Look at how this team responded after being called out in the media by their own teammates. All of a sudden they play with effort and do some of the things that LB wanted them to do all season which has resulted in competitive basketball much less wins. That's an indictment of the players for the lack of effort that they've shown the entire season.
First they got called out by Dolan a few months ago and they responded with better effort and couple of wins and now they get called out by Q and Rose in the press and they respond with better effort and 3 wins in a row. Did LB suddenly figure out how to coach again or was it the fact that the players weren't giving an honest effort? I think it's blatantly obvious now what the problem was all along.
The Knicks winning 3 games in the garbage time of the NBA season (Extended garbage time in this case) doesn't prove anything. For that matter, if they win the next 6 games, they still will ONLY be 5 games worse than last season.
Obviously it is the players, the coach has no culpability in this most god-awful of seasons.
The time to make any kind of statement that means anything came and went a long time ago.
blaming lb is misplaced. some don't want to see or admit it...but it is misplaced. lb being here WILL turn this franchise around. you have to think big picture here.
I only wish that I could agree with you, but unfortunately, NO COACH has the ability to turn any franchise around and turn them into a contender. A coach can only enhance or dehance the team they have. In my eyes, LB has dehanced the Knicks quite a bit this year.
blaming lb is misplaced. some don't want to see or admit it...but it is misplaced. lb being here WILL turn this franchise around. you have to think big picture here.
I can't agree that LB will turn this franchise around with "LB kind of players", if those players are the Eric Snows and Theo Ratliffs of the world. The only thing that can make a franchise into a contender is a franchise level player or in very rare cases like the Detroit Bad Boys and the current incarnation of Detroit, a bunch of all-star level players. Just look at the last 27 champions and true champion contenders and you will find one common factor: A franchise player.
Maybe if LB gets his kind of players he can make the Knicks respectable; I think he should have had this team at least approaching respectability, everybody else around here thought so as well, they only changed their minds when it didn't happen.
LB cannot save this team. Only a franchise player can save this team. Without a franchise player the Knicks are HOPEFULLY headed for mediocrity/decency. That is a goal you can hope for from a coach, to ask a coach to turn a team around into a contender is simply unfair.
The big question is: Can the Knicks land a franchise talent?
That's on Isiah and noone else.
I think its a combination of both: LB + players.
That is a truly realistic and equitable comment.
oohah
[Edited by - oohah on 04-10-2006 12:23 PM]