This is really silly. I read the last 3 pages of the game thread and its hysterical. Literally.

Insite, I think Vescey might be on to somthing there why the vets get run. The vets think its theirs until they are proven to be wanting and can't get it done.

Take in a few points. He can be silly, but he might have hit it on the head this time.

http://www.nypost.com/sports/knicks/53988.htm

It just sucks because its more of the same. Good young players sit while crappy old ones lose us games. Today hurt even more because the good young ones got us a lead only to be lost by the crappy old ones. Starting to wish we DID waive Tony. One less old fart to clog the rotation.

By PETER VECSEY

HOOP DU JOUR IT HAS become painfully obvious Home Town Brown had a more cohe sive unit going for him in the summer on the east side of Long Island than Isiah Thomas has assembled for him on the west side of Manhattan.

The Knicks are not only without a victory in two skirmishes coming into today's fortuitous face off with the Baron Davis-less Warriors, they're without rhyme, reason and rotation.

As Brown repeatedly and none too cryptically forewarns, a starting lineup has a way of working itself out. Without uttering a syllable, the same can be said about his team's irregular rotation and, for that matter, an entire undermanned, 15-player roster.

In fact, the Knicks' consecrated coach already began weeding his new Garden only three sterile halves into the season. Channing Frye, buried in Boston, suddenly was turned loose on the Wizards for seven points and nine rebounds in 18 minutes. Why the abrupt about-face regarding the team's top draft pick? And, as long as we're on the same touchy subject, why was David Lee attired in business casual when the season started?

I'm glad I asked.

Considering both rookie pawns distinguished themselves during the preseason, some of you might've found it odd Brown deactivated them at a time when it might make better sense for their adoptive parent/authority figure to be exhaustively encouraging.

Most basketball pedestrians never would've chanced shaking the confidence of Frye and Lee. Then again, most of us, I'm guessing, never coached an NBA and NCAA champion, or are Hall of Fame inductees. In other words, as always, I'm perfectly willing to extend Brown the benefit of any doubt re: roundball subterfuge, especially when it pertains to psychological strategy of this type. Surely there's a method to his madness . . . I think.

Had Brown gone with his rookies or his other younger players from Jump Street. he'd leave himself wide open for compelling criticism from his vets. Despite Jamal Crawford's confusion, Quentin Richardson, Antonio Davis, Jerome James, Maurice Taylor, Malik Rose and yes, even Stephon Marbury either will justify their existence between the lines, or play themselves out of minutes or quite possibly off the team.

This way the coach gave them an opportunity, so it's all on them. Yo, respect; that's what it's all about. If the vets can't get it done according to Brown's scrupulous specs, if they can't be successful individually and directly affect the team's improvement, and do it in a jiffy, then they can't pitch a legitimate bitch when they're replaced, some sooner than later.

Frye isn't the only Knick whose situation radically changed. Looking at the pair of box scores since the season started, you see a wide disparity in minutes among several players, even with the Celtics game going into overtime.

Trevor Ariza's daylight jumped from 17 to 30, Rose 5 to 16, Taylor 22 to 11, Eddy Curry 42 to 16 are the ones that leap off the ledger. Of course, it didn't help that Curry was a foul magnet Friday against Washington, or that Jesse James has been served seven infractions in his whopping 11 minutes.

Silly me, I thought the only things James could pick up that fast were seconds.

Not to say that Brown isn't making progress. He's finished second twice in New York, so already he's exceeded his resume in Athens.

Still, one step in the right direction isn't going to satisfy Next Town Brown for long. If the Knicks don't evolve more than glacially during their upcoming six-game ("Say No," campaign James Dolan) west coast trip he look revert to his glory days in Detroit. You remember: No Darko, no Arroyo, no Delfino, yes Mayo Clinic-o.

Indications are that time already is drawing near. After all, Michael Brown left FEMA, Aaron Brown is leaving CNN and Larry Brown has left every place else.

*

The Nets took some heat about announcing an Opening Night full house. Column castigator Frank Drucker doesn't see a problem "since the team sold out Jersey a couple of seasons ago."

Donald Sterling, owner of my beloved Paper Clips, has to fork over $5 million in plaintiffs' attorneys stemming from a suit claiming he discriminated against black and Latino tenants. To his credit, Sterling claims he didn't sexually harass any of 'em. Shaquille O'Neal is expected to miss 2-4 weeks after spraining his ankle while coming down on Ron Artest's foot. "I was stunned Artest was on the floor, not on the scorer's table," Shaq exclaimed.

As prophesied in this space the other day, the 76ers shall never recover from their opening-night tank job against Milwaukee. Philly followed that one up with a 20-point loss at Detroit and a pathetic 17-point home defeat to Charlotte. Count the OT against the Bucks and the Sixers have been outscored in 11 consecutive "quarters."

Come back, Roy Rubin. All is forgiven.

Memo to Doc (Cry Me a) Rivers: Next time it might be a good idea to contest the inbounds pass. After eyeballing how Tayshaun Princeeffortlessly found a cutting Rip Hamilton, who drained the game-winner at the buzzer, I offer this unsolicited suggestion: Put someone, anyone on the ball. I'd even settle for Mike Dukakis in an oversized helmet on a tank. Thanks for listening.

In case you missed it, Jayson Williams sold his Jersey mansion for a reported $8 million. From what I'm told he had a difficult time driving up the price because he had such a hard time just getting anyone to drive up.

Fish I really don't get it. These rookies are playing minutes, Frye and Nate are playing more minutes then other rookies, especially ones picked in the same range during the draft. Even with Lee getting his 18 minutes today and I think for intents and purposes you can see he's going to be getting more nights with minutes like he got today.

Frye - played 23 minutes today, averaging 20.5 minutes so far. 8th pick in the draft
other players picked near Frye
Charlie V - averaging 28.7 minutes so far, his minutes have gone down every game. 7th pick
Martell Webster - little different story since he's a highschool kid. only averaging 6.5 6th pick
Ray Felton - averaging 16.3 minutes so far 5th pick
Deron Williams - averaging 23.3 minutes so far. 4th pick Keith Mcloed is starting over him

I think it's safe to say that most rookies are playing around the same minutes or LESS then Frye. I have no problem with it so far, he's earning more minutes and Larry is giving him more.

Nate Robinson - averaging 10.3 minutes 21st pick in the draft
Julius Hodge - Hasn't seen the floor yet
Hakim Warrick - 3.7 minutes minutes 19th pick
Jarrett Jack - 17 minutes, hes playing consistant minutes too. 22nd pick
Francisco Garcia - 6 minutes 24th pick

Nate is playing more then everyone drafted around him except Jack.

David Lee - Played 18 minutes today, inactive first 2 games, pick 30
Wayne Simien - Playes 2 minutes in a blowout against Memphis, pick 29
Salim Stoudamire - 19.7 minutes, getting consistant minutes, pick 31
Daniel Ewing - 22.3 minutes, he too is getting consistant minutes, pick 32
Jason Maxiel - 5 minutes, pick 26

A few guys are getting more minutes then Lee and they are producing in those minutes, I'm in agreement with anyone who says Play Lee more and he is going to after his performance today.

I think you can see that both Frye and Nate are playing more minutes then most rookies selected where they were in the draft, especially Frye. Both Frye and Nates minutes have went up all 3 games and they are going to go up becuase they are making contributions when they are on the floor, you dont just get drafted and expect to step onto the court, unless your the #1 pick like Bogut.

good post nyk4ever. Thats a good comparision

THe painful process of putting the vets in a subservient position is to let the phuck it up first. They get that, its the rule of the jungle. Then the Rooks can play into it.

You think you can just let rooks get run? Its a bit more primal with big salaries and big egos.

Mo. T and Rose are gone, just give it time.

Today the vets had the chance to win it and did not. Now its moving away from them. Get it??

Lose the battle to win the War!

Is it just me or does Dan Minix in that picture look ALOT like Bill Parcells.

just one post this time.

HOTSHOT ROOKIES MAY THREATEN VETS
By GEORGE WILLIS

THERE are plenty of trouble spots Larry Brown must address with this new group of Knicks, now 0-3 after an 83-81 loss to Golden State yesterday afternoon at the Garden. Among the obvious are free-throw shooting, late-game execution and finding a dependable rotation, which Brown said could take up to 20 games.

Those issues are expected with a team of new faces, egos and personalities, working for a demanding coach. But another brushfire Brown would be wise to monitor is the potential for divisiveness in his locker room, where the frustration of losing could pit a group of insecure veterans against a brash crop of rookies who were the darlings of the Garden yesterday.

Yes, everyone said all the right things after the Knicks let a 74-71 lead with 6:21 left turn into another late-game meltdown. But the manner in which the Knicks fell behind early, fought back to take the lead and blew it in the end exposed the potential for internal problems, something Brown likely will address as the Knicks embark on a six-game western swing.

The best moments of the Knicks' season thus far came yesterday courtesy of the young legs. A lineup consisting of rookies Channing Frye, David Lee and Nate Robinson, along with second-year player Trevor Ariza, carried the Knicks from an 11-point deficit midway through the third-quarter into a 74-71 lead when Robinson zipped through the lane and converted a driving lay-up with 6:21 remaining.

The Garden was at full throat for the first time this season. The crowd of 16,221 caught a glimpse of the future and was excited by what it saw.

Lee, the second of two first-round picks, dressed for his first game as a Knick and got most of his 10 rebounds during that stretch. He teamed with Frye (12 points, 6 rebounds) and the hustling Robinson (7 points) to energize a team that had labored with poor-shooting and porous defense for much of three quarters.

"It's so obvious with the energy they bring," Brown said of the youngsters. "We've all got to do that. It's got to be infectious for everybody."

Yet, with 5:46 to go Brown pulled Ariza (11 points), Robinson and Lee and sent in Malik Rose, Antonio Davis, and Matt Barnes to join Stephon Marbury and Jamal Crawford. Quentin Richardson soon after replaced Crawford. They managed to score just one point over the next 5:30, allowing the Warriors to pull off a 12-1 run.

Brown didn't blame his vets for the loss but he didn't hesitate to praise his youngsters, saying, "I wanted to play the rookies all the time. They've earned it."

In the locker room, the vets couldn't have been happy with the rookies getting the spotlight. Instead of leading this team, they're viewed as dragging it down. Richardson (4 points) is shooting just 34.5 percent from the field, while Marbury has made just 15 of 28 free throws. Eddie Curry was benched for the entire fourth quarter, and Rose didn't play until he was summoned off the bench with 5:16 to go.

"Part of me thinks Larry likes people not knowing what he's thinking," Rose said.

Considering the Knicks played their best basketball yesterday with the bulk of their payroll on the bench, egos had to be bruised. But they have only themselves to blame. Crawford needs to improve his defense, Jerome James can't stay out of foul trouble, Richardson can't shoot and Curry isn't in shape.

"We're all trying to learn and find out what Coach wants from us," Rose said. "It's going to take some time. We just have to keep working."

Maybe the adversity the vets are facing is good for motivation. The danger is it can be divisive if the Knicks don't starting winning.

e-mail: george.willis@nypost.com