He seems neutral enough to write a good article ... I hope he's wrong.

The Knicks came into their playoff series against the New Jersey Nets not really expecting to win (despite what they said publicly), but at least expecting to get a game or two. Therefore New York's expeditious exit was much more painful than the Celtics', particularly since the Isiah Thomas era had begun with such promise.

Isiah, too, faces a busy offseason, his first decision being whether Allan Houston's presumed return means this team is good enough to compete in the upper echelon of the East, never mind the league in general.

What was most exposed in the Nets' series was the Knicks' dearth of athleticism, and this is something Thomas must address. It must frustrate the hell out of him watching the Kenyon Martins and Richard Jeffersons of the world run by and leap over his guys. Thomas played in a different era. He won two championships on a Bad Boy Pistons team that included a lead-footed center (Bill Laimbeer), a nailed-to-the-floor backcourt running mate (Joe Dumars) and a few guys who looked like they might be first in line at the Krispy Kreme concession (scoring machine Vinnie Johnson, enforcer Rick Mahorn, and post-up forward Mark Aguirre).

The best guess from here is: The return of the 32-year-old Houston makes the Knicks, at best, a fifth-place team instead of a seventh-place team.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2004/writers/jack_mccallum/04/28/insider/index.html