The starters Jalen Rose and Steve Francis were benched for the final three quarters Wednesday. "Just decided to play the guys I played," Coach Larry Brown said, declining to say if the move was punitive. The Knicks trailed, 29-17, after the first quarter. Without naming anyone, Brown said, "I looked out there and it looked like a few guys didn't even care." Brown said there is "a real strong possibility" that he will overhaul the starting lineup in favor of the Knicks' younger players. Francis, who was playing his former team for the first time, said Brown did not explain the decision. "I can't really be too mad about it, except that we lost the game," Francis said. Rose, who like Francis was acquired in midseason, also declined to make an issue of the benching. "Like I said when I first got here, I'm not going to add to the scenarios that are already going on that have nothing to do with basketball," Rose said.

Posted by Allanfan20:

Well, I guess I am now just a Nuggets fan for now and the playoffs. Of course the Knicks are my favs, but it's just boring now. Plain old boring. I watched the Heat/Pistons for the second half, and now the Nuggets/Spurs and I realized how much actual basketball I am missing.

Posted by Allanfan20:

Dude, it's a lost cause.

Posted by eViL:

I gotta respect Jalen and Francis for not feeding the vultures. We all know the media is itching for another player to snipe at Larry. Both those guys showed the tact not to take the bait after what was sure to be a barrage of questions about LB benching them.