I warn you, there are some typos.

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Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago

Isiah Thomas apparently has more five-year plans than Stalin ever had.

It was only last February that Thomas was touting the soft-around-the-edges Nazr Mohammed as another of the Knicks' saviors — a long list of which has most recently included Vin Baker, Tim Thomas, Stephon Marbury, and Jamal Crawford. Early in the season, Zeke the Sneak also vowed that the Knicks were one of the best squads in the Atlantic Division. Etcetera. Etcetera.

Also...

Knicks beat Lakers in OT

But in Zeke-Speak, yesterday's avowals are meant to be forgotten and only today's promises count for anything.

So, as New York rounds the clubhouse turn and limps toward the finish line, exactly what are we to think of this latest edition of the Knicks?

Are they rebuilding? (A scenario that Isiah vehemently foreswore forever when he first took over the team.)

Will they be serious contenders once (and if) Allan Houston heals and/or Maurice Taylor gets in game shape?

Are they a center away from revisiting the glory days of "The Old Knicks"?

Can Larry Brown, Phil Jackson, or Flip Saunders save them?

Is their most recent two-game winning streak at all meaningful?

Or are they just a capped-out, hopeless collection of dysfunctional players destined for the lottery in the foreseeable future?

The Lakers were in town on Monday, and perhaps the Knicks performance against Kid Kobe's one-man-band might serve as a sign of things to come in Hoop City, USA.

Stephon Marbury and the Knicks proved Monday night that they might be better than some people think. (Jim McIsaac / GettyImages)

The Knicks played like gangbusters for 46 minutes and 30 seconds.

Stephon Marbury couldn't find the hole (he only made one of his first ten shots), but distributed the ball exceptionally well (finishing with 12 assists). Most of the Marbury-generated offense came off screen/rolls (S/R) which tore huge holes in the Lakers defense.

Tom Thomas was more aggressive with the ball (13-19, 35 points) than he has been for most of the season. He knocked down 4-of-5 triples, and was unstoppable posting on the left box and taking his right hand to the middle for spinning jumpers. (TT went left only once-and missed.)

Jamal Crawford didn't shoot well (2-8, 6 points), but only forced a single shot!

Kurt Thomas hit his open jumpers, made crafty passes, played solid position defense, and rebounded in traffic (7-14, 15 points, 6 assists, 12 rebounds). Thomas' hands are so good that if he can touch a loose ball, it's his.

Mike Sweetney is a wide-body and a bear on the offensive glass (19 points, 12 rebounds). He had his way in the pivot against Chris Mihm with a variety of up-and-under moves.

Trevor Ariza was impressive off the bench. The rookie stymied Kobe in each of the three sequences that matched them mano-a-mano. Tying up Kobe and forcing a jump ball-which Areizo won. Pushing Kobe to baseline help. And then forcing Kobe to make a harmless pass. Also, Ariza's shooting has vastly improved-he was 3-3 for ten points, and had two steals in 13 minutes.

Maurice Taylor had a terrific rotation in the second quarter, when he either posted on the left box or was isolated along the left baseline. He only took one bad shot-and in the first half, tallied seven points in eight minutes, including an impressive driving, long-armed jump hook. This guy can flat-out fill the hole.

Malik Rose hustled and set killer screens, but was wound too tightly to be effective. Besides, Lamar Odom's quickness, versatility, and lefty-length was a disadvantageous matchup for Rose.

Anfernee Hardaway hit a few jumpers (3-5, 6 points), guarded Kobe, and was on the court instead of Sweetney for the stretch run.

Overall, the Knicks offense was top-notch. They were poised and extremely cooperative. In fact, I counted nine times when somebody or other forsook as wide open shot to make an extra pass that created an even cleaner look for a teammate. Earlier in the season, nine such passes would represent a week's worth of games.

Sure, there were several holes in their performance: TT is a passive defender. Sweetney is slow off the floor and has poor lateral movement. Ariza's considerable skills are very raw and undefined. Taylor is woefully out of shape, is a step slow on defense, and isn't a natural rebounder. Crawford has no idea. And Marbury has never proven himself to be a winner.

With the Knicks lacking a shot-blocker to protect the rim, virtually every one of their defensive lapses was costly.

Still, they led by twelve points with only 1:20 showing on the game clock.

And that's when their game fell apart. Bad passes and bad shots were trumped by the Lakers' barrage of 3-balls. The game wound down to this: Fifteen seconds to go, the Knicks up by two, with Marbury on the line shooting a pair. The first was good. One more and the Knicks would have a death grip on the game-but Marbury shot a square ball at a round rim and missed.

Kobe then bagged a triple and the game went into overtime.

The Knicks were down by four points with two-minutes and change remaining in the extra period, but not out.

Now it was the Lakers turn to be careless with the ball. A critical tip-in by Thomas knotted the score before Marbury gave the home team a two-point lead by sinking a pair of free throws.

For the game's last critical possession that could result in either a loss or a win for the Lakers, or else another OT, Frank Hamblen inserted Luke Walton for Brian Grant. Now, the question is this: Why was Walton in the game? And the answer is: To drive and dish. Which, upon receiving a pass from Kobe, is exactly what he proceeded to do. Trouble was that Kobe didn't expect the return pass, couldn't control the ball, and never got off a shot as the buzzer announced a third-straight win for the Knicks.

Okay, let's look back at the original questions.

Yes, the Knicks are rebuilding, and it's about time. But the R word is verboten in New York, because it usually means losing, and Knick fans are freaked by the idea of paying inflated New York prices to see a losing-cum-rebuilding team.

Yes, they will be at least quasi-serious contenders if Houston has a miraculous healing and Taylor can play himself into game-shape. Probably not this year, but sooner rather than later.

Yes, they could certainly use a big-time center, but only somebody like Willis Reed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Nate Thurmond, or Bill Walton could reprise the short-lived Knick dynasty of yesteryear. As it is, what other Eastern Conference centers besides Shaq and possibly Ziggy Ilgauskas are capable of out-sizing and overpowering Kurt Thomas? For the time being, KT will do a more than adequate job.

Yes, any one of these celebrity coaches could eventually restore the Knicks to respectability.

Yes, their THREE-game streak is definitely meaningful.

Yes, the players are mostly dysfunctional, but, no, they're not hopeless. At least Marbury, Rose, Taylor, Kurt Thomas, Ariza, and Sweetney aren't.

Yes, they're probably lottery-bound this year — but that's just fine.

And being over the salary cap is James Dolan's problem. Fans and professional critics should only concern themselves with what happens on the court.

So, despite Isiah's seat-of-his-pants game plan; his forked tongue; and the fact that I'm not a big fan of his; the Knicks still have a pulse.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3428860

Knicks problems were a combination of a lot of things. I think that the team was a little overcoached, and most of all, the players weren't properly motivated. Lenny was using the wrong lineup all along and the funny thing is that he knew it, but failed to fix the problem...In my opinion, he should have been fired sooner. The combo of Nazr and Kurt was the worst that I have seen. They were both slow and nonathletic, most of all, they didn't complement our backcourt....I have been calling for a tweek in that lineup since after the first 10 games, but some diehards, no basketball knowledge on this board thought that I was crazy....I personally wanted to trade Kurt, because I knew that he could have brought us a couple of draft picks and a much better replacement......I am so glad that we traded Nazr, but I would have happier if Kurt was the one that was gone...

Posted by fishmike:

take a look at something:

http://www.basketballreference.com/teams/teamscores.htm?tm=TOR&yr=2001&lg=n

This is if your in the mood for a little kool-aid this morning. The Raptors were 30-38 and dead in the water. Vince Carter goes down for the rest of the season (tummy ache or something like that).

The Raptors finish 42-40 by going 12-2 over their last 14 games and make the playoffs. JYD, Mo Peterson, Keon Clark, Alvin Willams and Chris Childs leading the way.

It *is* possible to play great team ball and go on a streak. Knick showed some good guts against the Lakers and I like how Herb's rotation and depth was a real asset for us. A lot of guys like Ariza, Rose and JYD had a solid impact that didnt show up in the box score.

Do you want the Knicks to make a run like that (and possibly come up a little short and get like the 14th pick) or do you want them to lose each game and get a better pick?

TT has put together 4 really good games in a row