NBA

Knicks fans have new focus for protest: ‘Let Phil do his job’

Hey, James Dolan: Hands off Phil. Let him do what you’re hiring him to do.

That is the revised message protesters want to send to Knicks ownership at a protest rally scheduled for Wednesday in front of Madison Square before the game with the Pacers. The protest by KF4L — “Knicks Fan For Life” — was planned before news of the decision to hire Phil Jackson as team president.

“We still plan to go through with it,” Anthony Samaroo, 33, a Chicago-based airlines employee and one of the protest organizers, said Monday in a phone interview. “The Phil Jackson hiring changes it a little bit because he’s been there. And that was one of our reasons for the protest. But now that he’s there, it kind of changes the direction of the focus. Now it’s aimed at James Dolan to let Phil Jackson do his job.”

Before Jackson’s hiring, to be made official Tuesday, the organizers — who hope for anywhere from 100-to-500 protestors — were upset with “Dolan’s failure to allow knowledgeable basketball people the autonomy/power to make basketball related decisions” and the overall atmosphere at the Garden, according to a statement released by the group.


The Knicks have hung up six straight victories, all by double figures. True, most of the opponents are members of the Bum of the Night Club, but still the Knicks have won those six games by a total of 107 points.

Too bad it’s mid-March, and not mid-January.

“We’re playing extremely well as a team. The way we’re scoring the ball and defensively, everything is kind of going hand in hand,” coach Mike Woodson said. “You’ve got to be able to defend and rebound and then take it the other way and score without turning it over. It’s nice to see.”

The winning streak will be severely tested Wednesday against the Eastern Conference-leading Pacers.

“We’re ready. It’s always a tough game playing against those guys. They’re a pretty good ball club but we’re ready,” said Amar’e Stoudemire. “Every time you play against top teams it’s always a challenge, always a test so it’s good to measure ourselves up against those guys.”


Tyson Chandler did not practice Monday, once again forced away from the team for personal reasons. But the center is expected to play Wednesday.


Carmelo Anthony said he has not sought advice about soon-to-be-boss Phil Jackson from the likes of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant who won titles under Jackson with the Bulls and Lakers.

“I haven’t talked to any of them,” Anthony said, obviously wanting to find out for himself.

Concerning Jackson introductory press conference Tuesday, Anthony said simply: “I’m pretty sure I’m going.”

Anthony reiterated Monday he has never spoken with Jackson — and so he also has no inside track on any moves pertaining to a coach or GM.

“I have no clue, man. I’m happy they got the Phil thing done because that was something that was just lingering for a long time. But as far as who’s gonna be the GM and coach. … Woody is the coach right now so I won’t even think about nothing else,” Anthony said.


Stoudemire drew a parallel between Jackson and one of his great rivals, Pat Riley, who has won titles in Miami as an executive after his legendary run a coach.

“I think it’s going to pan out well,” Stoudemire said of Jackson. “Another prime example of that is Pat Riley who was a great coach and went on to be a great front office exec so I think Phil is in that same category, he’s going to be great.”


While Jackson’s imminent arrival has increased enthusiasm around the Knicks, Anthony said he has tried to stay positive all season.

“Even when we were losing games, I always was saying, ‘We’re going to get through this, we’re going to get through this.’ Now we’re playing our best basketball. We want to continue doing that,” Anthony said.

“Whatever Phil has in play, his plan, I don’t think it’s going to be incorporated right now. It’s not something that’s going to change right now. As players, what we have to focus on is winning basketball games and trying to make this push. We let the front office handle what they have to handle. They made a move, they did it, they validated that. So we don’t want to deal with that no more. We want to focus on playing.”