<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> December 21, 2006 -- Magic Johnson yesterday gave stern advice to Isiah Thomas: He's got to get rid of the tough-guy act on the sidelines to restore the Knicks to respectability. In a wide-ranging interview with The Post during which Johnson acknowledged he had his pep talk with Stephon Marbury, Johnson said Thomas needs to change his stripes in the wake of Saturday's ugly Garden brawl with the Nuggets. Thomas has been under suspicion he incited the brawl by warning Carmelo Anthony, "Don't go into the paint." "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," 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." </div> Source
