Jan. 20, 2005
By Tony Mejia
SportsLine.com Staff Writer
Tell Tony your opinion!


The job security of Knicks coach Lenny Wilkens just keeps on fading.


New York was outscored 38-20 in the fourth quarter of Wednesday night's 98-81 loss in Toronto, looking pathetic in falling out of first place in its division for the first time in nearly two months. In any other division, second can be cherished. In the weak Atlantic, it means you're 17-21.

Given their struggles, president/GM Isiah Thomas' expectations of at least a .500 team, and the fact he hasn't come out and guaranteed Wilkens his job for the rest of the season, the vultures look to be making their descent. The Knicks begin a four-game home stretch on Friday night against old friend Jeff Van Gundy and the Houston Rockets and must show signs of life in order for their coach to keep his job.

The heat surrounding the NBA's all-time leader in both coaching wins and losses has intensified over the past few weeks as New York has managed to victory only one of its first nine games in 2005. Injuries and illness have conspired against the Knicks, with key cogs Allan Houston and Jamal Crawford unable to play together in a game in which both have been completely healthy.

Unfortunately, that may never come.

Houston's knees look completely shot, and the consistent perimeter production the Knicks have come to expect from him in recent weeks is no longer there. Houston had four open jumpers in the midst of their most recent fourth-quarter collapse and hit just one. He missed everything on one of his attempts, clanked a pair of wide open 3-pointers and, what's worse, looked uncomfortable shooting the ball. It doesn't seem like he can get any lift for his jumper, and he's harming the team by being out there.

Of course, the fact he's out there is Wilkens' fault, especially in clutch situations that have cost the Knicks games during their recent slide. In Monday's loss to the Bulls, Houston was beaten to a rebound by Andres Nocioni, which set up the final possession and Ben Gordon's heroics. His mobility is suspect and teams are taking advantage of it.

Turf toe sidelined Crawford for 10 games before he returned earlier this week, and Wilkens inserted him in the lineup against the Raptors, benching Houston. Down the stretch, though, Crawford sat and watched as Toronto pulled away, only to re-enter the game once the outcome was decided. He too is struggling to find his rhythm, but is healthier than Houston and would have been more of an asset in such a key situation.

It's not just Wilkens' substitution patterns that have been suspect; so is his rotation as a whole. Young players Michael Sweetney and Trevor Ariza get fluctuating minutes and never know whether they'll be playing 10 or 25. Jerome Williams, one of the few Knicks who has been consistently productive throughout the losing streak, relinquished his starting spot to Tim Thomas, who returned from knee and calf injuries and was inconsistent when healthy. Little-used Jamison Brewer was on the court for crucial minutes in the fourth quarter against Chicago, playing great defense and assisting in spacing and ball movement, but he played just two minutes of garbage time with the game already decided in Toronto.

How are these guys supposed to develop chemistry when the rotation is in shambles?

"I believe in my heart that if we can win one we'll get back on track and put some games together," Crawford said. "We're not going to start turning against each other. We have to keep playing and keep fighting. We're not even halfway through the season."

That's kind of the point. It's still early enough for New York to turn things around and claim its weak division. They can't let injuries and other distractions mask the fact that the team is not meeting expectations. "In New York it's survival of the fittest," Williams said. "You have got to do your job or you will hear about it."

i honnestly find this pretty fair.

that's 2 things chaney and lenny have in common. Non understandable rotation, wierd substitutions during games, fluctuating playing time.

[Edited by - raven on 01/21/2005 04:18:15]

if lenny had to play without crawford and tim for a stretch, without h20 early in the year, and gimpy h20 now - three 15+ ppg scorers, along with the regression of tim, yet still managed to somehow stay in the .500 area, and some still call for his head, what does that say about mike d'antoni?

he loses nash, arguably the mvp of the league, but still has amare, marion, joe johnson, and q-rich. are they not 10x better that what we put out there? yet they lose 5 in a row and 3 of them where they barely scored 80 while giving up 100+.

should d'antoni's coaching be questioned now? i mean his remaining 4 is way better than our top 5, right?

all this lenny talk is crap. he's the coach of a team in transition. will he be the coach when/if we're ready to contend, probably not, but he's FAR from the reason we've been stinking it up.