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D'Antoni and Isiah the same man?
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Who told Mike
D'Antoni that
reviving the
Knicks would
be easy?
In true Halloween fashion, Mike D'Antoni is apparently now stalking the Knicks sidelines masked as Isiah Thomas.
At first glance, you may not notice much of a resemblance. But know that the spirit of the atmosphere created in each man's wake is quickly becoming one in the same. And, just as Thomas routinely quarreled and bickered with players, D'Antoni now finds himself engaged in several staredowns with some of his own men.
D'Antoni benched presumed opening-night starters Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson and Zach Randolph during the team's preseason match against Boston Tuesday night, sending a strong message to one and all that no job is safe and no man is bigger than the team.
Apparently that holds true even when the player stands nearly seven feet and weighs in at more than 300 pounds. One-time franchise “cornerstone” Eddy Curry didn't make it off the bench against the defending champs, and that might easily qualify as the highlight of his night.
“He's going to have to play better than what he has shown me," D'Antoni explained in the aftermath. "He is going to have to pick it up. He missed a couple of weeks early and that set him back. There is plenty of time for him to work and get back into the rotation but he has to make a heck of an effort. I think he knows that and hopefully, he will do that."
At the very least, Curry has a hands-on-example of how one might go about putting themselves back in the new regime's good graces. That comes courtesy of Stephon Marbury, the one-time team pariah who has not only earned a spot on the roster but may soon find himself back in the starting lineup.
Marbury started at shooting guard against Boston and was just one of three Knicks players to score in double figures. "I just let it play out," he said. "I know what I can do on the court. If I just go out and I play at the level that I'm capable of playing, I'll let everything else take care of itself. I can't control nothing else."
Like Thomas, that all falls in D'Antoni's hands. And, much like the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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