<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">There were at least 2,200 empty seats at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, but no shortage of voices to participate in a loud and informal Knicks straw poll. At various points, fans booed Stephon Marbury, Eddy Curry and Coach Isiah Thomas. They cheered David Lee, Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford and Renaldo Balkman. And they cheered loudest for Patrick Ewing, Allan Houston, Charlie Ward and Jeff Van Gundy. To wit: Knicks fans love the past and are enthused about the future. It is the present that disturbs them. The most important voice in the building was, no doubt, similarly conflicted. James L. Dolan, the Garden chairman, slouched in his baseline seat, arms crossed and expressionless, while the Knicks absorbed a 97-90 loss to the Van Gundy-coached Houston Rockets. Dolan has not spoken publicly in months, so his posture provided the only hint of his mood. Van Gundy left the Knicks five years ago, and no one has coached them to a winning season since. Ward, who was Van Gundy?s point guard, is now his assistant coach. Houston and Ewing were courtside spectators who ? although booed at times during their careers in New York ? were cheered wildly when their faces appeared on the video scoreboard. It was an awkward contrast, and it underscored the tension of the current Knicks season. Dolan has given Thomas, the team president and coach, one season to show progress or be fired. Thomas has almost cheerily embraced his fate, dismissing the pressure and any effect it might have on him. As a discussion point, the ultimatum has faded to the background. But its effects, it seems, are becoming evident. The Knicks have lost 8 of their first 12 games, and Thomas is showing various signs of desperation, impatience and personal strain. Sixty-five seconds into the second half Monday, Thomas benched his starting backcourt of Marbury and Steve Francis. He hardly played them the rest of the way, instead handing the game to Robinson and Crawford, who have led countless rallies this season. The gambit did not pay off. But it was revealing. No one in the building booed the backcourt change or started a ?Bring back Marbury? chant. The fans seem to prefer the unbridled (and sometimes clumsy) energy of the Knicks? reserves. Thomas has resolutely stayed with the same starting lineup despite the early slump by Channing Frye, the occasional lethargy of Curry, the lack of cohesion between Marbury and Francis and countless double-digit deficits. Even after benching Marbury, Francis and Curry for most of the second half, Thomas tried to shield them from criticism. When asked if the Knicks were too reliant on their bench, Thomas said, ?Well, they?re part of the team. You?d rather I not play them?? But in his actions, Thomas is making concessions he would not have made just a few weeks ago. While opposing coaches and scouts derided the Francis-Marbury backcourt as unworkable, Thomas insistently stressed its potential. Now, even Thomas seems unsure of its viability. Although Francis and Marbury start the first and third quarters together, they rarely play together otherwise, particularly in fourth quarters. Each seems more effective when the other is on the bench. After Monday?s loss, Thomas was asked if Francis and Marbury would still be his starting backcourt. Rather than respond quickly and authoritatively, Thomas said, ?Um, yeah? ? with a 3-second pause between the ?um? and the ?yeah.? The definitive answer to that question will not be known until the Knicks play in Minneapolis tonight. Thomas gave his team the day off yesterday, allowing them to evade reporters and the predictable onslaught of questions about the backcourt. There is obvious pressure to play Marbury and Francis together. They are the Knicks? two most expensive players, making a combined $32 million this season. They are both former All-Stars who expect to start every game. They are both renowned for streaks of moodiness.</div> Source
