Coming into the NBA season, my plan was to wait five game before writing any material regarding the play of the New York Knicks. This is because during the Zeke regime in NY, I have experienced a myriad of dizzying highs and lows which have often occured in a span of just a few days. Thus, I am conditioned not to shell out praise prematurely and to take every win with a grain of salt because disaster is always lurking with this team... whether it be at an afterhours HORSE game or in the backseat of a truck.  

Watching the Knicks pull off a classic win against the Denver Nuggets at a MSG last Tuesday, I was compelled to jump on the computer and bang out a gushy post applauding all the wonderful things I had just seen. Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph effectively coexisting on the court. Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury looking like a two-headed floor general, showing a great ability to score as well as make the right pass. The knicks young, versatile bench players - D Lee, Nate and Balkman - providing a little bit of everything be it defensive grit, scoring or rebounding when the team needed it most. Balkman's sick "Hustle Harder" tattoo which is spread out on the back of his calves. Lastly and most importantly in my mind, Isiah Thomas coming into his own as a coach and sticking to an 8 man rotation with defined roles.  

However, as much as that win brought back memories of the old days at MSG, when opponents knew it would take a hard-working 48 minutes of basketball to beat the Knicks in NY, I stopped myself from writing and decided to wait the extra two games as originally planned. I cannot begin to describe how much things have changed in one week but I also cannot honestly say I am shocked either.

Stephon Marbury has looked terribly out of place ever since the Denver game in which the Knicks played a more wide open run and gun style to match that of the free wielding Nuggets offense. Against the Magic and Heat, two teams that play conservative, slow-down styles on offense, Steph struggled to run the Knicks half court offense effectively and the team looked better with Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and Mardy Collins at the helm. Marbury's reluctance to sacrifice scoring in favor of consistently feeding Curry and Randolph in the post coupled with his bad habits of driving wildly to the rim early in the shot clock and forcing shots when he is not  prominently involved in the scoring all take their toll on the flow of an offense.

The news of Steph leaving the Knicks before their game in Phoenix and returning home broke Tuesday, just as I was getting ready to pen my first Knicks post and as such I decided to let all the details unfold. Basically the Cliff Notes version of the confrontation goes as follows. During the plane ride to Phoenix, Steph learned through Eddy Curry that he would be coming off the bench for the Suns game. Steph then confronted Isiah and they got into heated argument on the plane. Finally, Steph left Phoenix and headed back home but not before telling teammates (according to the Daily News): 

"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."

Quite a mess; however, it may take an incident of this magnitude to remove Marbury from this roster, a move i feel will improve the team this year and into the future. The fact is, the Knicks have a very above average young roster and Marbury's ball hoggery and poor decision-making has stunted their growth. The core guys - Curry, Randolph, Crawford, Nate, David Lee, Mardy Collins, Balkman and Q Rich - are unselfish, hard working and collectively display a variety of complementary skills. I feel that once given the opportunity, these guys will function well as a unit and develop into a winning team together with (i can't believe im saying this) Isiah Thomas being the right man to oversee their growth.

I am as heavy a critic as Isiah as you'll find; however, if he sticks to his guns with Marbury and either benches, or buys him out (a move I have been waiting over 2 years for as trading is out of the question regardless of what Chris Sheridan says) this organization can finally get out of neutral and dive head first into the process of grooming a winner in the not-to-distant future.

Marbury has shown his hand Isiah, now its your move.