LATEST DISGRACE MEANS LAST PLACE
AND DOLAN DEFENDS COACH CATASTROPHE AFTER HIDEOUS LOSS!
By MARC BERMAN
December 9, 2007 -- After thunderous boos and several more "Fire Isiah" chants rang in owner James Dolan's ears last night at the Garden, the Knick owner reassured coach Isiah Thomas during a 20-minute postgame meeting that his job is safe, a high-ranking team official told The Post last night.
The Knicks disgraced the Garden floor with their 105-77 slopfest loss to the anemic Sixers to fall into the Atlantic Division basement, but the despicable 28-point loss to the Sixers won't cost Teflon Thomas his job any time soon.
Dolan, making his first appearance after missing three straight home games, told Thomas not to worry about his job, according to the official. Garden president Steve Mills also attended the postgame meeting.
Dolan told Thomas he still has as much confidence in him as he did with Ranger GM Glen Sather during that club's seven-year playoff drought.
Dolan's private vote of confidence comes after horrifying back-to-back losses to the Sixers that rival the humiliation of The Boston Massacre.
Dolan is not being swayed by the chants, the official said. Dolan still hasn't spoken to the media since last March, when he gave Thomas a four-year contract extension.
The Knicks turned over the ball 18 times in the loss. They are 6-13, with the second-worst record in the East.
Dolan was back in his regular baseline seat by the Knicks' bench but was noticeably late returning to his seat for the second half while the Sixers were ringing up the rout.
"Losing to Philly back to back, with the owner sitting right there," said Eddy Curry, "it's been a while since I felt like this."
Incredibly, none of the five starters hit double figures. Curry, Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury shared honors as top-scoring starters with 6 points each. Disgusting. Crawford had more turnovers (seven) than points.
Zach Randolph, yanked two minutes into the third quarter, never returned and looked to be fuming as he walked to the bench.
Randolph and Curry, their foundation, combined for six shots and eight points, both players completing alarming back-to-back showings on both ends of the court.
Randolph scored two points and had just two rebounds in 14 awful minutes, and Curry again was outplayed by Sixers center Samuel Dalembert and does not appear to be hustling back on defense.
With their franchise Center, Curry, regressing by the day, Dolan is showing remarkable patience in not reevaluating matters. If a firing is not in order, a trade is.
The organization appeared to try to drown out the first few "Fire Isiah" chants in the third quarter by playing drumbeats over the P.A. during possessions. During timeouts, music blared louder than usual to drown out the boos.
Teflon Thomas looked concerned on the sidelines, with pursed lips, but definitely seemed more upbeat in his postgame press conference after learning he is safe.
Sixer GM Billy King was fired earlier this week and the Knicks look worse off the Sixers. But Thomas has his owner still believing, which is unbelievable.
Marbury, in his first home game since his father died Sunday, covered his head completely in a towel on the bench after a 1-of-5, six-point outing and looked like he was ready to cry. He declined to speak afterward.
Thomas said no starting-lineup changes will occur, saying he needs to build up their shattered psyche.
"Players hear so much negativity, I think it's important for me and the coaching staff to give them some positive words," Thomas said.
"To go in and beat the players and kick them, that's not what coaching is all about now. It's about getting their confidence back, getting them feeling good about themselves."
The Sixers' players were jumping up and down on the bench, laughing, hugging as the carnage continued with rookie Jason Smith's early fourth-quarter dunk off a behind-the-pass feed. With 9:19 left, the loudest "Fire Isiah" chant came pouring out of the stands.
The frustration was not just in the stands. In the third quarter, David Lee committed a dangerous flagrant foul on Louis Williams, bashing him with a forearm to the chest and face while Williams was in midair.
In the final minutes, Nate Robinson was flagged with a technical foul for grabbing Smith's jersey and trying to go at him.
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Marbury was not booed during intros for the first time since the West Coast controversy. A moment of silence was held for the late Donald Marbury, Stephon's dad. ... Dolan missed the funeral because of a board meeting but spoke to Marbury before the service to offer him condolences.
