Ewing Got a Raw Deal

It was great seeing Patrick Ewing back in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. Even though the Big Fella has packed on a few pounds I’m pretty sure he could still outplay Eddy Curry.

Ewing wants to get back into coaching and hopefully one day the Knicks will bring him back. He’s doing some work for NBA TV, a place where I have been moonlighting for the past six years.

“I heard you’re trying to steal my job,” I said to Ewing.

“I just need a job,” he said.

“Believe me,” I told Ewing. “They can’t afford you.”

Afterwards, I went over to Café 31 – across the street from the Garden – and it was like a Knicks reunion party. Ewing, Herb Williams and John Starks were all seated at a table, having a late meal and talking about the good ‘ol days.

When you think about the way Ewing was treated his last few years with the Knicks it is almost sad. Although Ewing accepted a lesser role – his minutes and shots went down for four straight years – he was still getting blamed when the Knicks lost.

In Ewing’s last playoff appearance for the Knicks – Game 6 of the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals – some fans would groan when Ewing caught the ball in the post. After the game, he sat at his locker with his legs soaking in an ice bucket and right at that moment I thought his career with the Knicks was over.

I still remember going over to him and saying, “Some of these fans and some of the people in this organization don’t deserve you.”

Ewing just smirked and said, "Thanks.”

That’s why I can’t get too worked up over the fans giving the current Knicks a hard time. They won 23 games last season. Ewing made the Knicks a contender from 1993 through 2000. But then, the fans, the players, the coaches and the organization had higher expectations.

Today, we’ve all lowered the bar.

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Saturday was a bad day for Isiah Thomas. He foolishly gets ejected with his team trailing by six with 2:15 to play and having possession. Earlier, Isiah passed on the opportunity to defend Jeff Van Gundy after Van Gundy was fined $25,000 for sticking up for Yao Ming. Thomas had some of the same things about the way Eddy Curry was officiated.

Just think, eight days earlier Van Gundy went out of his way to compliment Thomas for some of the players he acquired. Isiah just couldn’t throw him a bone.

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Some of the suggestions for a nickname for the Knicks bench are pretty good. At some point I’ll have David Lee, Nate Robinson, Renaldo Balkman and Jamal Crawford rank their top five.