Under Zeke there's little good, much evil at the Garden

Editor's note: This is the first of a three-part series by Mike Freeman that provides a snapshot of the professional lives of three important NBA figures -- Isiah Thomas, LeBron James, and Mark Cuban. All three men are vital to the sport for different reasons:

•  If Thomas cannot restore the Knicks to prominence, the NBA will continue to have one of its flagship franchises flounder.
•  James is a player the NBA can point to as one of its men of character in an era when too many players make the police blotter.
•  Then there is Cuban, a man of ideas, unafraid to share them, whether the league's top brass wants to hear them or not.

First, Thomas. His tenure with the Knicks can be summed up in one word: belief. His belief that he can right a New York franchise stuck in one of the worst ruts the team has ever endured -- a rut mostly caused by Thomas' clumsy handling of personnel matters; the belief of others that the only way for things to change is for Thomas to get fired.

The stubbornness and struggles of Thomas were evident in one particular week, Dec. 4-10, a week that saw Thomas face some of his most stern challenges yet as leader of the franchise.

NEW YORK -- Inside Madison Square Garden, the Memphis Grizzlies are in town, and one of the more famous arenas in the world is practically empty.

The announced crowd is just a shade over 15,000, but the real number is much smaller, more like 10,000. The problem is not just the empty seats but where those empty seats are located. Large chunks of prime real estate near the court, just behind the team benches, where Hollywood stars and jiggling breasts and gel-covered boy-toys once mingled, are painfully vacant.

The Grizzlies are owners of an embarrassing 4-12 record this early December day. In the recent past, when Patrick Ewing's scowl and Pat Riley's suits strolled up and down this court, Knicks fans would pack the building just to watch their team disembowel a lowly opponent like Memphis.

Isiah Thomas has been with the Knicks since 2003 serving as GM, and now coach. (Getty Images)

Not anymore. When you spend time around this franchise now, it's impossible not to see the Knicks as a fallen empire crumbling under the weight of its own poor decision-making. In return, fans are punishing the team by staying home in droves.

Only the hardcore go to Knicks games now.

The man being blamed for the Knicks' troubles is wearing a charcoal suit, pinkish starched shirt and a dapper tie. When it comes to clothes, Isiah Thomas is the anti-Bill Belichick; when it comes to personnel decisions, he is the anti-Bill Belichick.

Since Thomas joined the Knicks as general manager in 2003, the team's overall record, as of mid-December, is 96-150. That includes New York's 11-17 record through Dec. 20. He has been labeled by the media, fans and others in the NBA as one of the more inept personnel executives in the history of sports.

Against the Grizzlies, a rag-tag Knicks team composed of overpriced, self-centered veterans and a few promising young players was trying to hold off a Memphis squad they should have been beating by 30 points. Instead, the Grizzlies go on a stunning 16-7 run to pull within five with 2:47 left.

Thomas paces near the Knicks bench, then stops halfway to fold his arms. A distinct and vocal chorus of boos pings across the Garden. Thomas slightly turns his head to the left, seeming to glance at one corner of the Garden that was particularly boo-filled. It is an unusual moment because there are only a handful of times in recent years when Knicks fans booed their team so sternly. The boos, just a few days later, would get even worse. Much worse.

In fact, everything for the Knicks would.

Just a short time after the Memphis game, an ugly brawl erupted between Knicks and Denver Nuggets players that led many to question not only the management and coaching competence of Thomas but whether he even has control of the team.

The fight, which led to the ejection of all 19 players on the court, began when Knicks guard Mardy Collins cheap-shotted a defenseless J.R. Smith while the Denver player was going for a layup. The ensuing melee spilled into the seats, terrifying fans in the front row, and was reminiscent of what happened in Detroit between the Pacers and Pistons two years ago.

The Knicks had officially just hit their own rock bottom. The front page of the New York Daily News read: "Shame of N.Y."

"It's a disgrace, another black eye for the league," said Knicks legend and Hall of Fame player Clyde Frazier, on the Madison Square Garden Network, where he works as an analyst.

Jared Jeffries tries to peel off teammate Nate Robinson from J.R. Smith during The Brawl. (AP)

Afterward, Knicks players, as well as Thomas, seemed to justify the fight by saying the Nuggets were rubbing the Knicks' noses in the loss by keeping in their starters despite a double-digit lead. This is the bizarro world of Knicks basketball -- a fight justified because opposing starters are left in a blowout loss.

But back to the Memphis game. After his glance at the dissatisfied fans, there is a smirk on the face of Thomas. It's a look that says: Bleep you.

The Knicks go on to beat Memphis, but the odor of New York struggling to defeat a Grizzlies team that had just one road victory coming into the game lingers as Thomas makes the curving walk to the media room for the postgame press conference. He strolls past portraits of scintillating Garden performers; the walls are lined with great rockers and show stoppers and athletes.

Inside the press conference room, which looks like a bomb shelter from the 1950s, Thomas meets with the media. He makes it clear that while happy the Knicks prevailed, he expects them to play better.

"It's a win," Thomas declares. "I'm satisfied that we won. But I want more. I want more from this team. ... I'm not disappointed. I want more and I'll keep demanding more."

He quotes his former coach at Indiana Bob Knight: The biggest opponent is human nature, not the team you are playing.

This is New York. The basketball fans are savvy. So is the media. The basketball writers here are among the most skilled in the country and certainly are bullcrap proof. When Thomas talks of improving rosters and upswings, despite evidence to the contrary, eyes in the media roll.

In N.Y., there's no shame being an ashamed fan these days. (AP)

One columnist earlier in print called Thomas a "transparent manipulator." Another referred to him as "notoriously capricious." Wallace Matthews in Newsday said Thomas was an "arrogant, thin-skinned failure."

The best way to describe Thomas is uber-survivor; if you dropped him out of an airplane at 60,000 feet, he would land with a smile and belly full of peanuts.

Yet the mess Thomas has created in New York might destroy even him.

This is a story about Thomas vs. Thomas. Thomas the coach, who is actually skilled, vs. Thomas the general manager, who certainly is not.

This is a story about a man who fiddled while the CBA burned and coached Indiana to startling sub-mediocrity but still got the helm of a powerful post.

Most of all, this is a story about a man who many feel is slowly but surely strangling to death one of the greatest sports franchises ever.

"The Knicks are such a historic team and as long as the Knicks are bad, it hurts the NBA," said Bill Walton, longtime analyst who has closely followed the Knicks for decades. "The Knicks are a sad situation. They have such great fans and all the fans want to do is put on their Knicks hats and Knicks jerseys and go cheer. The problem is there just isn't that much to cheer for and when you look for the main reason why that is the case, it has to be Isiah Thomas."

Knickerbockers history lesson

"Trying to win in New York is definitely the hardest challenge Larry (Brown) and I have faced. But it will be the most rewarding thing if we can get it done, (and we) are confident we can get it done. But in getting it done, you also understand you're going to get your butt beat, people will say some mean things, take nasty shots at you. That's part of it. You can't second-guess yourself."
-- Thomas to the Chicago Tribune in 2005

Isiah Thomas is a perfect example why lawyers are loath to allow indicted clients to take the witness stand. Every mindless remark out of his mush buries himself deeper. He makes this job a snap.
-- New York Post columnist Peter Vecsey in Dec. 2006.

Brown is gone and now Thomas is alone, taking arrows to the chest.

One way to understand why there is such vitriol aimed at Thomas is by simply examining the recent history of the Knicks specifically and the Garden in general.

The days of Bill Bradley guiding the Knicks to championships are long gone. (US PRESSWIRE)

The Knicks last won a championship in 1973. But when Pat Riley coached from 1991-1995 and then Jeff Van Gundy from 1996-2001, with the exception of two seasons in those years, the Knicks never won fewer than 43 games. They were a capably run franchise.

What Knicks fans remember are those times; the memories of winning and the Garden filled with famous actors and athletes. "Knicks games were the place to be," said one fan on a New York talk radio show, "now they are the place not to be. Nobody cares."

"As Knicks fans, we want to see our team giving an orchestrated effort every night," wrote Knicks fan Chris N. Karalekas to the Daily News, "maybe sharing the ball and passing the ball, or perhaps hitting the open man, all the while enjoying the realities of being millionaires performing in one of the greatest cities in the world. Obviously the architectural firm of Thomas & Dolan hasn't a clue -- and that's more offensive than actually trying to watch this aimless group of athletes. Where have you gone, Red Holzman? Where have you gone, Clyde Frazier? They understood us and we understood them."

There is also the Garden factor. The building is revered here, treated almost like a living, breathing organism. The Garden did after all play witness to Cassius Clay fighting, the Rolling Stones making their New York debut, Marilyn Monroe singing to JFK, Elvis crooning and Led Zeppelin recording a live album. Just recently, Billy Joel sold out 12 shows. Epic battles between the Knicks and Jordan's Bulls are also part of the MSG fabric.

There are, of course, other sports that take place at MSG. The New York Rangers are another historic occupant. But the Knicks are the heart of the Garden. And when they are trolling with the same record as the dregs of the NBA, the Garden is cheapened, and in some ways, so is basketball.

"I never thought I would see the Garden like this during Knicks games," Walton said. "I've been in that building a number of times. It's rarely this dead. The fans are apathetic."

So just where did these Knicks go wrong?

Part of the blame goes back years and lies in names like personnel guru Dave Checketts, who signed burnouts such as Luc Longley, Glen Rice and Vernon Maxwell. Or other management flops like Scott Layden.

Other blame goes to Dolan, the billionaire enabler, the NBA equivalent of NFL owner Dan Snyder. The Knicks possess the highest payroll in league history, which hovers around $125 million. Perhaps no team in sports history is getting less bang for its big bucks.

There is also the Larry Brown factor. He feuded with guard Stephon Marbury, mostly through the tabloids, and coached the team to a 23-59 record for the 2005-2006 season, the second worst record in the NBA that year and tied for the most losses in franchise history.

The Larry Brown 'era' was full of headaches for the franchise. (Getty Images)

Brown being hired, or taking the job, depending on your perspective, was a mistake, something everyone involved would now admit.

Yet there is no question the main culprit is Thomas. One of his moves symbolizes the ineptness of his personnel acumen.

As general manager, he put together a team that is more flash than talent and designed to get people in the seats, with names like New York legend Marbury and shooter Steve Francis. It is this trade for Francis, more than any other, that is the most criticized.

The move was universally panned. Pairing two ball-hogging shooters together in the backcourt has proved disastrous.

Then, Thomas traded for Eddy Curry, and while Curry has shown dramatic improvement in recent weeks, the powerful lineup Thomas envisioned has not materialized. The team is younger than it has been, which is a positive, but in the process of getting younger, New York became one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA.

In effect Thomas has committed one of the cardinal sins in sports. He has created a team that is both bad and uninteresting.

Say this for Thomas: He is confident and unshakeable. He believes in his plan, and no amount of criticism from the media or fans will change his mind. Thus either he sees something that no one in the public does, or Thomas is one part crazy and three parts fool.

This kind of defiance runs consistently through the recent career of Thomas. Thomas seems to see himself as the virtuous underdog and everyone else as an ignorant dope, and those that disagree with Thomas, a fiery Hall of Fame player, receive ample amounts of venom in return.

When former Knick and current television analyst Greg Anthony called the drafting of Thomas pick Renaldo Balkman shocking, Thomas fired back: "(Anthony) should never, ever be in a position to question (Thomas) on anything about basketball because I do remember the kind of player he was."

Isiah Thomas took the time to rip on former Knicks guard and current analyst Greg Anthony. (Getty Images)

In July, Thomas publicly chastised George Karl, a critic of the way Brown's firing was handled, and in November, angry with San Antonio guard Bruce Bowen's defensive style of play, he instructed Knicks players to break his leg.

Perhaps Thomas' biggest feud has been with the fans. In early November, he took a stern shot at them following his theorizing why the team was at the time playing better on the road than at home. "At home you want the home fans giving the opposing team the same type of treatment that we get on the road. ... One day we'll have a home-court advantage."

Thomas defends his Knicks by saying they are a work in progress. When spending time around the team you hear, more than anything, that Thomas needs time. Dolan has given Thomas this season -- and this season only -- to show progress, prompting the New York Post to call Thomas in a headline "Lame-Duck Isiah."

Asking for patience is understandable. Yet some of the things that come out of the mouths of Thomas and the Knicks hierarchy are so absurd, they test the patience of fans and the media. After an October blowout loss to Boston, in which the Knicks trailed at one point by 34, Thomas stated: "Tonight, we needed to try and play from behind. We needed to try and see if we could stay within our offense and execute."

Earlier, in March, Dolan said, "It's unfortunate we're not winning, but it's not integral to the strategy right now."

Winning is not integral to the team's strategy. How many times do you ever hear the head of a sports franchise say anything like that?

The Hibachi rule

On Dec. 6, in a game against Washington, there are still a great many empty seats. In Section 121, about halfway up the arena, when Thomas' name is introduced, a spattering of boos can be heard.

Gilbert Arenas torched Starbury and the hapless Knicks for 38 points on Dec. 6. (Getty Images)

Washington has entered the game with an 0-8 road record, but against New York, the Wizards shoot 8-of-10 from the 3-point line and jump to a 66-55 halftime lead. Gilbert Arenas scores 29 points in 27 minutes. He finishes with 38.

"Some looks were wide open," Arenas told reporters afterward. "You know the Hibachi Rule? You don't know it? That's when we're cookin'. I was cookin' chicken and shrimp."

During the game, there is at first an eerie silence. That soon ends. The boos are no longer sporadic but loud and steady coming from all corners of the Garden. Late in the third quarter, Thomas is less animated on the bench than he was against Memphis, crossing his arms. Between the boos, one fan could be heard yelling: "Isiah, you're a dumba--."

Another screams: "Isiah, stop standing there crossing your arms and do something!"

The Knicks announce the crowd at 16,272, but as Daily News beat writer Frank Isola would write, such a figure would only be accurate "... if you included the foot traffic from Penn Station." Indeed, the attendance was more like 10,000-11,000.

When Arenas scores his 38th point to give Washington a 16-point lead with just over five minutes remaining, fans start flooding the exits and booing on the way out.

The boos are stunning. It has been years, many years since they are so loud in the Garden during a Knicks game.

Then, fans start chants. The loudest is "Fire Isiah!" But "Fire Thomas!" is also heard. So is "Fire Dolan!"

Sensing that his team may have been somewhat stunned by the actions of the fans, Thomas walks up and down the bench, speaking to each player, telling them to keep their heads up and ignore the boos. Of course, most of the venom is aimed at Thomas.

Stephon Marbury and Isiah took a barrage of boos during the game vs. the Wizards. (Getty Images)

"It's New York," says Marbury, who was born in Brooklyn. "They're always going to boo us if we're not playing well, period."

But these boos ... they were different. Louder, nastier, more viral.

When meeting with the press, Thomas is defiant and irritable. "The fans are the fans," he says. "They'll do their thing. They were disappointed like we were disappointed."

Later in the press conference, Thomas grows testy when asked about an impending lineup change. He chastises reporters to not try to put words in his mouth about which player will start when.

Thomas is highly intelligent. No one should doubt that. It is just that he lives in an alternate universe. The supreme confidence in his own abilities makes him oblivious to his own errors. When speaking about why the arena is so empty, he blames it mostly on the team's 23-win season a year ago as well as the nasty departure of Larry Brown. There is no mention of any errors on his part.

"And (the fans) has every right to be hurt," Thomas says. "We were all hurt. Last year was a year unlike any other. We do have a faithful following, but there is still a wait-and-see and show-me fan out there that has every right to be wait-and-see and show-me."

The next day, the tabloids, rightfully, pounce on the Washington debacle. A Daily News photographer snaps a picture of the Garden upper deck all but empty with two fans literally sleeping in the stands. It is a humiliating moment for a proud franchise.

In that same paper, longtime NBA columnist Mitch Lawrence writes, "Memo to Isiah Thomas: There's no reason to get huffy when people ask about lineup changes. Just in case you have forgotten, you're not about to break up the '96 Bulls, exactly."

Loyalty up and down the bench

Knicks players like Thomas, mainly because he is unflinchingly loyal to them. "He always has your back," forward David Lee said. "I love playing for him."

"He is very encouraging," Marbury said. "He has always been that way for me."

Players like David Lee love knowing that Zeke is watching Knicks players' backs. (AP)

That loyalty was evident the day after the Washington debacle following the Knicks' practice. Thomas meets with the media and defends both his players and himself. He also takes what could be interpreted as a swipe at the basketball intelligence of the fans who were heartily booing him just hours earlier.

"I can't expect them to understand the game the way I understand it or see it the way we see it," Thomas said. "It's better that the punishment is given to myself than to the players. The players got to think and move free and perform. ..."

Thomas questioning the basketball IQ of the fans is interpreted by some as another shot at them.

At the Knicks' practice facility following the Washington game, Thomas continued his habit of seeing only the positive and, soon after that, following a bizarre loss to the Celtics in which the Knicks whittled down a 30-point deficit to three, only to lose by seven, even Thomas could not hide his anger, saying this was one of his most disappointing losses.

Thomas and the fans are the not the only ones disappointed over the Knicks. According to several league sources, NBA executives are terrified about the fading fan interest and the status of the team.

"In particular," states one NBA owner, who asked not to be identified, "if the city is excited about the Knicks, the buyers on Madison Avenue are excited and they buy ads in NBA programming."

In fact, teams along the eastern corridor of the country located in major media markets like Boston, Philadelphia, New York and Washington are all experiencing low win totals. The 76ers, even before the Allen Iverson fiasco, had thousands of empty seats. Just like the Knicks.

"How many times are the Knicks on national TV this year?" Walton asked. "Not many. That's not good for basketball."

Dolan damns decision to hire Brown

On Dec. 12, Dolan, as he will occasionally do, met with the media that covers the team. He needed to. The Knicks were getting destroyed in the papers and on sports talk radio.

MSG president James Dolan has been quick to blame Larry Brown for N.Y.'s woes. (Getty Images)

Dolan pinned the blame for the Knicks' troubles squarely and solely on the former coach, Brown. He criticized Brown as the reason for the Knicks' struggles last year, ripped him for failing to develop the franchise's younger players and even suggested that the team's struggles this season were Brown's fault.

"I'm bereft to find anything positive out of that experience, and I apologize to the fans for making a bad decision," Dolan says, referring to the hiring of Brown. "We have good young players. They could have been developed better. We could be farther along today than we are now."

The irony of Dolan ripping Brown for the current mess that is the Knicks while refusing to criticize Thomas was not lost on anyone.

"The Knicks have more empty seats now than they have had in 15 years," wrote Mike Lupica in a scathing column the day after Dolan's diatribe, "and Dolan talked ... about his concert business going great guns. He is the last guy in town to figure out that his fans don't like Isiah Thomas, that they don't want him running their basketball team anymore, that they feel sometimes as if they are rooting against themselves even if they do show up to root for the Knicks. Why? Because they are smart enough to know that if Dolan ultimately buys into Thomas' definition of progress and success for the Knicks, we could be stuck with the guy indefinitely. The problem isn't that Knicks fans don't know as much about basketball as Thomas thinks he does. It is that they know too much."

It is beyond ugly in New York. In an unseasonably warm New York winter, the roasting Thomas is receiving from everyone is unseasonably brutal.

The only way anyone can believe that Thomas will turn the Knicks around in one year, as is his mandate from Dolan, is if they believe in miracles.

"I want the Knicks to do well because I love the NBA," Walton said. "There are positives, but the bottom line is they are losing games and losing fans. Isiah has been given every opportunity. No expense has been spared to make this a world class team."

But: "There was a quote recently by someone in Washington who said, 'There are no new answers.' To say it's a starting lineup problem, a rotation problem, or just one thing. I come back to that quote. There are no new answers."

Coming in January: LeBron James is the savior in Cleveland. But can he also save the battered image of the NBA?