Too Much Love?

I've been hearing a lot lately about how the New York media has gone soft on the Knicks. Even Scott Skiles hinted to it with his sarcastic post-game remark, “From everything I hear, the Knicks are on the verge of becoming a great team." In some cases there is some truth to it.

There's been a great deal of accentuating of the positives, whether it is Eddy Curry's so-called breakout season (as I've said before, it's been a grand arrival, let's hope the breakout one is a little more consistent and well-rounded) or Isiah Thomas' coaching (let's not forget this is the team he also built as the team president) or Stephon Marbury's metamorphosis, David Lee's development, improved selection on the MSG concession menu or maybe the pregame video, etc.


One point made that really concerned me was the idea that this team really gets along great. Really? Well, to me, a team that gets along despite being under .500 all season is a major concern. Where's the accountability? Where's the competitive fire?

Where's the leadership in a locker room that allows guys to not take the losses so seriously?

Isn't anyone ticked off about this?

Losing sucks. It absolutely sucks. It sucks to watch. It sucks to be around. It should make you mad. It should make you frustrated. It should make you want to call out the guys who aren't doing their part. It should create competition for minutes. It should make the guys who care separate themselves from the phonies who only care on the first and the 15th each month. Or when Slam Magazine's photographer is there or ESPN's camera is nearby.

Are we supposed to show sympathy for a team that right now is riddled with injuries and missing four of five starters? No. We're supposed to point that out and we do. But we can't point that out without also pointing out that while Isiah is starting an inexperienced backcourt of rookie Mardy Collins and second-year guard Nate Robinson, he's doing so with $15 million veteran Steve Francis, albeit hobbled some by an ankle sprain, sitting on the bench. He's doing it with his previous two mid-level exception signings, Jerome James and Jared Jeffries ($60 million in contracts between them), ready and able to play. He's doing it with the No. 8 overall pick in last year's draft, Channing Frye, ready and able to play.

But you've read about everything else. You've read that Isiah should "take a bow" after the Knicks got into the eighth spot after the buzzer-beating win over the Wizards. One usually shouldn't take a bow until the performance is over. But it was said. Take a bow, Isiah. You've done enough. Never mind the month or so games that were still left to play in the season.

I don't blame Isiah for any of this. It's his job to deliver the daily rhetoric. On game days, he has to talk with the media three times. Trust me, it gets monotonous for us, just imagine how it gets for him. Eventually, you just start spewing B.S. just to get through the day and the inane questions from people looking for stories to carry the early edition.

It's up to the media - Newsday included - to keep it real, sift through that BS and not allow the rhetoric to influence the coverage of a team that is 14-games under .500 and headed toward yet another season without a playoff appearance.

The fans shouldn't accept it, either.

Posted by nyk4ever:

Wow that is one hell of a blog, it's dead on. Who wrote it?