I rarely feel sorry for New Yorkers.
They've got every type of ethnic cuisine within a five-mile radius of wherever they are, they have sports teams with rich and exciting histories and they can justify wearing sunglasses inside, being annoyingly cynical, and hating every other city in the world with just four words of explanation - "I'm from New York."
But lately, I've been feeling sorry for New Yorkers, or at least for New York Knicks fans. Steve Francis? Really? The constantly disgruntled ball-hogging (albeit supremely talented) point guard is going to fix your $124,652,121 disaster of a season? That's how much the Knicks are doling out this year in salaries, by the way - it's two and a half times the payroll of Detroit and twice that of San Antonio.
I'll tell you what's going on: Larry Brown has lost his marbles. Too many seasons of dealing with Rasheed Wallace and Allen Iverson have taken their toll, and the highly lauded coach has finally gone cuckoo. Sure, Isiah Thomas has made ridiculous moves - it seems pretty clear that hoarding shoot-first, egotistical guards (Stephon Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford, Jalen Rose) is a bad strategy if you want to win games. But then again, how is he supposed to know what Larry wants when the Knicks' lineup changes nightly?
Obviously, Brown has had a lot of success over the years. He won an NCAA championship with Kansas in 1988, an NBA championship with Detroit in 2004, and is the fourth-winningest coach in NBA history. But past success shouldn't grant him some sort of strict immunity from criticism. I mean, Don Nelson has the second best coaching record in NBA history, but it's only because people dared to condemn his disregard for defense and infatuation with small line-ups that he slowly relinquished control to Avery Johnson. Thanks to this transfer of power, the Mavericks are now a legitimate contender.
I'm going to criticize Brown because he's human and he's doing a terrible job. Fortunately, there are a few simple and concrete changes he can make to salvage the rest of the season and gear up for next year. So Larry, I know it hurts to take advice from the likes of largely incompetent play-by-play guys, newspaper beat writers, and columnists from across the country. But look at it this way: your season can't get any worse.
First of all, establish a predictable lineup. This isn't a controversial suggestion - every sportswriter, commentator, and dissatisfied Knicks enthusiast has been wondering why each guy's playing time fluctuates so dramatically from night to night. Everyone wins with a set rotation; players respond well to consistency because they know their roles and what they have to do to stay on the court. Fans can develop a fondness for certain guys because they see the same ones night in and night out. Brown wouldn't even have to work as hard because he'd have a set framework for each game.
Marbury expressed his frustration in the New York Post after a recent loss: "We're still trying to figure out what we're supposed to do on the basketball court," he said. "It is unusual but it is what it is." When a reporter asked if his confusion was due to inconsistencies with the rotation, Marbury said, "If you want to say that, you can say that."
Come on, Larry - you're being as capricious as Doc Rivers, and I know you don't want to sink that low. Give Marbury his 35 minutes a night. Every other team in the league with a good point guard does it.
Second, play the young guys! I know L.B. is notorious for not trusting rookies and relying heavily on veterans, and that philosophy makes a degree of sense when the season is at stake. But the Knicks' season is decidedly not. If they went on a (completely impossible) 23-game winning streak to close out the season, they'd still wind up below .500 with no chance of making the playoffs. This season can only be productive insofar as it develops guys for the future.
And New York certainly has guys to develop. Its three rookies could constitute a solid foundation for a playoff team over the next decade. Channing Frye, the 6'11" 22-year-old, averages 13 points and six boards a game - in 24 minutes. He's already had several 30-point nights and is among the league's elite offensive rebounders. Essentially, this guy couldn't have much more potential. He was even involved in Rookie of the Year discussions earlier in the season when he was getting more playing time. But now he's not starting. This couldn't make less sense.
David Lee and Nate Robinson have a lot of potential, too. Lee ranks 17th in the league in rebounds per 48 minutes, and the 5'7" Nate Robinson just leapt over Spud Webb to win the Slam Dunk Contest. There is absolutely no reason why guys like Malik Rose and Mo Taylor should be taking playing time away from such promising young guns.
Finally, Larry, stand behind your guys. Don't alienate yourself from the disappointment of this season, because you're partially to blame, and a sense of solidarity is a prerequisite to any sort of improvement. After the Knicks' weekend win over Milwaukee, Larry told the press: "I was happy for them. They are trying so hard and it would have been awful tough losing a 17-point lead and not having anything to show for it." Not only does it bother me tremendously that he referred to the Knicks as "them" as opposed to "us," but also, have you ever heard a more patronizing statement from a coach? Stop belittling, Larry, and start coaching.
Be careful, Larry. If you keep up performances like this season's, your resum?© won't speak for itself anymore.
