<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>"Right now, they are a league-wide joke," <u>Reggie Miller</u> said of the New York Knicks . "It's sad because they are an historic and iconic franchise. But people think they are late night comedy jokes." Miller, the legendary former Indiana Pacers ' guard and renowned Knicks' villain, will call tomorrow's Knicks-Celtics game for TNT. His broadcasting partners include Hall of Fame announcer Marv Albert, who was unceremoniously dumped by the Garden, and Mike Fratello, who had a handshake agreement with Isiah Thomas to coach the Knicks before Thomas decided to hire Lenny Wilkens. Miller, of course, has a connection to Thomas. Besides playing against each other, Thomas was Miller's coach for three seasons at Indiana. Although the Pacers never advanced past the first round under Thomas, Indiana did reach the playoffs all three years under him. Miller believes that considering the state of the Eastern Conference and the Knicks' talent base, Thomas should be able to get his team to crack the top eight. "All I know is that Isiah has the talent to make them a playoff-caliber team," Miller said yesterday over the telephone. "With the talent New York has, they should easily be in the top six. Only Orlando and Boston are running away with the conference. New York is not out of it. All they need is a four- or five-game winning streak, and they've already won two of them."</div></p> Source</p>
