged up, still without Jamal Crawford.
The Wilkens hiring last Jan. 14 seemed strange from the beginning — rushed, hammered out in hours, from initial contact to a deal.
Thomas has hardly acted this season as if he considers Wilkens their long-term solution, calling Phil Jackson "an attractive candidate" in preseason and firing assistant Dick Helm after the second game.
The Helm dismissal remains a huge indicator that on some level Thomas does not trust Wilkens' judgment. Wilkens considered Helm his must trusted assistant and had been with him at virtually every coaching stop. Thomas considered Helm useless.
And there are other indications. When Thomas held that press conference days after Helm's dismissal to say he will never coach the Knicks, he forgot to give Wilkens a pat on the back/vote of confidence. In a recent interview regarding his first year in charge, Thomas praised almost every aspect of the franchise's direction, except the coaching.
The other day he held another state-of-the-Knicks address and Thomas did not bring up Wilkens. The silence is deafening.
Something is amiss, as are some of Wilkens' decisions. There was no solid game plan Wednesday to defend Shaquille O'Neal, who blistered the Knicks for 33 points in 36 minutes. Did Wilkens really think either a foul-plagued Nazr Mohammed or rusty Vin Baker could handle Shaq 1-on-1 in the post without double-teaming?
Kurt Thomas, their best defender, should've gotten a chance in the fourth quarter against Shaq. Wilkens stayed with Baker, who the night before against the Kings was behind Bruno Sundov on the depth chart.
The Dec. 22 game in Boston still resonates as an example Wilkens sometimes freezes late. After the Knicks cut it to four points with 32 seconds left, the obvious move was fouling on the inbounds. Wilkens never instructed the players to foul, even as Stephon Marbury kept looking over. Eighteen seconds elapsed before they fouled.
All could be excused if the results looked better. Leading the revamped Atlantic Division is a mirage that even Thomas wrongly clings to as a badge of honor. Don't they realize even if they win the division and get the automatic third seed, they won't get homecourt advantage in the first round if the sixth seed has a better record, the case now?
The Knicks lost three straight last month and delivered a three-game winning streak.
Brendan Suhr, who replaced Helm, is an obvious interim solution. Recently, Thomas told The Post his biggest regret during his tenure was firing assistant Brendan Malone, now with the Cavs, because of their personal relationship.
Brendan's son, Mike Malone, is still on the Knick bench and receiving in-house acclaim. Don't think Thomas wouldn't want to make amends if he had to.
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