Knicks Feeling The Heat
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Many believe Isiah Thomas should be fired, and that's causing distractions. Thomas "kick" the Knicks out of practice on Monday, because of their zero percent effort.
"They were right. What they saw tonight, if I had paid my money to see this game, I'd be upset also," said Thomas. "This is New York, and when you're playing well you get cheered, and you play this poorly you get booed and there's a lot of venom that comes at you."
The Knicks aren't producing, and it might cause Thomas his job. Sooner or later, defense was going to haunt the Knicks.
Thomas blamed himself for the Knicks bad performance, but its not all his fault. The players don't give 100 percent, and it "kills" their record. Thomas could be fired, but the Knicks troubles will remain.
"When you're watching a game like we played tonight, the venom that comes out, you deserve it," he said. "The booing, 'Get rid of this guy, get rid of me, get rid of him,' that's how the fans react. It comes with the territory we have and the place that we live in. That's how it is, that's how it goes."
The Knicks are going through another failing season, and many didn't expect it. With decent moves in the off-season, many expected an improvement from the Knicks.
"Last year he always guarded the best player and he did a good job in shutting guys down," Thomas said. "To start the season the way he started with those kind of lapses is inexcusable and unacceptable, and I think we're over that."
Pressure is on the Knicks, and it'll be harder for them to succeed. It's simple, play "defense." The pressure will be off, and the Knicks will succeed again. It's not hard to figure it out, because its been their problem for three years.
"We have to revamp," Stephon Marbury said. "We have to go back to the drawing board." It wouldn't work, because that's not the problem. The Knicks lost seven straight, and the drawing board hasn't helped. "Play defense," O I forgot, Marbury doesn't know how.
"That's all we're really concerned about and that's all our team is focused on, how we get better as a basketball team," Thomas said. "All the other stuff you want to talk about, that's up to you guys. But in terms of what we do out on the basketball floor, those are the things that we can control, and out on the basketball floor we had chances to win basketball games."
Thomas seems focused, but his team isn't. He should realize defense is the problem, because the Knicks gave up a hundred points in six games this month.
The players aren't excited, and nobody has proved it. The Knicks are given games away, and something needs to change.
"I'm excited about playing always, and to be able to come back home and start and get back into the flow of things is always a good thing," Marbury said. Well, it didn't show against the Warriors. Marbury had 18 points with 5 assist, and 6 rebounds.
Zach Randolph performed the best, and he's been helpful. The Knick aren't winning games, but Randolph is given a 100 percent. He had 15 points with 16 rebounds, and Randolph is the only player that plays defense.
Eddy Curry had 12 points, but struggled with his rebounds. He's playing inconsistent, and it'll remain.
Jamal Crawford had 15 points, but wasn't productive anywhere else. He's not a defensive player, Crawford just scores. He'll need to improve, because the Knicks need defense.
The Warriors weren't tested, and they "ran over" the Knicks last night. Their 3-5, and fifth in the Pacific division. The Warriors are struggling, but they showed surprises last season.
Stephen Jackson was producing, and helped the Warriors against the Knicks. He had 23 points with 7 assist, and 6 rebounds. "It's good to have Stephen Jackson back in our lineup," Don Nelson said. "We sure missed him. He played over 40 minutes but I guess he's well rested."
Jackson plays great, but he "crushed" the Knicks with his performance. The Knicks "horrible" defensive efforts, lead to Jackson's productiveness.
"Sitting at home watching the team start off 0-6 was hard," Jackson said. "I couldn't really criticize or critique anybody because I wasn't there so I just had to try to learn from watching from the sidelines and try to stay in shape as best as I could."
Baron Davis played fantastic, and he give encouragement to the Warriors. He had 31 points, and 7 assist with 6 rebounds.
"We knew everybody they were going to play and they played," Davis said. "It was a matter of coming and knowing what they were going to do and prevent them from doing it."
The Knicks are embarrassing New York, and it'll continue.
