THERE will be no contract extension forthcoming for Herb Williams now, nor should there be. The days when James Dolan lavished Don Chaney with two extensions for being a good company man are over. Isiah Thomas is in charge now.
So Isiah will wait until season’s end, whenever this dizzying Knick roller-coaster ride screeches to a halt. Thomas will see what Phil Jackson and Larry Brown, the two best coaches in basketball, want to do.
But if it turns out that Jackson is only using Dolan to drive up his price in Portland, Minnesota or Dallas, and if the Pistons will not let Brown break his contract without Cablevision giving them half its assets, then Thomas should have an easy fallback choice.
Isiah should stick with Herb.
The Knicks have won five of their last six overall and seven straight at the Garden, their longest home winning streak in four years. They have moved out of the Atlantic Division cellar, past Toronto and the Nets, into third place. They are four games behind No. 8 Indiana and play the Pacers twice more.
It makes no sense that after beginning the new year on a 3-18 slide and losing Lenny Wilkens, the Knicks are in a playoff race, playing meaningful games in March and keeping the Garden rocking.
No one believed Williams could make this team believe.
“Once you start believing you don’t have a chance, you might as well go home for the summer,” Williams said.
You want a bigger name than Williams? Flip Saunders got out of the first round with Kevin Garnett only once. A Saunders’ hiring would only show that Stephon Marbury, who adores his former coach, runs the franchise. Maurice Cheeks? Please. His resume from Portland should be burned.
“Herb gets credit for this, but everyone takes credit,” Marbury said. “When we lose, we all take the heat. When we win, we should all take the praise.”
So let us praise Williams today. He’s fit in his two new pieces – Malik Rose and Maurice Taylor – seamlessly. There was no “adjustment period” needed – the excuse Chaney and Wilkens always used to explain a post-trade losing streak.
Williams shrugged his shoulders and laughed off the speculation about his successor the moment he took power. All he cared about was making sure the players didn’t treat him like a lame duck.
He’s got a nice way with the players and media, but as Kurt Thomas said after Williams’ first team meeting, “He told us he ain’t going to take no bleep from us.” Williams even got an endorsement from Shaquille O’Neal last month, showing he’s well respected by players everywhere.
After an 1-7 start when the team’s confidence was completely shattered, unable to hold fourth-quarter leads, Williams patched up their late-game psyche. They’re resilient now. During the seven-game home winning streak, the Knicks have outscored opponents 105-95, including 40-30 in the paint, on average. Their defense at home has become Gardenesque – teams shooting just 42.1 percent.
Williams has Tim Thomas reversing his awful season and Jamal Crawford making the extra pass, taking fewer shots and being a more responsible teammate.
The Knicks have two crucial games left on the homestand – Sunday vs. Seattle and Tuesday vs. Miami – before hitting the road for six of the next eight. They have been a pitiful road team and Williams has not changed that. But he has changed a lot of things.
So you still want a big name? OK. Here’s one. Patrick Ewing, who assuredly comes to the Knicks bench next season as an assistant if his buddy returns. The fran chise could do worse.
