Tonight…it begins.
Tonight…Isiah Thomas begins his quest to retain his job, taking the helm of the New York Knicks as Head Coach.
Knicks at Grizzlies. 8PM. NBA League Pass.
We wish it were a more intriguing match-up (Seriously- the Griz? Who made this schedule?), but this is exciting for smart-ass writers and fans everywhere.
Isiah, as per the usual, responds to his critics by bringing up his rough childhood growing up in Chicago. We love when he does this – our sister has a similar strategy when she does something wrong. It’s always an “Oh yeah? Well…you scratched my bike with your bike when we were 9!”
Like that makes up for not checking her mirrors and running me over with the car. Whatever – here’s Zeke:
“If I would have listened to that thought, then Isiah Thomas from the west side of Chicago never would have made it,” he said. “Just wouldn’t have made it if I would have listened to the odds that were against me. If I would have paid attention to that, I never would have went to college, I never would have went to school. I would have just said, ‘Why bother showing up?’ ”
As glib as he is confident, Thomas skillfully skirted the issue when asked which job he does best. “I am really good at basketball. How’s that?” he said with a disarming laugh.
Whoa – hang on a sec.
When we read that, we actually had a moment of brief flashbackiness to a time when we were MASSIVE fans of Zeke. The fire on the court – the smile – the joy he took in winning.
It’s true, and we don’t think we’ve ever made a secret of the fact we loved Isiah the player. As much as we love MJ and will back just about anything he says or does, we always thought it was a crime that Isiah was left off the original Dream Team in 1992.
As long as we can keep this mindset – and it’s a fragile one – hard to hold – we’re rooting for the Knicks. A continued trainwreck would have it’s own level of attractiveness, but the end of that story is predetermined – a simple and quick firing.
No, the Knicks fighting for a playoff spot is much more interesting and far more dramatic. Isiah as underdog coach pulling his team together Bad News Bears style is way better – we’re in.
(We reserve the right to backtrack on this entire notion if trades for Allen Iverson or (Zeus willing) Baron Davis surface.)
{ 3 comments }
The Knicks will be in the playoffs this year…
the man they call ‘zeke’ will zeke to ‘em !
You can almost palpably feel the massive dilema for non-Knicks and non-Isiah fans everywhere.
Do we want the Nix to continue to suck as entertainingly as last season? Or do we want a dramatic turnaround that leads them to the playoffs?
I’ve put my money on option 2. But I fear, like most people, that the Knicks will suck 50% less than last season, but that won’t be enough to get them to the playoffs. That they’ll be mediocre, but not entertainingly mediocre.
Comments on this entry are closed.