A very disappointing weekend for the Knicks and why changes must be made

Leon, if you don't make the change, you know Dolan will.

Disappointing is not a strong enough word. Maybe add embarrassing and humiliating. After such an all-out beatdown in Cleveland, you would think the Knicks would at the very least come out with some fire, some determination to win. Instead, we got a 19-point first quarter. At least in Cleveland, they got 29 in the first quarter.

This weekend has proven that the Knicks are not ready. Very far from ready. I wonder if the front office has hit a wall and traded its way into a corner it can’t escape.

The Knicks sent two players to the All-Star game…as starters. That had not happened since 1973. But this is not the same. Not the same type of team and not the same type of coach. The 1973 champions were fighters…there seems to be no fight in this team…not when it comes to the top three teams in the league. With these teams there is no shame, no pride, no “give a damn.”

The Knicks went into the All-Star break winners and have come out of it the biggest chumps, being called “pretenders, not contenders.”

What happens now?

The New York Knicks as presently constructed, do not have what it takes. The coaching staff is as empty as the Knicks bench depth. Fans can be as upset as they want but they better understand this now. Tom Thibodeau is not the coach to take them to the promised land! His staff consists of who? What do they do when there is a crisis on the floor? Not a damn thing! No one wants to state the obvious…It’s not Isaiah Hartenstein, Julius Randle, or Donte DiVincenzo that’s missing…it’s Johnny Bryant. And he was not replaced. It was not a good feeling watching the Cavs players getting the guidance and attention that once belonged to Knicks players.

Now the front office should be prepared to move on from Thibs. They made their trades, got rid of their future trying to construct the team for Thibs to take all the way. It didn't work…cut your losses.

So far no good…

Thibs has had six years. Six years to develop a team “he likes.” We now have one of the best point guards in Jalen Brunson the Knicks have seen since Clyde Frazier, and that says a lot. A whole hell of a lot. Josh Hart, his “roommate” was added to the team and made it even better. He has essentially become the “heart” of the Knicks.

That should have been where it ended. That should have been the end of this team’s decimation. But they wanted more Nova and they got it. More family and they have it. More Nova (Mikal Bridges) bought more Phoenix Suns (Landry Shamet and Cameron Payne) and now there’s dancing and dancing and… Now we’re one big happy family. A dysfunctional family that can’t rise to the occasion when it’s so desperately needed.

Why Thibs must go…now if possible.

• Thibs can’t see the harm he’s doing to his team. He learned nothing from what he did to Derrick Rose. On Sunday, the Knicks (aside from the third quarter) couldn’t run with the Celtics. They’re winded by the half, come back (sometimes) in the third to run out of steam again in the fourth. Up by 20, 25 or 30, the starters are still playing. Why? Karl Anthony-Towns limped off the floor in the fourth quarter. You could see he was in a great deal of pain, but Thibs put him back in. “He said he was okay.” Wow. That should be all the front office needs to see for them to let him go. With OG (G stands for glass) out repeatedly, the Knicks need all the healthy players they can get.

• As “the” coach on defense, why doesn’t his team defend the perimeter? Why, aren’t the Knicks at least top-five in the league in defense? That’s in every game and has been that way the whole time he’s been coach. He can’t, or won’t make adjustments.
  When the Knicks were going off in the third quarter of Sunday’s game, and came to within three points of the lead, Joe Mazzulla called a timeout and made adjustments. Kenny Atkinson makes adjustments…even the Toronto Raptor’s coach makes adjustments, he defeated the Celtics.

• Finally, he can’t defeat the three teams he must defeat. Not only can’t he defeat them, he gets his ass kicked by these teams. Repeatedly. Over and over. The Knicks come out getting behind from the opening tip in the first quarter. The players on those teams are not that much better in talent. They are better developed. Better coached.

Miss Tee…

I’m done. I have no faith whatsoever in Tom Thibodeau. And I don’t want to see his tired win streak when he gets his behind in the hot seat. That's what he does. He must be in the fiery seat now because he has been using his bench and expanding his rotation has been his get-out-of-jail-free card.

This is not all on Thibs. Where is your pride guys? I’m speaking to everyone now except Josh Hart. He was the only one I saw speaking to the media after the game. Thibs’ stupid statement about Kat notwithstanding. The players have advocated for Thibs…hard. I don’t understand, then…what are you doing? Why aren’t you defending the perimeter…or anything? You must know your poor play is sending him to the unemployment line.

As happy as I was about the Bridges trade, now I don’t know what to make of it. Should the same team from last year - minus Hartenstein - have been given a second chance?

Should the Knicks change coaches at this time or wait until the offseason? Let me know what you think. I know this is a sensitive item for some fans. I only ask that you be respectful in your remarks.

Until next time…