It's Time

The team was fighting on the sideline last night. They turned the ball over 23 times tonight. They lost by 40 points to a very mediocre team. The roster is uneven. The players are at odds with one another. There are no defined roles. There is no exit strategy. And, the financial mismanagement means it will likely stay that way.



Tonight's 84-124 loss to the Sixers is the worst of the season. By a long-shot. It won't get the same attention in the media but this was a far worse loss than the Boston massacre earlier in the year. That was a blow-out at the hands of an elite team reveling in its superiority. This was a beat down administered by a team with no clear-cut advantages over the Knicks. This wood-shedding had nothing to do with a talent-gap. Rather, it was about execution, effort and strategy. It was about all of the facets of the game that a coach and his players have control over. Or, at least could have control over.

However, for the second night in a row Isiah Thomas showed that he has absolutely no control over this team. He doesn't intervene when they fight with each other and he cannot intervene when they have no fight in them. He is meaningless. The Knicks win when things break their way and they lose when things don't. Isiah brings absolutely nothing to the equation and his only noteworthy effect on the team during any given game is that his presence prohibits a different coach from having the opportunity to make a difference.

Isiah Thomas should be fired. Today

And, it best happen before he is allowed to make another trade. Before he can further bury this club by bringing in someone like Vince Carter. If he brings in someone else like that he makes the job that less desirable for replacements and potentially earns himself another few weeks reprieve to work with his "new" roster. He should be fired before that. He may not be. In fact, he probably won't be. But he should be. Even fans on the road chant for this guy to get sacked. They cheered for it tonight in Philly and they do it elsewhere. And, this is more than mere schadenfreude (which, obviously, is part of it). Fans of basketball want him to be fired.

Again, I repeat: Isiah Thomas should be fired. For the sake of the team. For the sake of the fans. For the sake of the league.

With all of the endless blathering about the Kidd trade that we've endured in the past week or so we've frequently heard the refrain that such a trade would be "good for the league." Forgetting that I don't think that should be a factor in such dealings, let's acknowledge that the removal of Isiah Thomas would be ever better for the league. And, if trades can be endorsed or rubber stamped because they help the competitive landscape then why can't coaching changes. After all, reviving the Knicks would do more for the league than adding another piece to one of many contenders in the West.

The Knicks are a charter franchise of the NBA and one of its marquee clubs. There are supposed to be a draw on the road. Just the same way that the Yankees are in baseball. However, fans in other NBA cities don't want to see this team. They don't want to (over)pay for tickets only to leave late in the third quarter because the game is either a blowout or a close contest that closely resembles the Thursday night game at the local YMCA.

Fire Isiah. It's Time. And, it's for the good of the league.