One more extreme than the other but the similarity is there.

ISIAH: GIVE ME 2 WEEKS
WANTS MORE TIME BEFORE FIRING TALK
By MARC BERMAN

December 19, 2007

With calls for his head a nightly Garden ritual, even during the rare victory, a desperate Isiah Thomas asked yesterday for a two-week stay of execution.

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Thomas suggested if he doesn't clean up the mess he's made of the Knicks New York Knicks in the next two weeks, it is "fair" to call for his dismissal. Thomas never has gone that far in admitting he deserves the ax for turning a flagship NBA franchise into the butt of national jokes.

A Knicks official responded to Thomas' quote from several media organizations by saying owner James Dolan did not give Thomas a two-week deadline to right Team Titanic II. Dolan and Thomas had a long postgame meeting Monday night following another home massacre, a 27-point defeat to the Pacers.

"Don't read too much into it," the official said.

Thomas, the coach and president, was asked the 24 million-dollar question yesterday: As GM, what he would do to the coach?

"That's a better question in a couple of weeks," Thomas said. "Not today, but in a couple weeks, that would be a fair question. We'll see if we can come out of this. If we can't come out of this, then those are fair questions. There's still a lot of basketball left in the season. There is time to turn it around."

After a 7-17 start and after seasons of 33-49, 23-59 and 33-49, there are plenty of reasons Thomas doesn't deserve to see his four-year Knicks anniversary, which is Saturday. The Knicks, losers of six of seven, play six games in a two-week span starting tonight with Cleveland.

Thomas' remark comes one day after he attacked the team for having "no heart," "no courage" and "no pride" - statements that appeared geared at prompting a player revolt or breaking Dolan's media policy of not bashing the team.

No more excuses

By MARC BERMAN

December 26 2008

Mike D'Antoni didn't have a real answer to my question at yesterday's practice. Was he satisfied with the 11-16 record considering everything the team has gone through?

It sounded as if he's not sure, but said he will know the answer in the next 10 days. The Knicks have gone through a lot of chaos in the first 27 games and - as I wrote in today's Post - the excuses stop now. Jared Jeffries makes his return, they have an eight-man rotation and have a lot of home games on tap - four of the next five - with the brutal Wolves tonight. If Eddy Curry is back in less than two weeks, that's gravy.

The aftershocks of the trades and Stephon Marbury's situation should be well behind them now. To a man, the Knicks have had enough of their close, exciting losses. "Feel-good losses are still losses,'' Al Harrington said.

The Knicks can start proving now they are a better team without Jamal and Zach - a D'Antoni proclamation I still don't believe, even if Cuttino Mobley did not retire.

a) What are you doing reading Marc Berman?

b) What's with the fishing expedition?