Old School Friday - An Ode To Zeke

We all know that the Knicks are a mess. We know that Isiah is in the eye of that storm. We know his tenure as Knicks GM/Coach has largely been a failure. We also know that he will be fired at some point between now and 15 minutes from now15 minutes ago. But one thing we often forget is how GREAT of a player Zeke was. When he was on, he was unstoppable. Just ask the Blazers. Eighteen years later, Terry Porter is still finding pieces of shrapnel on his person because of Isiah's explosions. So, today we're pay some respect to a great player who couldn't transition into the front office.


1988 Playoffs - Bulls vs Pistons Game 4

After the Bulls cut the lead to five, Isiah goes apeshit and scores nine straight points, punctuated by a step back 3, to ice the game. BTW, I wanna file charges against Doug Collins' perm. That thing was an abomination.




1988 Playoffs - Bulls vs Pistons Game 3

Zeke buries a jumper from behind the glass, as Hubie and Verne wax poetic.




Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

Unfortunately, it wasn't all good for Zeke. In this clip he gets BEASTED by Will Smith. If the NBDL was around in '91, Will would've got a try out, no? lol




The Smiling Assassin

This motherfucker was cold on the basketball court.

Read more!

Apparently Zeke Has Never Seen A Bus He Couldn't Throw Someone Under

Da Realist:

This is SO INTERESTING. I don't know what to say about the guy...

Flashback interview from 94 part 1

* So you think his retiring and your hitting him were a coincidence?

"Laimbeer had been contemplating retirement, as you know, for the last four years. And every single year he had to be talked out of it. This is a kind of egotistical thing to say, but I think what happened was by me missing five, six games (with the broken hand), I was the only friend he had on that team. And he goes to practice for two weeks straight and I'm not there. Who's he talking to? He doesn't know any of these guys."

Flashback interview from 94 part 2

* You mean Joe Dumars?

"Yeah. They got to be friends, so Jordan got to get inside our inner workings and find out who was who and what made this guy tick. When you look back on it, you see the games that he played in the media, and how he moved that guy and moved that guy. . . . It was masterful."

* You're saying his friendship with Dumars was a strategy?

"In my opinion, yes."

Gangsta D:

Pretty good pieces. He's definitely a complicated man.

Da Realist:

He basically threw the whole team under the bus. You can't trust that guy at all.

Laimbeer and Dumars? i can't believe he threw them under the bus like that.

Waldini:

Laimbeer, Dumars, Dantley, Magic, Vinnie Johnson, Earl Cureton, the man just went for the gusto and put everybody's business out there. Normally, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt since Albom wrote this but his post playing track record basically provides more ammo in addition to this article.

Good read.

And Dantley still hasnt forgiven him.

Da Realist:

The thing is...Isiah made some sense when talking about the Dantley trade, but it's all a lie. Dantley wasn't traded due to his basketball shortcomings, he was traded because Isiah didn't like him. Isiah denied it for years.

And if you're Dantley, wouldn't it still piss you off? He was traded from a team destined to win championships. He was sent to Dallas and he was so hurt he didn't even show up for a few days. Then to watch them win the title?

I remember the next year someone started a movement to allow Dantley to receive a ring anyway but Stern nixed it. Read more!

"What, You Think They Call Me Mr. Glass?"

Gangsta D:

At this point, I kind of want Isiah to get fired, or resign, or...something. It's just brutal. Every night there's some different brand of drama. I loved Zeke as a player and supported him as a GM/Coach, but this is getting ridiculous. I just want him out of there so someone else can be the NBA's punching bag. Part of me thinks that Dolan secretly hates Isiah, and refuses to fire him just to make his life more miserable:)

Da Realist:

Remember when the Knicks mattered? How long has it been? 5 years???

Waldini:

Probably. But it seems like it's been longer than that :-)

I don't know what Isaiah has hanging over Dolan's head but it's must be pretty big if he hasn't been fired yet. I'm hearing Kiki Vandeweghe will be brought in to relieve him as team president. BUT he will still keep to coach. How is this possible? He needs to write a book and call it "You can't fire me". Based on his post playing career, he's done a fabulous job (except Indiana) at avoiding this.
Gangsta D:

Five years? Why don't you put another five on the end of that? Lol

The bad thing is people don't remember, or don't want to mention, the incredibly bad job that Scott Layden did as Isiah's predecessor. MODI breaks it down better than I could ever attempt to. Essentially, Layden was HORRRRRIBLE. Isiah has made some bad decisions, but he wasn't starting off with the '95 Mavs either, in terms of potential.

Waldini:

I'll give you that since that's fair. But look at his roster now. It isn't great but it's not chopped liver either

STARTING - Curry, Randolph, Richardson, Crawford, Marbury BENCH - Lee, Robinson, Jeffries, [Balkman]that guy from South Carolina

And considering the East is weak this year, they should be better than 20 games under .500. Maybe it's because individually the guys are above average but they don't know how to play within the team. Maybe their games don't fit Zeke's style of play. I'm questioning this because when they got Randolph last year, some people were saying NY is back, Zeke's a genius for shedding Steve Francis' contract etc. And now they are falling below expectations...again.

I'm curious, how come Detroit never gave him a job? I don't remember him having any beef with their management or the owner.
Gangsta D:

No doubt. The Knicks have massively underachieved this year. They were my sleeper playoff pick before the season. But Dolan said that the team needed to show massive improvement for Isiah to keep his job. They haven't, and they won't as the season progresses. So just fire him and get it over with, so we can all get on with our lives:)

Da Realist:

Curry is fat. Randolph is fat and a knucklehead. Richardson is too soft to reach his potential. Marbury makes bad decisions on and off the court. They ARE chopped liver! Read more!

You're Out Of Touch? Is The NBA Out Of Time?

Da Realist:

I can't explain to you how out of touch I am with NBA basketball this year. It's really sad. This is the first year in the last 6 that I did not order the NBA package. And i haven't really missed it. I may catch a game here or there, but for the most part I'll see the scores on sportscenter while i'm in the gym.

Gangsta D:

The old man returns once again:)

How can this year be the year you tune out? Forget about the east, the West is crazy this year. All the surprise teams, Chris Paul turning into isiah Thomas right before our eyes, the possible decline of the Spurs, the rise of Andrew Bynum(pre-knee subfluxation), the emergence of LaMarcus Aldridge. There's tons to get into this year. The NBA is fine, and if they would contract a couple teams, it would be off the hook.

Da Realist:

I'm ashamed of myself. 23 year old [Realist] would not recognize me. I...just...don't...feel the regular season anymore. I look back to 99 when I used to go to my boy's crib and watch those thursday night double headers until 1am. And then watch the after game show! Now...the reg season just doesn't mean that much to me anymore. I've lost my innocence.

Waldini:

You're not intrigued by the possibility of where Jason Kidd will land?!?! That's a joke.

The league really needs NY, Boston, Philly, Chicago, Detroit, and LA (Lakers not Clippers) to all be playing at least .500 ball or better to keep the fan's interest. Well at least 4 of them anyways. As great as the Hornets' or Blazers' story is this year is or how cool Chris Bosh's All Star campaign is, people don't care unless they play in the major markets.

Sucks b/c I like watching Chris Paul who;s about to become the first PG in nearly 15 years to average 20 pts, 10 asst for a season. And he prbly won't win MVP which is said considering a PG earlier this decade won it for averaging 15 and 12

Gangsta D:

Well 3 out of 6 ain't bad:)

Da Realist:

I don't know what it is because back in the day I used to watch all the games. But that may be because we didn't have that many options. Tues and Thurs on TBS and after January sundays on CBS. There are so many more options now. You almost need a Barkley vs Dominique to pull someone toward a regular season game. Duncan vs Lebron ain't doing it for me in January.

I do think the NBA has a problem on it's hands. If I don't care then you know the casual fan sure doesn't. This will never be considered, but maybe less is more. Cut a few of these teams to increase the talent level of the ones that are left. Who does chris paul play with? Who did isiah thomas play with? See the difference? Who does Kevin Durant play with? Who did Shawn Kemp play with? Just a thought.

Gangsta D:

Expansion kills everything. Did we really need to add two Canadian teams in the 90's? Did Charlotte really need another team after running the old one out? Contraction would be a great move, will never happen, but it would be a good idea. Imagine how deep teams would be. 2nd units would be more inclined to maintain the intensity of the 1st unit.

Da Realist:

Considering one of those Canadian teams moved to Memphis, the answer is no :-)

Contraction may boost the NBA's popularity back to early 90's level. In a few years, the NFL would pull out of the christmas day game altogether.

Great idea, but like you said, it will never happen. Money isn't generated on the quality of the teams or even fan interest because the ESPN cut the check already. Regardless of who watches or doesn't, the NBA is paid. The only thing ratings increase is ESPN's bottom line.

Read more!

Knicks Are This Close To The Playoffs!

Gangsta D:

Do you guys realize that the Knicks are 14-31, but only 5 games out of the playoffs? There will be a Western team with at least 45 wins that doesn't make the playoffs. How HORRRRRIBLE is that?

Waldini:

I guess that's why Dolan can't pull the trigger on firing 'Zeke. He's got them in contention and that is what he promised

Gangsta D:

Who'd ever think that 14-31 got you into contention? Although, to be fair, they have been playing better the last few weeks. Crazier things have happened. If he gets them to the playoffs, does Zeke get COY consideration? lol

Waldini:

While you laughing, he probably would get a few votes if he did. However in reality this team should not be struggling to begin with. It's not like the cupboard is bare there. You got two above average post men, decent 3s, an overrated but still sufficient PG and good energy off the bench.

Gangsta D:

He probably has too many good parts to work with. Doesn't seem like they ever have the right combo on the floor to consistently get it done.

I had high hopes for this season. I actually thought they'd be at .500, but when Steph was suspended and let back on the team, they just went into a nosedive. Now that he's not playing, they are playing better, just not consistently better.

Would you be afraid of them in a series? If Jamal Crawford gets hot, he's nasty. Z-Bo is 20/10, Eddie Curry is good enough to be 20/10, Nate Dogg might dunk on you and then try to fight you. It would be interesting, to say the least, to see them in the playoffs. Read more!