If the New York Post’s Marc Berman is going to solicit advice for Isiah Thomas from everyone the Knicks Prez/coach has kissed, why doesn’t Anucha Browne Sanders warrant a phone call?
“He has to understand he can’t do what got him to be the best as a player, one of the best small men whose ever played the game,” Magic Johnson told The Post in a phone interview from St. Thomas, where he is vacationing. “He’s not just the coach. He’s also the president of basketball operations. He’s looked upon as both. I think there’s a line he has to see, and say, ‘Can I cross this line in getting into confrontations with these players and these coaches?’
“He’s wearing two hats,” Johnson added. “It’s difficult for him. Being tough is what got him to be the best because he never backed down from anyone. He’s always been a tough guy and that’s what made him a Hall of Famer. He’s got to say, ‘I’m not playing anymore. I am the president. I am the coach, but I do want my winning personality to rub off on the guys and some of that toughness,’ all the things that made Isiah great.”
Thomas was combative yesterday when asked how he’s been received on the street the past few days.
“I’ve had a lot of nice things said to me, no one’s had the courage to come up to my face and say anything what you guys have written,” Thomas said.
On hand for the Knicks’ loony double OT win over Charlotte last night, the Journal News’ Mike Dougherty takes issue with the MSG A/V Department.
Every time Michael Jordan shows up at Madison Square Garden, some lowly intern has to pull the infamous John Starks dunk so it can be replayed on the big screens. Don™t they have worthwhile footage, say of the Knicks sending Jordan home for a long summer? Guess not.
I don’t want to tell David Stern how to do his job, but can the Daily News’ Frank Isola be suspended for threatening a player?
Let me be the first to issue a warning to Andre Miller, who is going from Denver to Philadelphia: When the Knicks play the Sixers on Saturday he better not go anywhere near the paint if the Knicks are losing. Because that would be rubbing it in the faces of the poor, fragile Knicks.