Mr.Bottomtooth
11-05-2006, 11:28 AM
WEEDS IN GARDEN
By FRED KERBER
Good luck.
After Thomas made his pronouncement, the Knicks stunk in their home opener. There were times, specifically the third quarter, when the Garden crowd got behind the Knicks and tried to emotionally drag them home. There were chants of "Dee-Fense." There was passion.
But ultimately there was disappointment and a dreadful 109-95 loss to Indiana. Cheers again became boos, many directed at Stephon Marbury - "Fire Marbury" made the rounds in some sections. Yup, fans will turn.
"I can't get mad at them for me playing like garbage," said Marbury, who was nothing if not truthful - 1-of-9 shooting, six turnovers, four points.
Not quite the way to win back support.
"With a professional team, there's a public trust you have with your fans," an admittedly antsy Thomas said before the Knicks dipped to 1-2 in the "easy" part of a schedule that now turns brutal. "There's a certain feeling fans want to have when they leave the building."
And it's not the disbelief and disgust felt last night. Of course, last year, Knicks fans left the Garden feeling that way all the time, usually asking, "Why didn't I just burn $500 in the yard and be done with it?"
But take heart: Thomas insists good times are ahead.
"We're not going to be an excellent right night now," Thomas admitted. "But one day, we'll be the team on top doing the kicking and the stepping. We'll be pretty unforgiving when we're on top."
And one day, gas will drop back to a quarter a gallon and commercial TV will be reality show-free.
In a pretty bad game both ways, Garden fans wanted something, anything, positive from the Knicks. It came in the third quarter when Nate Robinson, using old-fashioned hustle, aided a comeback as the Knicks moved from 14 down to within one. The announced sellout crowd (it wasn't really) went nuts.
By FRED KERBER
Good luck.
After Thomas made his pronouncement, the Knicks stunk in their home opener. There were times, specifically the third quarter, when the Garden crowd got behind the Knicks and tried to emotionally drag them home. There were chants of "Dee-Fense." There was passion.
But ultimately there was disappointment and a dreadful 109-95 loss to Indiana. Cheers again became boos, many directed at Stephon Marbury - "Fire Marbury" made the rounds in some sections. Yup, fans will turn.
"I can't get mad at them for me playing like garbage," said Marbury, who was nothing if not truthful - 1-of-9 shooting, six turnovers, four points.
Not quite the way to win back support.
"With a professional team, there's a public trust you have with your fans," an admittedly antsy Thomas said before the Knicks dipped to 1-2 in the "easy" part of a schedule that now turns brutal. "There's a certain feeling fans want to have when they leave the building."
And it's not the disbelief and disgust felt last night. Of course, last year, Knicks fans left the Garden feeling that way all the time, usually asking, "Why didn't I just burn $500 in the yard and be done with it?"
But take heart: Thomas insists good times are ahead.
"We're not going to be an excellent right night now," Thomas admitted. "But one day, we'll be the team on top doing the kicking and the stepping. We'll be pretty unforgiving when we're on top."
And one day, gas will drop back to a quarter a gallon and commercial TV will be reality show-free.
In a pretty bad game both ways, Garden fans wanted something, anything, positive from the Knicks. It came in the third quarter when Nate Robinson, using old-fashioned hustle, aided a comeback as the Knicks moved from 14 down to within one. The announced sellout crowd (it wasn't really) went nuts.