Putting the onus on the players by expressing support for the coach and the GM and adding a measure of stability for the moment. By supporting the coach and teh GM the players immediately start to realize that there is noone else to blame. That LB and Zeke will be here. That there plan is it. and if the players want to be a part of it THEY HAVE TO PRODUCE. No excuses, no finger pointing. Do what LB says or goodbye. It's amazing how magically when we stop undermining the coach and GM the players start to play hard.

My guess is that players will fall back on their habits and some players will go back to their losing ways but................Dolan has finally made it clear that LB is in charge and that we will go by his plan because he is the one person in the organization that has won. And firing him based on one season's record is typical impatient lunacy that has led us to 30 years of mediocrity. As long as he and Zeke are on the same page we will support him as well. Zeke will be allowed to make mistakes. Zeke will be allowed to recover from his mistakes. The important thing is that he and LB get on the same page and that is it.

Dolan is recognizing that rebuilding is a series of steps. There are no magic saviors. No magic turnarounds. You must make moves, mistakes and readjust. In Ny, the land of impatience we don't believe this, but GM's and coach's need time to improve their vision just like the players need to improve. If we hadn't undermined Chaney or Wilkens or JVG or Herb and allowed a GM to get on the same page as them we would have been coming out of the abyss long ago. But instead we fired everyone at the first sign of trouble thus prolonging our losing ways.

I hate most of the moves Zeke has made. I am more inclined to agree with Islesfan than not(can't believe I said that), but at the same time I recognize that Zeke has made moves to sell tickets and save his job. He has had to do that because we in NY have always pitted our GM's against our coach's. Blaming one or the other never allowing them to work as a team. I know as soon as that happens this team will start the road to recovery NO MATTER WHO THE GM AND COACH IS.

Once again Bip sees things before they happen.

good post, I agree somewhat about undermining the coach. we had what 4 coaches in 4 years now? No stability whatsoever. that is not a good thing..

I think it was less about fear and more about telling us and the players for the first time that there was a plan for the organization. The reason the plan is hard to see is that the only person guaranteed to be included in the plan is LB. Everyone, including Zeke, will be included in the plan if they get on board with LB. No fear tactics. Just honesty.

This organization has needed direction since Pat left. That meeting was the first evidence I've seen that we are starting to get some.

THIS JUST IN...official transcript of the meeting:

dolan: lb ain't going anywhere.
players: oh sh t. i guess we gotta play hard now.
lb: 1-2-3 squeeze. 1-2-3 squeeze. man, shouldn't have drank that 3rd glass of prune juice.
isiah: hey baby, what's your number?

I didn't hear that but that's hilarious. I'd have to vote for JJ but Curry would definitely carry that crown with pride should JJ not be able to perform his duties.

Rose has actually been great all season. It's tough to notice when the team stinks but he has given effort from day one(even though he was horrible). Q has been the same. I might even give props to Taylor as well. Everyone else has faded in and out(including the rookies), whether it be confidence or effort. But that fundamental shift in what is acceptable on and off the court is the thing that will turn us around. No more inmates running the asylum. No set rotations, no guaranteed minutes, no guaranteed anythign until you guarantee to the coach that you will do things his way every night.

All the players on this team have had to faace that. Even marbs gets benched. Everyone gets "messed with". The reason they don't understand it is that they have always had the owner's support(on eveyr team they have been on). They have always been more important than the coach. They always got minutes and were pampered no matter how they behaved. Now they aren't being pampered. Now minutes are being yanked away and they can't understand it.


But it is funny how Marbs gets 40 minutes when he shares the ball. Malik gets consistent minutes. Q gets them when he hist his shots. Curry gets them when he doesn't foul. This consistency will follow when the players are consistent. The young guys will see the professional way the vets play on the court and they will develop 90 times as fast as teh rookies that get 35 minutes a night and are never forced to learn a lesson, or how to play. For the first time they have STANDARDS being set. Since standards are so rare in society today it's hard to recognize, but that is what LB has been doing all year and I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now Dolan has finally recognized it.