Better Get Maaco...

ESPN's John Hollinger is reporting that Renaldo Balkman is headed to the Nuggets for a future second-rounder and some spare parts that will get cut before they ever see the inside of the Knicks' practice facility...

Two observations:

1) While I'm sad to see Renaldo go, let's not go crazy over this. He's a terrible fit for a D'Antoni team... can't shoot from outside of 5" or so, and was going to be buried on a Knick team that is just lousy with threes and swingmen.

2) Let's also not make Renaldo into the second coming of Michael Cooper. Was he the Knicks' best defender for the last couple of years? Yes, probably. But only because he was the only guy on the team (outside of David Lee) who consistently worked hard on both ends of the floor. "Best defender on the Knicks" is sort of like "least annoying Mr. Bean movie" -- a distinction that ultimately proves little.

On the other hand, we're disappointed that Balkman will apparently need to update this sweet ride:

D'Antoni, Parcells, Showalter and Pedro

For the record, I love the Mike D'Antoni hire.

Seems to me that the biggest objection has been something along these lines:

But his fast-paced system won't work with Stephon and Curry and Randolph!

This is true. It's also irrelevant. No offensive system... not Tex Winters' triangle, not John Calipari's dribble-drive, not coach Norman Dale's "four passes before a shot" would be successful with this mismatched mess of a roster.

(Incidentally, Jimmy Chitwood would be a tremendous D'Antoni player.)

When you're as bad as the Knicks, and an "Extreme Makeover" is coming... you don't hire the coach to match the roster you have. You hire a coach for the roster you're planning.

It also seems worth noting that -- as several other writers have pointed out -- a good portion of the Knick roster is actually very well suited to an up-tempo game, including:

• Jamal Crawford
• David Lee
• Renaldo Balkman
• Nate Robinson
• Jared Jeffries
• Wilson Chandler

Well look at that... that's actually the bulk of the rotation.

But there's another reason I love the hire. Even if D'Antoni isn't the coach to get the Knicks over the top, he instantly brings credibility that had none.

It's worked before.

• In 1997, the New York Jets, coming off a 4-28 run with Rich Kotite leading the team, hired Bill Parcells away from the Patriots. Parcells led the Jets to a 9-7 record in year one and the AFC Championship Game in year two.
• In 1992, the Yankees replaced the hopelessly overmatched Stump Merrill with Buck Showalter. Showalter -- along with a number of key players like Paul O'Neill -- really changed the team's culture. Showalter was let go after a first-round loss in the '95 playoffs, but had set the groundwork for Joe Torre's run of four World Series titles.
• In 2004, the New York Mets signed Pedro Martinez away from the Red Sox. The contract was panned by many -- though Martinez was an elite pitcher, the length of the deal (4 years, $53 million) and his slight build all but guaranteed that the Mets would be overpaying in the later years... but the addition of one of the game's best pitchers proved that the Mets were serious about contending, and may have led to later free agent signings like Carlos Beltran.

Does Mark Jackson give the Knicks instant credibility? Sorry, but no. Everybody thinks Jackson will be a great coach... and I'm inclined to agree. But what are they basing that on, really? He's never coached at any level. He was an excellent point guard...

But Isiah Thomas was better.

Maybe D'Antoni won't work out. Maybe in three years, after a heartbreaking loss in the second round of the playoffs, the Knicks -- led by LeBron James or Chris Bosh -- will need to make a change and bring in someone with a stronger defensive resume.

After the Isiah Thomas years, that's a good problem to have.

Ladies and Gentlemen.... the next general manager of the New York Knicks

I enjoy Kenny Smith as much as anyone... but can someone explain to me why he's even being considered for the Knick GM job?

The Donnie Walsh Bait & Switch

The New York Daily News has reporters following Donnie Walsh around like pararazzi chasing a panty-less Britney Spears.

He's considering leaving the Pacers, they say... He doesn't like sharing responsibility with Larry Bird... Bird doesn't think the power-sharing arrangement in Indiana is working either.

Yadda yadda yadda.

And today, via ESPN.com, we have the kicker. Bird isn't sure he'll be back as Pacers president next season.

Doesn't this all seem a bit strange?

If Walsh is leaving, why would Bird be leaving too? Unless all this talk with the Knicks is simply Walsh's way of saying "you can have Larry Legend... or you can have me. Oh, and FYI... when I was running the show, we were actually pretty good."

Like maybe... just maybe... ol' Donnie Walsh is using an extended flirtation with Jim Dolan to drive out a rival and win back control of the Pacers.

Let's Get One Thing Straight...

Quick note to Bill Simmons, and the guys at Str8Balling, and anyone else making suggestions:

Trading David Lee is not an option.

Trading David Lee is the last thing the Knicks should do.

David Lee is just about the only thing that's right with the Knicks currently...

(I say "just about..." because the jury is out on Wilson Chandler, but I'm encouraged.)

If I was running the team -- and it seems I have a better chance than Isiah Thomas of making the decisions for next season -- here's what I'd do: Tear this sucker down and start over.

1. Get rid of either Zach Randolph or Eddy Curry. I don't care if you have to take pennies on the dollar -- one of them has to go. The other can start alongside Lee in the frontcourt. Moving both would be ideal, but hey, I'm a realist.
2. Get rid of Jamal Crawford. He could help a contender as a scoring sixth man -- think Ben Gordon, back when the Bulls were considered a big man away from title contention. But as a lead player, his horrifying defense and decision-making hurts more than it helps.
3. Fill these needs in the offseason -- either via the draft, trade or free agency: a point guard, a shooting wing, and a shot blocker.
   
4. Quentin Richardson and Jared Jeffries should have no place in next year's plans. Same goes, obviously, for Stephon Marbury.

Much will depend on the lottery -- there are some excellent point guard options at the top of the draft, assuming Derrick Rose and Jerryd Bayless come out.

Did Anyone Else See That?

I could swear I just saw the New York Knicks block two shots...

On one possession.

One of them by Eddy Curry.

Did anyone else see that? Or am I experiencing some sort of fever dream?

That's it. I must have malaria.

Malaria. In New York. In March. That must be it. That's far more plausible than the Knicks actually playing some defense.

Memo to Zach Randolph...

You aren't going to get traded playing like this.

Thanks for Nothing, Darby Conley

I read the funny papers as a means of escape... nothing harshes my morning caffeine buzz like a dose of reality in my comics.

This morning's buzzkill came from Darby Conley's strip Get Fuzzy. The panel in this post is the punchline... here's the entire strip.

Two observations about this:

1) Seriously, dude... if I wanted a harsh dose of reality on my comics page, I'd read Doonesbury. (For my money, nothing says "funny papers" like the amputee veteran visiting the wounded at Walter Reade.)

2) Is this the absolute low point for a sports franchise? Open mockery in pop culture? I mean, when a team is so well known for badness that it becomes useful for a punch line in a comic... well, that's pretty bad. Even worse than an appearance in Letterman's Top 10.

On the other hand, maybe ol' Satchel (the dog) has a point here. Why would Bigfoot want to play for the Knicks? They already have a big, slow-moving, rarely-seen phantom on the roster: Jerome James.

(In all seriousness... Get Fuzzy is one of the few consistently funny newspaper strips published these days... and since I stole art for this post, I feel I should give 'em an appropriate callout like this...)

A New Cottage Industry

I have finally figured out James Dolan's master plan.

He's not keeping Isiah Thomas as coach out of stubbornness. Or incompetence.

No, he's doing it as a way of jump-starting New York's garment industry.

The latest "Fire Isiah" T-shirt making the rounds
-- hand-made and hand-printed by a graphic artist named Ivan Cash -- is by far the best. It's also the version that has generated the most media attention, mostly due to the ham-handed efforts of Madison Square Garden security officers and the NYPD on patrol outside the World's Most Mis-Managed Arena.

Cash's shirt sells for $20, and he accepts PayPal.

This One's for Josie...

My grandmother was an enormous Yankee fan... but I don't think she ever saw a late-game comeback. Whenever the Yanks fell behind, she'd turn off the game in disgust.

She left most broadcasts before Phil Rizzuto made his nightly dash for the George Washington Bridge.

I'm glad I don't take after her in that regard -- with seven minutes left in the game, the Knicks are down eight.

(Make that ten... Nowitzki to Stackhouse for a layup.)

Edit: I don't know what's gotten into Zach Randolph. He was awful in both Philly games this weekend and in the first half of this game... but he's got 19 in the second half tonight.

Edit: Randolph's at 21. The Knicks might have a chance if they could get a freakin' stop... but of course, they can't stop anyone.

Crawford for three, Dampier for a layup. Knicks down nine. The Garden crowd is chanting De-FENCE... as if Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason are playing.

Jamal Crawford drives me crazier than any Knick since Mase-in-the-face. For every beautiful crossover or sweet entry pass, he'll make three bonehead plays. (I loved Mason, but he was legendary for attempting shots against much taller players that had no hope of ending in anything but a big swat.)

Josh Howard just clocked Eddy Curry in the mouth on the way to a hoop -- no offensive foul called, and Curry is bleeding like he was in a hockey fight. Knicks down 11 with under three minutes left... and Q-Rich air-balls a three.

Edit: Crawford misses again. Randolph misses again. Knicks down 14 with 1:11 left.

All this aborted comeback proves is that this team can be competitive when they actually play like they care. And that might be the biggest criticism of all.

Fire Isiah (Clap-Clap ClapClapClap)

A stat from Mike Breen on the MSG Network -- tonight's game marks the eighth time in twenty games this season that the Knicks have trailed by at least 20 points.

It's sort of entertaining listening to Breen and analyst Kenny Smith talk about how the players, and not Thomas, are to blame for the appalling lack of effort on display at the Garden tonight.

Um, Ken? Who signed all these guys?

Who asked his players how he should respond to Stephon Marbury's unscheduled vacation, then ignored their response and gave Marbury starter minutes?

Can we really blame the players for this?

(Also entertaining... let's consider how different Smith's take on the situation would be if he was sitting next to Sir Charles in the TNT Studio and not on press row at the Garden under the watchful eye of Jim Dolan?)

The Last Reason Not to Fire Isiah...

There's a theory that's been circulated recently that the only thing keeping Hawks general manager Billy Knight from getting the axe is the ongoing legal battle between Atlanta management and former partner Steve Belkin.

Atlanta can't fire Knight, the theory goes, because doing so would be an open admission that Knight hasn't done a good job -- and Knight's personnel moves (specifically, the acquisition of Joe Johnson from Phoenix) are one of the reasons Belkin sued in the first place.

Hmm... so a pending lawsuit can keep a guy from getting fired. That should be really encouraging for Knick fans, given the news that Madison Square Garden has settled the sexual harassment case brought by former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders.

Follow my logic:

• Browne Sanders won at trial and was awarded $11.6 million dollars
• MSG appealed the case
• If MSG had fired Thomas with the appeal pending, Browne Sanders' attorneys could have argued that the sexual harassment accusations were a reason for his removal -- that Cablevision, in firing Thomas, was essentially admitting they were in the wrong

(Not that that's the only reason Thomas should be fired... his list of firing offenses is long and extensive. For example, as I write this post, Isiah has Eddy Curry covering Dirk Nowitzki -- with predictable -- 10 points on 6-of-7 shooting in six minutes -- results. Is there another coach in America, at the high school level or higher, who doesn't know that Curry can't hang with the Diggler?)

Is it possible that this settlement will help clear the way for Jim Dolan to finally make the move we've all been expecting?

Memo to the Sports Guy

The hypocrisy of sportswriters knows no bounds -- this is not news.

• It was evident when columnists nationwide rushed to defend the authors of Game of Shadows, despite the fact that they'd published a book based on what was, essentially, stolen information.
• It is evident every time writers file columns complaining about how they are treated by specific players and coaches... as if the fans who pay through the nose for seats up in the rafters are going to make rooting decisions based on how difficult a job might be for the guy who gets paid to watch from the press box.
• And it is evident when a paper like the New York Daily News -- employer of Mike Lupica, who never misses an opportunity to complain about the Yankees' payroll -- calls general Brian Cashman a cheapskate on the back page because he doesn't want to give Johan Santana the biggest contract ever handed to a pitcher.

But Bill Simmons, writing in ESPN the Magazine, just trumped 'em all.

You've probably read Simmons. He's made an entire career as the voice of the long-suffering Boston sports fan -- first for AOL, and more recently and prominently as the lead voice on ESPN.com's "Page 2." He's witty, if repetitive, and he certainly knows his NBA. But he's hit a new low with today's column, saying that Knicks fans have no right to complain about the current state of their once-proud franchise.

Really, Bill?

He gives two reasons... which essentially amount to, "the Knicks aren't THAT bad" and "fans in other cities/of other franchises have it far worse."

Let's take those in order:

In fact, Bill, the Knicks are that bad. In the space of ten years they've gone from perennial contender to league laughingstock, with a management team that alternates between "incompetent" and "borderline criminal." And there's no light at the end of this particular tunnel. Do fans in other NBA cities have it as bad? Possibly. Maybe Sonics fans have it worse, if only due to the possibility that they could lose the team... but then, most Knicks fans feel like this team is already lost.

The "other franchises have it worse" is actually the more appalling argument. Regular Simmons readers will, no doubt, be surprised that he referenced Bill freakin' Buckner here. This is Simmons' way of claiming a monopoly and a patent on sports fan suffering... even though his Patriots are undefeated, his Red Sox are World Champions, and his Celtics look dominant.

Memo to the Sports Guy: You really should start following the Bruins again. Because you clearly have it too good with the Sox/Celts/Pats right now. It's making you cocky. And unreadable.

Give and Go: Even yet still more Stephon

On the off chance that you're not completely burned out on idle Stephon Marbury speculation... in this week's Give and Go column on RotoWire (subscription required), managing editor Chris Liss and I discuss whether or not the Knicks are better off without him.

Also on the table: which of the other slow starters -- most notably, the Bulls -- have what it takes to get things together? And how good are the New Orleans Hornets?

Marbury to Drop Dime?

Stephon Marbury has dished out 6,317 assists in his thirteen-and-change NBA seasons. But it sounds like the next dime he drops could prove to be the most significant.

For those who have been living under a rock for the last 24 hours and/or those who get all their sports news from this blog (bless your little hearts) I'll re-set the scene:

At some point during the Knicks' charter flight to Phoenix, Isiah Thomas revealed that Marbury and Eddy Curry would be pulled from the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Suns.

(It's unclear what Zeke's motivation was... he might have been attempting to light a fire under his team by benching two of the biggest names he's acquired for the Knicks. Or he might have been playing matchups, thinking that Mardy Collins and David Lee would have a better chance of slowing Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. But that's a basketball discussion, and basketball has remarkably little to do with what's going on with the New York Knicks.)

Marbury was... nonplussed by the news, and reportedly responded by saying:

"Isiah has to start me. I've got so much (stuff) on Isiah and he knows it. He thinks he can (get) me. But I'll (get) him first. You have no idea what I know."

Read the whole sordid tale in today's New York Daily News.

Now, here's where the story gets interesting... I'm certainly not a Madison Square Garden insider, but I have an idea what Steph might know. After all:

• Marbury was a defense witness in the sexual harassment suit filed by Anucha Browne Sanders against Isiah Thomas and Madison Square Garden
• He testified in open court to having sex in a car with a Knicks intern. The intern also testified that the sex was consensual... though it is worth noting that she also received a nice promotion from the MSG organization
  
• Several of Marbury's family members also work at The Garden and played roles in the Browne Sanders trial

In other words, Steph is in a position to know about -- and to air out -- a lot of really filthy laundry relating to a case that has already cost Jimmy Dolan $11 million bucks. He almost certainly has information that could be damaging to Dolan's pending appeal of that award -- and might even know that Thomas or Dolan or others weren't 100% forthcoming at the trial.

Could we be looking at perjury charges on top of the lawsuit?

Would that be the final straw that would inspire David Stern to intervene, as he did with the Cavaliers under Ted Stepien's ownership?

But wait, there's more.

Marbury was also reportedly responsible for running several prominent members of the Knick organization -- from Larry Brown to Keith Van Horn to Steve Francis -- out of town. Though revelations of that nature probably wouldn't pack the same legal punch, they probably aren't the sorts of details that Dolan and Thomas would prefer to see in Mike Lupica's column.

Conspiracy theorists take note... maybe this is the reason Thomas has repeatedly said Marbury will be welcomed back if and when he returns to the team. Maybe he can't afford not to.

And maybe, just maybe, the next dime Marbury drops will be the one that brings down the entire Knick organization.

Missed it by that much...

OK... so my assessment of Knicks/Nuggets couldn't have been much farther off. That's all right. I'll take the win and live with the embarrassment of having my shortcomings displayed all over teh interwebz.

Mea culpas aside... how did the Knicks beat the Nuggets?

1. Renaldo Balkman is improving with every game. In the season opener, after missing most of the preseason with an ankle injury, Balkman racked up three fouls (all on LeBron James) in about two minutes and was promptly yanked. Against the Nuggets on Tuesday night, Balkman played nearly 28 minutes, scored 11 points and blocked three shots. More importantly, his hounding defense on Carmelo Anthony and Linas Kleiza really keyed the fourth-quarter comeback.
2. Zach Randolph (22 points, 17 boards) is a beast.
3. Randolph seems to be rubbing off on Eddy Curry (24 points, eight boards -- five boards and one block in the fourth quarter alone)
4. Denver played with a very short rotation. The back court is running on empty, with Chucky Atkins, Anthony Carter and Mike Wilks all sidelined. Kenyon Martin was held out of Tuesday's game so he'd be available for Wednesday's against the Celtics -- he isn't playing back-to-backs as a precaution after all his knee problems. Denver coach George Karl used only eight players, and one of those -- Yakhouba Diawara -- only played nine minutes. (The Knicks also played an eight-man rotation, with Balkman, David Lee and Nate Robinson as the only subs used, and Robinson used sparingly. But the Knicks as a team are far healthier than Denver.)
   
5. By the middle of the fourth quarter, it seemed, the Nuggets were really exhausted. Maybe the short rotation was a factor. Maybe it was exhaustion from trying to deal with the big bodies of Randolph and Curry. Either way, as a team they really seemed a step slower than New York when the game was being decided -- as evidenced by Randolph's key board of a missed free throw, and a couple of very soft fouls by Marcus Camby.
   

Houston, Last Stop?

A couple of weeks ago, over on the NBA.com fantasy blogs, I questioned Allan Houston's judgement for even considering a comeback attempt with the Knicks.

I'm all for a comeback -- hell, the NBA could use as many Allan Houstons as possible. But the Knicks, aside from nostalgia and "ease of commute" from his home in Connecticut, were perhaps the worst possible destination. New York already had more than the max number of players under contract; in order for Houston to make the team, Isiah Thomas would have needed to cut at least two players. Meanwhile, there are several potential contenders who could use a spot-up shooter of Houston's skill. Why play for a potential cellar-dweller when he could chase a ring with the Cavs or Heat?

Apparently he's come around to my way of thinking -- Houston has left the Knicks, but hasn't ruled out one last shot at playing in the NBA. I'd like to see him land in Miami, in the Jason Kapono memorial "I'm going to stand still and wait for Shaq to pass out of a double-team" role.

Not a Banner Day...

Today's stories should be about the new-look Celtics, who pasted New York by 40.

Or about Kobe Bryant -- because everyone loves a good trade rumor.

Instead, we get a bunch of reminders that several NBA players, coaches and organizations seem to have problems treating women properly.

• Isiah Thomas and the Knicks were back in the news, asking a judge to reduce the $11.6 million in damages awarded to Anucha Browne Sanders.
• Jason Kidd was accused of groping a woman at a nightclub earlier this month.
• And Justin Williams of the Kings is under investigation for sexual assault.

One has to wonder when David Stern will get all "Roger Goodell" on us and start putting his foot down. When he was concerned that players looked to sloppy arriving for games, he insisted on a dress code. What does he do when players -- and coaches, and owners -- act like they're getting relationship advice from a bunch of drunken frat boys?

Take a cue from the NFL, Mr. Stern. The NBA needs to have a zero tolerance policy towards the sort of behavior that reinforces every negative stereotype about athletes. A significant fine directed at Thomas, his boss Jim Dolan and the entire Knick organization would be a step in the right direction.

Knicks vs. Nuggets: The Response

Now THERE's the David Stern we all know and love.

I was getting a little concerned that Mr. Stern was going soft when he backed down on the whole "synthetic ball" fiasco. I mean -- he's David freakin' Stern -- since when does a little unfair labor practices complaint bother David Stern?

Mr. Stern was back on point today, handing out suspensions like they were those small-and-unsatisfying candy canes you get from Santa's elves at the mall...

• Carmelo Anthony: 15 games
• Nate Robinson: 10 games
• J. R. Smith: 10 games
• Mardy Collins: 6 games
• Jared Jeffries: 4 games
• Nene: 1 game
• Jerome James: 1 game

If you're wondering how these penalties compare with recent NBA history, ESPN.com has a recap of some of the NBA's greatest fights. This thing reads like a commercial for one of those "Pride Fighting" pay-per-view events -- but it's hard to imagine why the epic Knicks/Heat brawl in the '98 playoffs doesn't merit its own bullet point. I mean, c'mon -- how often do you see Jeff VanGundy clinging to Alonzo Mourning's leg like a fireman sliding down a pole?

Not often enough.

But enough of ancient history.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Probably. Everyone knew that 'Melo was going to get hit hardest... partially because he threw gasoline on the fire by taking a swing at Collins after the initial flare-up had died out... and partially because he's by far the biggest-name player involved, and David Stern don't play dat. I'm actually sort of surprised that Robinson didn't get the same penalty as Anthony. Little Nate's role in fanning the flames was pretty obvious, and he's been anything but repentant.

The sentences for Smith and Jeffries seem about right, and Nene and James got the automatic one-game rip for leaving the bench. (It's hard to fault James... he doesn't get to leave the bench that often these days.)

Conspicuous by his absence: Isiah Thomas. And y'know what? I'm glad.

This is probably the first and last time I'll defended Isiah in this space... but c'mon. The basketball world spent 24 hours foaming at the mouth over the possibility that (gasp) Thomas told Carmelo Anthony not to go into the paint before the fight broke out. The most shrill of the voices, the Daily News' Mike Lupica, says Thomas was threatening Anthony.

And I say: so what if he was?

Has the NBA really reached the point where a hard foul against a guy attempting a showy dunk in extended garbage-time (please pronounce that with the French inflection... gar-BAHGE... as Marv Albert would have) merits this amount of outcry?

George Karl was running up the score. There's no other explanation for the fact that four starters (Anthony, Smith, Marcus Camby and Andre Miller) and a key rotation player (Eduardo Najera) were still in the game with Denver up by 19 and a minute left. Why? Because he doesn't like Isiah Thomas. He wanted to embarrass the Knicks, the way the Knicks embarrassed his buddy Larry Brown.

Nice? No. Good sportsmanship? Hardly. But part of the game.

Thomas apparently responded by telling his team that the old "no layup rule" was in effect; that any Nugget who attempted to dunk should get a hard foul.

Nice? No. Good sportsmanship? Hardly. But part of the game.

Did Collins hit Smith too hard? Yes. Was Collins in the game specifically to foul someone? Odds of that seem pretty good... considering it was his second flagrant foul in two games. Could Collins have committed a hard foul in a less egregious manner? Absolutely. He could have at least pretended to go for the block.

That said... c'mon. Stop the whining. Home run hitters get fastballs in on the hands. Quarterbacks absorb enormous hits in the guise of "blocking" during interception returns. And guys who attempt NBA Jam-style dunks in garbage time get fouled. Blame punk behavior from Nate Robinson and Carmelo Anthony. Don't blame Isiah.

Knicks vs. Nuggets: Lightweight Title Bout

Note to 'Melo... you'd seem much tougher if you didn't sprint the length of the court backwards after landing a sucker-punch on a guy being held back by his coach.

There's nothing that unravels an NBA players' carefully-cultivated tough-guy image faster than his performance in an actual fight, huh? I mean, Carmelo Anthony tries so hard to look "street," obscuring his baby-face with the corn-rows and tattoos and such... but when the time comes for him to actually throw hands, he acts like a kid playing "ring and run" at the neighborhood cat-lady's doorbell.

Today's NBA. Gotta love it.

As for the fight itself... I don't doubt the reports that Isiah Thomas "ordered the hit" on J. R. Smith. At the very least, I'm sure Isiah declared that the Charles Oakley Memorial 'No Layup Rule' would be in effect. It's nice to see Knick history honored by the new regime at least.

And why did George Karl have four of five starters still playing with his team up 19 and one minute left? That's really not hard to figure... Karl is a caporegime in Dean Smith's Carolina mafia. He's already spoken out about how shabbily he thinks the Knicks treated consigliere Larry Brown. Think he had Anthony and Marcus Camby and J. R. Smith in the game specifically to make the Knicks look bad?

I do.

On the plus side, it seems like Isiah has finally found a way to keep Garden crowds from leaving before the final buzzer.