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Did It Hurt This Bad When Rogers And Hammerstein Split Up?

Note to those parts of the kingdom still in rebellion: Isiah Thomas's control is now absolute. Resistance is futile as the exalted Dolans will cast out any dissenters with nothing more than a swift kick in the ass. Any mention of the one known as Brown is henceforth treasonous and punishable by washing Eddy Curry's jockstraps.

The Knicks fired Larry Brown today. And they are going to try and get away with paying exactly none of the $40 million remaining on Brown's contract.

The Knicks, contending that Brown violated several provisions of his contract, fired him "for cause," and thus do not intend to pay him the balance of his contract, in excess of $40 million.

That dog just ain't gonna hunt. Chris Sheridan of ESPN is reporting that Dolan went into this morning's meeting with the intention of keeping Brown on board but the Cablevision czar "did not receive the assurances he wanted from Brown that he would change his ways in the upcoming season." That's just not believeable. And Sheridan goes on to say that those assurances regarded his relationships with players and not to, I dunno, win more games. So basically, don't be mean to Stephon Marbury or as he is sure to be known after today's announcement Starbury of Stephon Marbury and His Starburies.

The new coach, as you probably ascertained above is Isiah and that's, you know, horrible news. It's bad news because next year the Knicks will win more than 23 games because they have more talent, however poorly constructed as a unit, than a 23-win club. That will satisfy Dolan who will point to that fact and say that backing Isiah was right all along and that Brown's attitude was what cost the Knicks. And it will lead to a litany of columns in the media saying that Isiah's a better coach than Larry, especially if the Knicks win 38 games and make the playoffs for a first-round cameo appearance. That will further the stranglehold Isiah's got on Dolan's love and affection. Therefore the Knicks will continue to be the dumping ground for the old and infirm or young and passionless players that make a mockery of the notion of a salary cap meant to avoid inflated payrolls.

The saddest thing about all of this? I was looking for a t-shirt to wear this morning and chose my orange Knicks Basketball shirt that was given out during the 2000 run to the finals with Sprewell, Houston and the Big Fella. It's emblazoned with the slogan, "WE BELIEVE" in attractive blue script below a NYK logo that looks a bit like a token. I wore it, so I told myself, because of the U.S. game but I've worn it other times and mostly it's just nice to remember when being a Knick fan meant trying to beat Isiah Thomas than suffer under the yoke of his brutal rule.

Anyway, I think today's when I stop believing.

What's New With The Knicks

It had to be surreal at the Knick practice facility in Westchester today. The Knicks worked out four prospective draftees and were put through the paces by both Isiah Thomas and Larry Brown. There was no report of unpleasantness between the two men from any of the would-be rookies.

"I really don't know too much about it, but at the same time they are doing a great job of hiding whatever thing is going on," North Carolina forward David Noel said. "So for the most part, we just went out there and worked out and they did a great job of working us out."

The Knicks are almost at the 24 level of believability. There could be a report tomorrow saying that Thomas and Brown were joining together in a bid to buy the team from Dolan and I'd believe it as quickly as I believe that Brown being at the workouts today was nothing but a grand charade. Brown being back in East Hampton for a Memorial Day barbeque is a safer bet than opening night at Madison Square Garden.

Garden Of Despair

If you've read a newspaper in New York the last two days then you know that the Knicks are planning to shake up their team once again. Larry Brown is on his way out as soon as a buyout of the remaining four years and $40 million of his contract is completed. Replacing him on the sideline will be the architect of the 23-59 team himself Isiah Thomas.

Why is James Dolan doing this? That's a question without any substanitive answers. Scuttlebutt points to Brown's unwillingness to accept blame for the awful season as well as his constant derision of the roster. Thomas feels that Brown's suggestions of roster moves - trades for Kenyon Martin or Ben Gordon - are either ill-advised or impossible to make happen without trading the likes of Channing Frye or Eddy Curry who he has deemed untouchable.

Mostly though it seems like Thomas won the internal power struggle, easy to explain with Brown undergoing surgery, and that the GM wasn't happy that Brown made it clear every chance he got that the players Thomas acquired weren't making him happy. Thomas gets to leave this table the same way he leaves the table after every trade, puffing his chest and crowing about being the winner while the other side waits til he's out of the room and then explodes into laughter.

The Surreal Life

The Knick practice facility played host to a series of news conferences yesterday that would make Scott McClellan green with envy for their wholesale avoidance of anything resembling truth. Larry Brown played down the health issues that removed him from the sideline, Isiah Thomas trumped up the likelihood that Brown could turn things around and most bizarrely Stephon Marbury said that Brown "made me a better man." It's a rapid shift for Marbury who spent much of the second half sniping at Brown, calling him "insecure" and promising that the mythical Starbury would return next year no matter what the coach said.

Marbury and many of the other players insisted that the team didn't need to be ripped apart, "this is a really good team," was one of Steph's best zingers and basically ignored the on-court results in favor of a rosy outlook that only those in the organization share. Steve Francis did not address the media, joining Quentin Richardson, Maurice Taylor and Jerome James as Knicks that didn't step up to bring the spin.

That was alright, because Marbury held court long enough to confirm that there wasn't going to be a truthful word uttered in Greenburgh all day. He said he still planned to return as Starbury next season but he would integrate his alter ego's style with Brown's "so it's basically like family." He also said that during an exit interview with Brown the coach told him that the only way he would get traded is if Kobe or Garnett become available. That may actually be true. It's going to be difficult for Thomas to deal Marbury (or Francis) and keep his streak of getting the best player in a trade, effect on the Knicks be damned.

Good Riddance

Madison Square Garden was able to finally say goodbye to one of their tenants until the fall last night and focus it's attention on the Ranger return to the NHL Playoffs. The Knick home schedule ended in unsurprising fashion, a listless 98-91 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats, and in front of a mostly empty house. Those that were there mixed a few boos in with a deafening silence as the Knicks, minus $51 million worth of "talent" in street clothes on the bench.

If there was good news for the team yesterday, and it's certainly not a sure thing that the news is good, it was that Larry Brown will coach the season finale tomorrow in the Meadowlands. Stephon Marbury actually made a get-well call to the coach yesterday, no doubt that's what he and Jalen Rose find so humorous in the above picture. The once and allegedly future Starbury has already said that he will be throwing bombs in the coach's direction on Friday so this seems to be little more than a PR move from the non-combatant.

Harvey Araton has a column in today's Times calling this the worst Knick team in history, no great shock, but also calls Brown out for his poor job this season. His points are totally warranted; an inconsistent rotation led to limited minutes for young players who were hurt by Brown's penchant to talk to them through the media. He draws an illuminating comparison to Phil Jackson's L.A. return. Jackson has said more than once that he wouldn't draw up a scheme that saw Kobe take every shot, but he wasn't so stupid to expect a different result when he signed up for the job. Everything that's gone wrong this season has had Brown's fingerprints on it, no matter how loathsome Marbury is and no matter how inept the management of Jim Dolan and Isiah Thomas. Doesn't mean I don't wish him a speedy return to health, just hope that he decides to be honest about what kind of work this job entails if he's back next year. Not that it would matter, short of Jack Bauer there ain't anyone who could fix this mess.

It Burns Every Time Francis Dribbles

There are reports floating around today that the Knicks are insured against paying the remainder of Larry Brown's contract in the event he's physically unable to remain as the team's coach. Brown isn't expected back on the sideline for the remaining two games of the Knick campaign because of the stomach ailment that caused him to depart the Cleveland game on a stretcher.

The Daily News reports that Brown would not be barred from taking another pro or college coaching job in the event that his Knick tenure ends early. They even suggest that it's plausible, if not yet likely, that he could replace Mike Montgomery in Golden State because the Warriors are owned by his Hamptons chum Christopher Cohan. That's a lot of writing on the wall as Brown may actually become the first coach to leave a job with the official reason that they made him sick to his stomach.

Get This Man A Prilosec

It wasn't the first time the Knicks made someone sick this season. It wasn't even the first time they made Larry Brown sick, he checked into the hospital during a Memphis road trip. But it was the first time the coach exited the arena on a stretcher with oxygen tubes running from his nose.

Brown left last night's game in Cleveland during the third quarter and retreated to the locker room to be examined by Cavalier doctors. He was wheeled out following the game, with a Cavaliers release saying that Brown had suffered from "acid reflux" which can lead to chest pains, as any regular chimichanga eater (or Knick enthusiast) can attest. The Knicks play Milwaukee at the Garden tonight, but it's unknown if Brown will be on the sideline.

The Knicks were actually up by 10 points when Brown bid his retreat so perhaps it wasn't their play that caused his acid reflux. Instead it may have had to do with Stephon Marbury's latest comments. Marbury hasn't played in several weeks because of a sore knee and isn't expected to grace the court with his presence again this year but that hasn't stopped him from being a schumuck.

"There have been people who played for a coach who didn't see things the same way, and it worked out. I don't see why it can't work out. But like I said, and I'm going to say it again: I played like Stephon Marbury this year. Next year, I'm going to play like 'Starbury.' "

He actually didn't play like Stephon Marbury this year, it was more like Rory Sparrow with a smidgen of Chris Childs all with the sweet nature of a young Kenny Anderson. The delusional guard went on to say that if Brown didn't like it, he didn't care because he was going to do what he wants next year and he was going to do it in New York. "I wasn't really that big of an integral part this year," complained Marbury, who has to know that Brown, barring the coach making a hasty exit because he doesn't need a job that sends him to the hospital twice in one season. 

Oh yeah, the Knicks went on to blow the 10 point lead and lost to the LeBron-less Cavs 91-87. The one night return to the Herb Williams era was a reminder of the halcyon days of yore.

The Joy Of 20

One night after Larry Brown said he was "begging" players to show effort and intensity on the court the Knicks snapped their nine-game losing skein with a 96-94 home win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Brown also admitted yesterday that there are several players on the team "probably are tuning us out. And I think some that are making progress." Jamal Crawford actually seems to be one of the ones who have progressed in the coach's mind. His playing time has increased all season, culminating in Wednesday night's season-high 37 points to lead the Knicks to their 20th victory. He also hit the winning basket, a fadeaway jumper with six seconds to play, to send the Cavs to their first loss in ten games.

LeBron James led Cleveland with 36 points and seven assists.

For all of the troubles, Brown's not been beaten down enough to walk away from $40 million.

"If they think I can't do it, I understand," Brown said. "But I'm not giving up...You've got to always examine that. But again, I'm not jumping ship here. I've been doing this forever. I haven't had trouble getting guys to respond. Never. You bang heads for a little while, but eventually, they know you care and you want to make them better."

The Best Defense Is....Somewhere Else

I've taken some time off from discussing the Knicks, there's only so many ways to try and polish a turd, but last night's performance warrants a brief mention at least.

The Celtics shot 57% from the field in Madison Square Garden last night on their way to a comfortable 123-98 win over Larry's Losers. Paul Pierce chuckled when asked about the shooting performance after the game,

"This is a poor defensive team. This is not a very good team. They have very good talent, but not a very good team...57% or something as a team? That's pretty good, it definitely is."

Pierce is right, 57% is a damn fine shooting percentage and the Knicks are a bad, bad team. Pierce knows how to spot one seeing as how he's on one and all. 57% is more in line with a high school mismatch than a NBA game, of course, but the Knicks don't exactly approach the games in a professional manner. Jerome James showed up late to the game and didn't play, although that's not so much a punishment as it is a blessing, and Steve Francis and Malik Rose could be seen arguing with each other on the bench. Brown was, to put it mildly, bemused following the game,

"I've never in my life coached where I thought we had to walk the ball up and run a play every time so we don't give up 123 points. I see guys jumping up in the air. If they don't have something, they try to invent plays. I don't see much ball movement. I guess we have to walk the ball up the rest of the year."

The bright side? Just 12 more games.

The Greenburgh Conference

It wasn't Geneva, Potsdam, Yalta or even Dayton, but there were a round of peace talks at the Knick practice facility in Greenburgh yesterday. Lasting, according to Larry Brown, "30 seconds," the discussion between the coach and Stephon Marbury seemed to signal a cease fire after a week of sniping back and forth. The underlying reasons for the spat, however, seem to remain under the surface.

Brown expressed his hope that Marbury would return but only if he were a more willing participant in what the team hoped to accomplish. Brown said he told Marbury he "appreciated the way he cheered for teammates at the end of the game. It meant a lot. I was sorry some people booed him. Told him just let us coach him the rest of the year. He's not going anywhere. Let's move on." And so the hatchet was buried.

According to Marbury, though, Brown took a moment to wield said hatchet first.

"He told me that he can do whatever he wants with this franchise and that he doesn't want to trade me, that he wanted me to be here and that everything what went on the last (few days) is over with."

He didn't respond to a question about whether he believed Brown didn't want to trade him. He also made it clear that Brown didn't intimidate him.

"He flexed a real hard juice carton. I know that he definitely made me aware of what he can do. But that doesn't scare me at all."

I believe Dean Smith was the first to take note of Brown's hard juice carton.

The Greenburgh Conference (Northjersey.com)