Power Rankings: Zeke should be up the creek after this
Updated Jan. 23
Isiah Thomas, you need to go.
Your actions on Monday night are unforgivable. Somehow, you thought it would be a good idea to let your Knicks play through Miami's franchise-record 27-0 run. Jason Kapono and Udonis Haslem hit practically every shot they took while the Knicks just stood around and watched.
The Heat went on to win 101-83 without Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal.
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| Did Isiah Thomas quit on his Knicks Monday night? (AP) |
"There is no strategy for being down 29-3. As professionals and as men, you have to step out on that floor and compete against the other player. There is no strategy for lying down and taking it."
You got one right. There's no excuse for allowing a team to get carved up like a Thanksgiving turkey by not calling a single timeout when it became clear one was needed. You let the Knicks down, just like they let you down.
Look, there's no doubt you were a fabulous basketball player, among the best floor generals of your generation. You were tough, arrogant, brilliant and dominant. Anyone who saw you play respects you.
As a coach, though, you're a failure. Sadly, the exact traits that made you so valuable as a superstar fail you in the role you occupy now. It doesn't build character to take a 27-0 beating. It builds catastrophe.
Bob Knight coached you at Indiana? You didn't pick up anything from him? As hot-headed as he is, Knight would never have allowed his team to be embarrassed the way you did. You left your team out there to die, and it should be no surprise that they died. It's what you set them up to do.
The New York Knicks are a joke. Thanks to bad management, they were awful before you got there. Your bravado made everyone, including owner James Dolan, believe you had the remedy.
You don't. You have no idea. You're clueless to the point where it hurts to watch. A 27-0 run without a timeout? Are you even trying?
Sadly, the fact is you are. But you just don't get it. Stop being so pompous that you believe your team will rise to each challenge you set forth. Your job is to help the team grow. A 27-0 run, without a timeout, doesn't accomplish a thing.
Except prove how foolish you truly are.
The week's Power Rankings:
| Power Rankings | |||
| Current | Team | Previous | |
 | 1 | Bulls · Trends | 2 |
| Luol Deng is back. And there's no way you can miss that because Tom Thibodeau keeps playing him 37 minutes game. | |||
 | 2 | Heat · Trends | 1 |
| If it weren't for their second unforgiveable loss to Milwaukee in three weeks, they'd be on a seven-game winning streak. If it weren't for either loss to Milwaukee, it'd be eleven. | |||
 | 3 | Thunder · Trends | 3 |
| The Thunder's stars are playing better but their overall performance has stumbled a bit. So the head is shining and brilliant while the body's kind of knocking into things, clumsily. It's like Robin Williams in "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen," which I'm sure none of you have seen. | |||
 | 4 | 76ers · Trends | 5 |
| The Sixers respond to criticism over their inability to beat good teams by knocking off Chicago, Atlanta and the Lakers. So when we said they can't beat good teams, we really just meant the Heat. (Yes, you had injuries, Bulls fans, we hear you.) | |||
 | 5 | Pacers · Trends | 8 |
| They wind up losing the season series to the struggling Magic, but other than that have taken care of business. Their slamming of the door on Dallas' face was impressive. | |||
 | 6 | Clippers · Trends | 4 |
| The word "sustainable" comes to mind with the Clippers because some things seem very sustainable, while others, not so much. The words "Vinny Del Negro" keep popping up in the same conversation. | |||
 | 7 | Spurs · Trends | 13 |
| I criticize their defense, and the Spurs win five straight, hold their opponent under 100 five times and only give up a plus-100 defensive efficiency once in that stretch. San Antonio has re-entered "extremely dangerous" territory. | |||
 | 8 | Lakers · Trends | 14 |
| Kobe Bryant passes Shaq on Monday. Good for him. Then he wound up hurting his team by going 1-11 in the second half and watching the Sixers down his Lakers for a second straight loss. That's pretty much the Lakers' season so far. | |||
 | 9 | Hawks · Trends | 9 |
| "No change" is such an apt description of this team. | |||
 | 10 | Nuggets · Trends | 6 |
| The wheels are coming off in Denver. And I mean that literally, the Nuggets keep having foot injuries. The schedule is beating up the league's deepest team, which says a lot. | |||
 | 11 | Celtics · Trends | 18 |
| Celtics don't die, they multiply (wins). | |||
 | 12 | Trail Blazers · Trends | 11 |
| Magic 8 Ball says: Team outlook cloudy. Try again later. | |||
 | 13 | Magic · Trends | 20 |
| Beat up some scrubs to stabilize the ship. Big week starting with the Heat on Wednesday. | |||
 | 14 | Rockets · Trends | 12 |
| This team would be so much higher if it could just beat Minnesota. | |||
 | 15 | Jazz · Trends | 10 |
| Beat the Lakers, lose to a Knicks team playing without Melo or Amar'e Stoudemire. The Jazz should change their name to the Utah HEAD EXPLODES. | |||
 | 16 | Timberwolves · Trends | 16 |
| If the Timberwolves can just play the Rockets every game, they will have an excellent shot at the playoffs. | |||
 | 17 | Mavericks · Trends | 7 |
| Oh, hey, Dirk is playing better. Oh, hey, the rest of the team is not. Bottom fell out of Dallas in only a week's time. | |||
 | 18 | Grizzlies · Trends | 19 |
| The Grizzlies are infuriating to watch on a consistent basis until you remember their injury situation. But those injuries should not excuse their decision-making at times. | |||
 | 19 | Bucks · Trends | 17 |
| See, look what you did. You all screamed "Fear the Deer!" and then the Bucks ran back into the woods. | |||
 | 20 | Cavaliers · Trends | 15 |
| Does anyone else think it would be wise to avoid Kyrie Irving in a first-round playoff series? | |||
 | 21 | Knicks · Trends | 25 |
| ALL LINSANITY EVERYTHING. | |||
 | 22 | Suns · Trends | 23 |
| It's Tuesday, Feb. 7, and Steve Nash still deserves better. | |||
 | 23 | Kings · Trends | 27 |
| You really need to check out the Kings' under-sized scoring point guard. No, Isaiah Thomas. Who's this Jimmer guy you keep talking about? | |||
 | 24 | Nets · Trends | 22 |
| The Nets without their injuries are likely not as bad as their harshest critics suggest nor as good as their fans continue to claim. The question is how good would they be with Dwight Howard? | |||
 | 25 | Raptors · Trends | 21 |
| The effort is consistent. The production is not. | |||
 | 26 | Warriors · Trends | 24 |
| You have to wonder whether huge roster changes are coming from an aggressive management if this keeps up. | |||
 | 27 | Pistons · Trends | 29 |
| They're going streaking! They also lost to the Nets! But they're going streaking! | |||
 | 28 | Hornets · Trends | 28 |
| If you offered 90 percent of the Hornets to just go into cryogenic stasis for the rest of this year, as long as they still got paid, they'd likely take you up on it. | |||
 | 29 | Wizards · Trends | 26 |
| Still bad. Not as bad. But still bad. | |||
 | 30 | Bobcats · Trends | 30 |
| Their next four games are against playoff teams. Let the "record losing streak" watch begin. | |||
