Isiah’s Swansong?

If it’s not, it should be.

Yes, ok – this team does not have the worst record in the league, but man-oh-man, it is bad. Bad in a way that is almost unfathomable. Even just focusing on the performance on the hardwood, which today reached new lows with a performance against an old foe that beggars belief.
The scoreline is simple enough…
Boston Celtics 104 – New York Knicks 59.
Surely records were broken in this game… it’s not the lowest score ever (as far as I’m aware that’s 49 points by the Bulls), but to have a game where your ‘best performed player’ – Quentin Richardson – has the statline of 3-11, 7 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist… and no player scores in double figures… sad times indeed.

To think, that not so long ago – but a year, the Boston Celtics were in similar straits. A roster that was fast going no-where, and competing to be the worst in the entire league. What a difference a year makes! Now the Celtics look like the early holders of the Eastern Conference, and Danny Ainge is looking absolutely messainic to the entire state of Massachusetts.

Reflect that on Isiah Thomas. He has dragged the once-proud franchise through the mud over the off-season. A worse period in the history of the Knicks you’d be hard-pressed to find. Isiah’s decisions have saddle New York with more salary-weight than is believeable, for no return. And the millstone of Stephon Marbury continues to hang around the collective neck of the Knicks.

The parody offered by Onion Sports today “‘Fire Isiah’ Chant Breaks Out During Knicks’ Front-Office Meeting” can surely only be a very small way off the truth. The problem is, Knicks owner James Dolan seems to stay a staunch defender of Thomas.
The reputation of the team is at an all-time low, with the report John Koblin offered from the New York Observer reporting that even beat reporters dread going to Madison Square Gardens now…

“Frank Isola, the 12-year Knicks-beat veteran for the Daily News, said, “It used to be fun here. Now, there are some nights when you’re trying to talk your boss out of sending you here and maybe lie and tell him you’re sick or something.”…”

Whilst the team itself is awful, there were consolations in some of the performances that indicated that maybe… just maybe, the team wasn’t as bad as first thought. But with Boston revealing flaws in the roster of a magnitude that rivals the franchise’s off-court issues, the time has come for the team to take a new direction.

Isiah Thomas must be fired, and if that news is released in the hours post this game, I’ll not be surprised.

As I stated in the comments section of NBA Opinions With Malice – New York State of Mind,

“…they should dump Thomas, and hire a ‘caretaker’ guy… someone not too famous, not too difficult to shuffle off in a year or so. 1-2 year contract. Get stuff in shape then bring in a favoured son… someone like Ewing (he’s currently an assistant at Orlando).”

Get it done guys, it’s simply embarrassing now to see this franchise fumble around in the dark like some pubescent boy on his first date.
Let me add my voice to the mythical minions in the Onion’s NYK Front office: Fire Isiah.

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