Isiah's pretty good standing on sideline

Friday, June 23, 2006
BY DAVE D'ALESSANDRO
Star-Ledger Staff

Honestly, are we the only ones who think this will work?

Are we the only ones who remember that Isiah Thomas -- for all his faults and missteps and peccadilloes as an executive -- actually succeeded at something since the end of his illustrious playing career?

Are we the only ones willing to take an objective look at his three-year tenure in Indianapolis and state -- without equivocation, hesitation or embarrassment -- that Zeke was a pretty good coach?

Wow, we can feel you turning the page already.

But before you go, keep one thing in mind about the Knicks' new head coach: This is what he's good at. It is what he has always had a passion for. No bulletin there. Everyone knew all along that he should have replaced Don Chaney, but he chased some idiotic notion that he had to wear a suit every day to spit-polish his legacy and regain his self-esteem. That, as it turned out, was the dumbest move in a series of dumb moves.

He belonged in sweats all along. It goes to the very heart of what he has always valued most, and that -- if you'll stifle your snickering here we could finish a point -- is being a leader. You cannot lead a team from the 14th floor of 2 Penn Plaza or the vomitory at MSG. You lead a team from the practice floor and the locker room and the bus.

Decide for yourself if he has what it takes:


2000-01 -- He took over a Pacers team that cleaned house after reaching the NBA Finals. Rik Smits retired, Mark Jackson and Dale Davis were traded, and only one returning starter opened the season (Reggie Miller) because the real transition guy, Jalen Rose, missed the first month with a fractured wrist. This team shouldn't have cracked 35 wins. But they went 41-41, and with an average age of 24, they became the youngest team in the modern era to make the playoffs -- even took one game from conference champ Philly in the first round. It was a good start.


2001-02 -- Though Jermaine O'Neal officially became a stud, Thomas took a hit for the team's long-term growth by rewarding the point guard job to rookie Jamaal Tinsley. Al Harrington, the front-runner for Sixth Man honors, went down with an ACL tear in January. The starting lineup changed dramatically in February, with Rose -- an awful chemistry guy -- sent to Chicago for Ron Artest and Brad Miller. So, with a rookie point guard, major injury and roster turnover, Thomas still coaxed them into the playoffs by sweeping the last five games to finish 42-40 -- and then they nearly wrecked the Nets in the first round, losing in double overtime of Game 5.


2002-03 -- And the third year went from sublime and ridiculous. By Feb. 14, they were running away with it all -- 37 wins, 14 losses -- and when the roof fell in, none of it had to do with coaching. Artest's rampant jealousy of O'Neal wasn't visible to the public, but he got attention by punching basket supports. O'Neal's stepfather attempted suicide, with O'Neal literally walking in on the scene after the bullet entered his head. Tinsley's season was ruined by a regular commute from Virginia to be with his dying mother. The Millers had ankle injuries entering the postseason. They finished 11-20, went into the playoffs as the third seed, and were smacked by Jim O'Brien's Celtics in the first round again. Thomas' only real mistake was how he used Harrington, and that was enough for Larry Bird. In August, the new Pacers prez fired him.

In the end, at worst, it was a mixed bag. Thomas was never a popular coach, though race had a lot to do with it, because in central Indiana, no African-American is going to be embraced as easily as the farm-boy legend he had replaced, Bird. But even Donnie Walsh would swear that the Pacers got exactly what they needed out of a first-time coach leading a roster of children -- notably, steady improvement, tangible growth, and ultimately, title contention.

Along the way, the novice was unconventional, creative, nurturing -- more of a George Karl disciple than a Larry Brown devotee. Players liked playing for him -- other than Rose, who must also be the first to go this summer, when Zeke the GM retools the roster for Zeke the coach.

But Rose's departure cannot be the only change. Thomas will not repeat Brown's mistakes. He will have a rotation, he will simplify the offense (the Knicks have to become a transition team, period), either Stephon Marbury or Steve Francis must learn how to play off the ball or get lost, and Eddy Curry has to become a defender. These are not things to do, but they can be done, because for the first time since they've arrived in New York, these players have a coach who actually believes in them.

Sure, he is a nightmare exec. And technically, Zeke's not even the most qualified coach in the field. But the job is more than X's and O's; it's about getting guys to play at a high level every night, about formulating a plan, and imparting a vision. Those will be his greatest strengths, once he rids himself of the deadbeats and settles on a core group. Yes, this just might work.



Dave D'Alessandro appears regularly in The Star-Ledger

I think this is going to mirror Isiah's first year ever coaching in the NBA:

2000-01 -- He took over a Pacers team that cleaned house after reaching the NBA Finals. Rik Smits retired, Mark Jackson and Dale Davis were traded, and only one returning starter opened the season (Reggie Miller) because the real transition guy, Jalen Rose, missed the first month with a fractured wrist. This team shouldn't have cracked 35 wins. But they went 41-41, and with an average age of 24, they became the youngest team in the modern era to make the playoffs -- even took one game from conference champ Philly in the first round. It was a good start.

Marbury is the lone returning star and we act like last year never happened. Jalen Rose is Jalen Rose.