Strong Post-Brawl Showing Could Mean More Isiah

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

Last week’s three-game winning streak was the perfect gift from the Knicks to their fans. Victories over two of the NBA’s better teams — Utah and Chicago — and the dramatic overtime win over Charlotte, all but shoved the memory of the Saturday night fight out of mind. Another good thing is that the run was fueled largely by strong play from the youngest Knicks, and it leaves them on pace for nearly half again more wins than last season.

All this may add up to another year of Isiah Thomas in the fold.

That last thought may lead Knicks fans to consider braving the lines today to return the gift, but in the big picture, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The next Knick team president will want a mandate to do something — being patient isn’t a strategy — and the closer the Knicks are to ridding themselves of the large salaries owed to Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis, the more constructive work he will be able to do. Anyone taking over right now, or even after, the season will only be able to swap the expiring contracts of players like Malik Rose for players with longer, equally toxic deals. And if they do, then roster construction will become more of the same nonsense that Knicks fans have endured for years from Thomas and his predecessor, Scott Layden.

MSG chairman James Dolan didn’t just put Thomas on a one-year leash this summer — he also prevented Thomas from making deals that might increase the Knicks’ already bloated $140 million payroll. Instead, the team bought out the contracts of Jalen Rose and Mo Taylor, taking the cap relief this summer, rather than swap them for players with similarly sized, but longer, deals. One gets the sense that as long as Thomas is on board, that policy will be in effect. Otherwise, David Lee would probably be a 76er and Chris Webber would be a Knick.

Speaking of Lee, the other tangible benefit of having Thomas around is that he’s very good at finding talent later in the draft. Lee was a late firstround selection, picked after Linas Kleinza and Wayne Simien — neither of whom has been racking up double doubles lately. Since Chicago has the option to switch picks with the Knicks this summer, the local’s pick will probably be in the latter stages of the first round.

If the Knicks maintain their current pace this season and regress a bit next year, then Thomas will hit the door and his successor will have a lottery pick to use as his big move, and both big backcourt contracts will be expiring in less than a year, making them attractive to teams in rebuilding mode. As long as the team doesn’t take on any more Jerome James types, contention by ’09 isn’t unrealistic.

Meanwhile, the best story for the Knicks all season has been the substantial improvement of David Lee, Eddy Curry, and the return of Quentin Richardson from injury. Now it looks as if Channing Frye is breaking out of his early season slump.

The second-year forward figured to be a good breakout candidate after showing promise last season (despite wildly inconsistent playing time allotted by former coach Larry Brown). However, early this season, Knicks fans were rightfully wondering whom was this lanky guy wearing no. 7 and what had he done with Frye. The second year power forward shot 4–21 in the first two games of the season and it went downhill from there. On court, Frye looked timid and uncertain of where he was supposed to be in the offense and his shots didn’t just miss, they looked off from the time they left his hand. For the month of November, Frye shot a horrific 37.9%; last season he figured to shoot better than that even if forced to play one on five.

While various pundits were looking to call the brawl a turning point, particularly for Frye, in fact, the forward began to turn things around just before he went out November 25 with an ankle sprain that sidelined him for three weeks. He shot well against Minnesota and Boston in games played around Thanksgiving. Then after struggling in the “brawl” game, he pulled down ten boards against Utah, put up 30 on 14–26 shooting against Charlotte, and notched 15 points and 11 boards against the Bulls Friday. On Saturday, his game took a dip but so did the entire team, as being shorthanded for four games in seven days may have caught up to them.

None of this news may feel like it has an air of June basketball to it, but that’s a problem born of context: The Knicks dug themselves into a deeper hole than any team had plumbed in the salary cap era. Yes, it’s still a deep dark hole, but things surrounding the Knicks are a lot lighter now than they were six months ago and things are on pace to be lighter still in six months. It’s a long slow haul, but after six years of sinking in the salary cap quicksand, it looks like progress is being made at Madison Square Garden.

mjohnson@nysun.com


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

or
By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use