MY ERA of hedging is ended; I wish to state categorically that the Knicks are better than their 2-2 exhibition record indicates.
These games may not count in the standings, but they certainly matter in terms of Mike D’Antoni’s table being set correctly and his meals on wheels being properly served and distributed.
Firm and fair, D’Antoni and Donnie Walsh already have derived a more positive operational and attitudinal response from the team’s leftover disses than Isiah Thomas and Larry Brown generated in three previous full courses.
Nonexistent in this millennium, common sense is back in force.
The adversarial curtain that poisoned coverage by Knicks correspondents and polluted the Garden ambiance since James Dolan initially flexed his foolishness has been razed. Following last week’s loss to the 76ers, a Philadelphia official stood in the hallway separating the two locker rooms and declared in disbelief, “This is the first time in years I remember such a relaxed atmosphere back here. There’s always been so much tension and hostility. It’s great to see things finally have changed for the better.”
Prior to that night, the last time I got the slightest urge to visit the Garden was the Knicks’ victory Nov. 7, 2007 versus Denver. Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford each scored in the 20s. Postcards of the playoffs were on sale by the time fans hit the street.
The Knicks then lost to Orlando and Miami (minus Dwyane Wade) and got on a charter to Phoenix 2-3. Before touch down their season was a shambles.
During the fatal flight, Marbury found out from Eddy Curry they’d been demoted to irregulars. Stupidly, Thomas notified the youngster ahead of the veteran, thereby compounding the insult. A vicious confrontation resulted at some point. Thomas told Marbury to go home if he didn’t like it. His reaction remains unfathomable. Though Marbury rejoined the Knicks for their next game in L.A., damage to team spirit and solidarity became irreparable when Thomas started the deserter against the Clippers despite unambiguous sentiment from teammates he warranted a beating, er, benching.
The Knicks returned to New York 2-7. Other than the NFL, it was the earliest end to a season in professional sports history. We’ll probably have to wait at least until Thomas’ $7 million per agreement expires in three years to discover Dolan’s input regarding Marbury’s downgrading. In any event, like many season-ticket holders, I had better places to be than a deflowered Garden consumed by incurable disharmony and dealing with a publicity department putz under orders to make our job as problematic as possible.
As promised upon being contracted for three years at $5M per, Walsh has radically reversed that antagonist approach: Phone calls are returned. Reasonable requests and sane questions are answered candidly, especially by D’Antoni; I’ve yet to hear him preface a remark with “off the record.” Players are accessible. Interviews are permitted without the compromising presence of the publicity putz wielding a recorder. And practices are open to scrutiny while there’s still plenty to be learned.
Forget about the insecure Thomas and the paranoid Brown, Red Holzman would be aghast at the media-friendly environment Walsh has created and D’Antoni advances. During the Knicks’ championship years and afterward, when Holzman returned to the sidelines in the late ’70s after a brief intermission, us beat writers considered ourselves blessed to sniff 10 minutes in the gym of an all-but-concluded rehearsal.
(At the risk of being evenhanded, Brown used to allow the media to attend his team’s entire workout. That custom abruptly changed the day someone wondered why Allen Iverson wasn’t at practice, much less practicing.)
Not only does D’Antoni allow the nefarious media to observe an hour or more of team preparation, but, at their conclusion, he’s apt to initiate a conversation with his newest favorite pen pals. And he almost always says things worth jotting down, things that most people in his command position would be hesitant to share knowing they’ll be taken out of context, paraphrased and misquoted. For example, during one Saratoga training camp discussion D’Antoni covered the following semi-controversial territory.
Jamal Crawford: When I mentioned he looked passive when playing in a lineup with three guards, D’Antoni remarked, “He took the night off. The other two guards (Marbury and Chris Duhon) really went after it, but Jamal put it on cruise control. Either that or he felt ignored. He can’t just pick his spots. He needs to assert himself, be assertive. We need his scoring. I plan to talk to him to find out what happened.”
Jared Jeffries: “The previous regime made a mistake playing him at small forward. You don’t want him outside trying to hit shots he can’t make consistently or trying to create off the dribble 18 feet from the basket. He doesn’t have the upper body strength to muscle fives but he’s a center and maybe an occasional four.”
Quentin Richardson and Marbury: “I hate it when guys taunt each other like they did. It’s OK to have a little fun at the other guys’ expense after you score on him, but then you got to let it go and get on with the game. It is a game, after all. They’re not the only guys on the team who take it too far.”
D’Antoni has a remedy for Knicks addicted to bouncing the ball. New rule: Players must to shoot or pass in three dribbles or fewer. “If that doesn’t work I’ll cut it to two dribbles.”
peter.vecsey@nypost.