ROSE THORNS
BY MARC BERMAN

April 15, 2007 -- TORONTO - A massive amount of injuries led to the Knicks' season going up in flames this spring, but veteran sage Malik Rose isn't sure a healthier squad was ready to land a playoff spot anyhow.

Rose contended this club didn't handle prosperity, and he sensed not enough players taking losses hard enough. Rose said that attitude was a function of "youth, immaturity and inexperience."

Rose's stance is a direct departure from Isiah Thomas' belief that the spate of injuries decked the Knicks in March and April, preventing them from a playoff berth, and their commitment was never a problem. No one will ever know.

"It wasn't a season-long thing but there were times we didn't take the losses as hard as other people," Rose said. "They have to learn to care that much more. You really have to care."

Thomas has said repeatedly the Knicks gave it all they had, even during the injury rush. If their top perimeter shooters such as Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson didn't go down, as well as top rebounder David Lee, Thomas believes the Garden would be printing playoff basketball tickets. The absences of Stephon Marbury and Renaldo Balkman, who didn't travel with the team, sealed their April demise.

Healthy, the Knicks' record would be better than their pathetic 32-47 clip with three games left. But would this young core, at full strength, have handled the cauldron of these final few games and played good-enough defense to get in?

Rose pointed to the final game before the All-Star break in Golden State - before the injuries - as a sign the Knicks may not have been ready. The Knicks got blown out the day after posting their fabulous win over the Lakers at Staples Center.

"I was really upset at that game before the All-Star break. We were on a pretty decent roll, and Golden State's a good team, but we laid an egg," Rose said.

At full strength, Rose saw flaws on the defensive end and feels the Knicks must improve next season in that area. The Knicks are ranked at the bottom in defending the 3-point line. Thomas never mentioned their 3-point defense as an issue. In fact, Thomas never brought up defense to the media - his themes this season centered on better free-throw shooting, better perimeter shooting and having Eddy Curry playing smarter against double teams.

"Improving on the defensive end, perimeter and post, we have to get a lot better on the defensive end," Rose said.

Despite Rose's reservations, he does believe the Knicks have a potentially bright future.

"The Knicks are headed in the right direction," said Rose, who doesn't fit into the future plans and will be shopped. "With a guy like Curry down there, it's a good nucleus."

The Knicks were officially eliminated from the playoff race Friday in the Jersey swamp, trounced by the Nets, a team they couldn't have beaten if they were at full strength. The Knicks have three games left, beginning tonight in Toronto, tomorrow vs. the Nets and Wednesday in Charlotte. All three teams gave the Knicks fits before the injuries.

The motivation is preventing Chicago from getting a higher seed with their lottery pick. If the Knicks drop all three - and they might, missing five players - the Bulls could leap to No. 5 and have a puncher's chance at Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.

The Knicks, according to a source, were disappointed in Bulls coach Scott Skiles' remarks when he demeaned Curry and the club's future. For now, the best way to retaliate is to win a couple of these games and wait till next year. The young corps will return unless Thomas pulls off a stunner for free agents Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis or potentially on-the-block Kevin Garnett.

"We're not going to into the summer thinking about what's going to happen, who's going to be here when we come back," Curry said. "We just have worry about just getting better this summer."

marc.berman@nypost.com

"We're not going to into the summer thinking about what's going to happen, who's going to be here when we come back," Curry said. "We just have worry about just getting better this summer."

what these injuries exposed was how bad a bench isiah assembled, especially with his MLE signings, and trades. 2-9 after the extension with 4 of the knicks 5 starters healthy (marbury, jeffries, frye, curry) with a veteran bench and this team went 2-9 including home losses to 2 of the worst road teams in the league.

how did this team get to the point where 32 wins meant the players didn't have to "worry"?

Posted by djsunyc:

ROSE THORNS
BY MARC BERMAN

April 15, 2007 -- TORONTO - A massive amount of injuries led to the Knicks' season going up in flames this spring, but veteran sage Malik Rose isn't sure a healthier squad was ready to land a playoff spot anyhow.

Rose contended this club didn't handle prosperity, and he sensed not enough players taking losses hard enough. Rose said that attitude was a function of "youth, immaturity and inexperience."

Rose's stance is a direct departure from Isiah Thomas' belief that the spate of injuries decked the Knicks in March and April, preventing them from a playoff berth, and their commitment was never a problem. No one will ever know.

"It wasn't a season-long thing but there were times we didn't take the losses as hard as other people," Rose said. "They have to learn to care that much more. You really have to care."

Thomas has said repeatedly the Knicks gave it all they had, even during the injury rush. If their top perimeter shooters such as Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson didn't go down, as well as top rebounder David Lee, Thomas believes the Garden would be printing playoff basketball tickets. The absences of Stephon Marbury and Renaldo Balkman, who didn't travel with the team, sealed their April demise.

Healthy, the Knicks' record would be better than their pathetic 32-47 clip with three games left. But would this young core, at full strength, have handled the cauldron of these final few games and played good-enough defense to get in?

Rose pointed to the final game before the All-Star break in Golden State - before the injuries - as a sign the Knicks may not have been ready. The Knicks got blown out the day after posting their fabulous win over the Lakers at Staples Center.

"I was really upset at that game before the All-Star break. We were on a pretty decent roll, and Golden State's a good team, but we laid an egg," Rose said.

At full strength, Rose saw flaws on the defensive end and feels the Knicks must improve next season in that area. The Knicks are ranked at the bottom in defending the 3-point line. Thomas never mentioned their 3-point defense as an issue. In fact, Thomas never brought up defense to the media - his themes this season centered on better free-throw shooting, better perimeter shooting and having Eddy Curry playing smarter against double teams.

"Improving on the defensive end, perimeter and post, we have to get a lot better on the defensive end," Rose said.

Despite Rose's reservations, he does believe the Knicks have a potentially bright future.

"The Knicks are headed in the right direction," said Rose, who doesn't fit into the future plans and will be shopped. "With a guy like Curry down there, it's a good nucleus."

The Knicks were officially eliminated from the playoff race Friday in the Jersey swamp, trounced by the Nets, a team they couldn't have beaten if they were at full strength. The Knicks have three games left, beginning tonight in Toronto, tomorrow vs. the Nets and Wednesday in Charlotte. All three teams gave the Knicks fits before the injuries.

The motivation is preventing Chicago from getting a higher seed with their lottery pick. If the Knicks drop all three - and they might, missing five players - the Bulls could leap to No. 5 and have a puncher's chance at Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.

The Knicks, according to a source, were disappointed in Bulls coach Scott Skiles' remarks when he demeaned Curry and the club's future. For now, the best way to retaliate is to win a couple of these games and wait till next year. The young corps will return unless Thomas pulls off a stunner for free agents Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis or potentially on-the-block Kevin Garnett.

"We're not going to into the summer thinking about what's going to happen, who's going to be here when we come back," Curry said. "We just have worry about just getting better this summer."

marc.berman@nypost.com

You know a team like Charlotte who has had massive injury problesm all year has been producing wins and looking ahead. The NY Knicks--instead of stepping up when we had a real chance--decided to bow its head and blame injuries. We lost to Boston 3 and Philly 3 times a piece and I would say 1/3 of our win total were games that were decided at the direct end of game or OT. We played well in those situations--that is where we missed Crawford--but every team in the league missed key guys and played through it. I keep going back to Miami--they may have won the championship last year--but look @ the stats--the team is NOT that good when one of those guys go down--especially shaq. Its really a roster of good role players with two stars--they lost their coach for 1/2 the season shaq for 1/2 wade for half and they preserved. We had Curry all year Marbury most of the year and we had the depth to go around the two *stars* yet we couldnt do it like Miami. When people say what if--then you are asking what if Boston had Szcerbiak Pierce Ratliff etc.. all year and almost EVERY team has had the issue. This is NOT an issue soley plaguing the Knicks. We truly had a chance to make the playoffs with Marbury and Curry healthy and we just kept losing--especially at home to bad teams.---that really is the bottom line--we did not step up when we had a great chance.

Sounds like championship caliber leadership there.

Which in this organization is tantamount to a death wish.

Bye bye Malik.

True. I wish Malik would have lived up to his own words this season though and stop with the costly turnovers.

Posted by BlueSeats:

Sounds like championship caliber leadership there.

Which in this organization is tantamount to a death wish.

Bye bye Malik.

He's gone. This organization is run by a bunch of 8 year olds.

Posted by newyorknewyork:


Hey Malik was going to be gone no matter he made these comments or not.

Why is that? Keep in mind, he's not exactly a desirable contract around the league. The only reason another team would want him would be for his veteran leadership? Why not us?

Posted by islesfan:

Posted by BlueSeats:

Posted by newyorknewyork:


Hey Malik was going to be gone no matter he made these comments or not.

Why is that? Keep in mind, he's not exactly a desirable contract around the league. The only reason another team would want him would be for his veteran leadership? Why not us?

Because coddled underachieving losers have no use for veteran leadership.

With his limited skill set and the relative youth and/or immaturity of the squad it's hard for him to step up and lead. The players are more apt to listen to someone who has numbers and can ball, in a way backing up everything he says.

I think older, veteran players who know what it takes to win would benefit much more from a player like Rose. He usually has frank, accurate assessments of our team and I'm sure has leadership qualities, but because if its limited effectiveness with our type of squad I don't think losing him would be especially detrimental.

I shouldn't have said he was going to be gone no matter what.

But if Isiah does let Malik go it wouldn't be because of these comments. If he let Malik go it would be because he is looking for more production. Malik isn't a very productive player like he was in S.A playing along side of Duncan.

If we want more leadership there are allways older vets hanging around that wouldn't mind vets minimum just to be a positive influence in the locker room and practice. So it wouldn't be a HUGE deal if Malik was let go.

You're not going to get a lot for Malik, so you might as well keep him for what he's got.

Unless, what he's got scares you.

well malik did his time, he should be released to go to a team where he can win some games