June 12, 2007: Is the upcoming NBA Draft strictly a two-man show -- or is it a profoundly deep talent smorgasbord? It might actually be a little bit of both, according to New York Knicks President and Head Coach Isiah Thomas.

April 12, 2007: There is a silver lining in the very dark cloud of this “it could have been so much better” playoff race. Coach Isiah Thomas has been forced to use his pair of youthful rookies for inordinate minutes and, for the most part, Renaldo Balkman and Mardy Collins came through in a fashion that bodes extremely well for the team’s long-term future.

April 3, 2007: The Knicks will need every weapon at their disposal in the week ahead -- and then some -- to stay in the race for the playoffs. “We’ll need our fans and we’ll need our crowd,” Isiah Thomas stressed. “They’ve been great. And we definitely need them because they give us a huge advantage at the Garden. When it’s on full blast, it’s a place that definitely has an affect on the opponent.”

March 25, 2007: Jumping from the frying pan into the fire may be child’s play compared to the leap from the cauldron of NCAA Tournament pressure into the searing stress of the NBA playoff race. Yet that’s exactly what new New York Knick Randolph Morris will be doing tomorrow night against the Orlando Magic.

March 21, 2007: The Knicks, a team that’s not about excuses, simply loath to talk about injuries. Still, with Channing Frye (corneal abrasion) and Stephon Marbury (the same left shoulder that was injured last year) joining the multitude of walking wounded last night -- Jamal Crawford, David Lee, and Quentin Richardson have all been out for quite a while now -- the topic has become unavoidable.

March 9, 2007: Points of emphasis at Knicks practice? Eddy Curry working out of double teams --“and free throw shooting” stressed Coach Isiah Thomas at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center.

March 1, 2007: Jamal Crawford’s season-ending ankle injury made postseason paradise that much more difficult to reach for the New York Knicks. A tall task for sure -- but is it impossible? "It’s going to be difficult but doable,"Coach Isiah Thomas stressed after practice at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. "There’s still enough time to make a run, to make a SERIOUS run."

February 19, 2007: Make no mistake, the once-dreaded “P-word” has morphed from the not-so-long-ago forbidden expression into topic number one around the Knicks these days. “We’re in the race. We are in a good spot. With 29 games to go, we find ourselves in a position to kind of strike and make a run for it to get into the playoffs,” an energized Coach Isiah Thomas said after Knicks practice at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center.

January 29, 2007: A new old face on the floor: for the first time since going home to Washington D.C. to rehabilitate his injured knee, Steve Francis was back at the Knicks Westchester Training Center participating in some non-contact practice. “It feels much better. I should be ready to play in a game in two weeks or so,” he said. “I know it won’t be easy to reintegrate myself into the rotation -- the guys at my position are playing great. But I feel I can help. Especially with free throws.”

January 16, 2007: This pesky playoff-race thing just does not want to get any easier, does it? Next up are the much-improved Washington Wizards (21-16), with the beyond-sizzling Gilbert Arenas coming off of another 51-point extravaganza against Utah, already his third 50-plus punishment of the season. How do you stop, or at least slow down, a guy this good (30.2 ppg, second in the NBA) -- and this hot?

January 11, 2007: For the first time, Isiah Thomas acknowledged that his team might just be on the verge of some kind of a playoff race. “This is going to be a strange year,” the Knicks coach pondered post-practice at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “However you thought it was going to look like, chances are in the end that’s not going to be that at all. I think this is still anybody’s ballgame right now.”

December 26, 2006: Much like the Man-genius Guys, the Knicks are not exactly big on mentioning the “P-word” at this point. “You want to be in this position in April,” Coach Isiah Thomas said, relaxing against the gym wall at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “You want to be close and hanging around -- you know, one game out, or one game up. Our goal was to get out of November and December without being knocked out. Then if we can survive the All Star break, we can play meaningful games in March and April.”

December 19, 2006: After receiving his ten-game suspension from the league, Nate Robinson had input from pretty much everyone. ”Mom, family, Grandma, Dad,” he smiled. ”The toughest was grandma, you know they never want anyone to act that way. She was kind of on me -- it was tough love.”

December 12, 2006: After last night’s schizophrenic performance against Boston -- almost winning after falling 30 points behind in the third quarter -- the Knicks remain a mystery neatly folded within a puzzle. Why isn’t the fighting spirit, the good play, the do-or-die determination more evident until they are down double digits in so many games? And what is Coach Isiah Thomas telling the players to resolve the situation and solve the season-long mystery?

December 7, 2006: Last night’s loss against Washington has emphatically underlined the need for the absent-all-season Jared Jeffries. “They were shooting right over our guys,” Coach Isiah Thomas said after practice at the team’s Westchester Training Center. ”I really think our team gave good effort, but we were just too small.”

November 27, 2006: What’s the main difference between last year’s 5-10 record and this year’s 5-10? No, it’s not the unexpected fact that the New York Knicks are only one game out of first place (though, in the long run, the slow start by all Atlantic Division competitors might turn out to be most welcome.) “It’s that it FEELS so much better,” a smiling Stephon Marbury said after Knicks practice at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center.

November 19, 2006: -- At Knicks practice, the word for the day was “abnormal”. “I think I had an abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation,” Knicks Coach Isiah Thomas said with a shrug when asked about the technical foul he received with little over two minutes to go in the Celtics game.

November 14, 2006: Isiah Thomas is shooting around at the far end of the gym, looking seriously spry doing it. Could the “old man” still play for you, Stephon Marbury is asked. “Definitely,” the Knicks point guard flashes a wide smile. ”He could give us a ten-day.” “Only of those guys take mercy on me,” the Knicks President and Head Coach responds upon hearing of Marbury’s comments. “Only if they play at half speed.”

October 26, 2006: Knicks President and Head Coach Isiah Thomas isn't concerned about who will carry the scoring burden for New York this coming season. “I think that’ll change from game to game,” he said following practice at the team’s Madison Square Garden Training Center. “I don’t see us coming to the arena with one designated guy to carry the load. We play a TEAM game and we are going to try to play as a team.

October 18, 2006: At South Carolina, he was “Plastic Man”, named after the super-hero with uncanny, and unlimited, stretching abilities. With the Knicks, Renaldo Balkman's new nickname is “Taz”, short for Tasmanian Devil, due to the all-over-the-floor, utterly unusual hustle that goes with those flying dreads.

October 11, 2006: Channing Frye, who looks fabulous while scrimmaging, appears quite buff afterwards off the floor as well. “More meat,” the second-year forward smiles, following practice as the team prepares for its first preseason game on Friday at MSG against the Nets. “More meat, guys. And it’s all good meat, too.”

July 8, 2006: Stylistically, the Knicks are going to be a different team under Isiah Thomas. At times that might include playing at a faster pace, but according to the Knicks President and new mentor the changes are really going to amount to more than that.

April 20, 2006: Without a doubt, this was one bad season for the Knicks. “It’s years like this that make you want to go into the summer and push even harder,” center Eddy Curry said after having his exit interview with Knicks President, Basketball Operations Isiah Thomas and Coach Larry Brown. Despite the team's talent level, the lack of team chemistry and communication contributed to a 23-59 final record. “I don’t think our record is indicative of the type of coach Larry is or of the type of players we have,” agreed Thomas. “That being said, we still have just 23 wins. Something was wrong. Over the summer we’ll figure it out and make corrections.".