I had hoped that Isiah Lord Thomas would be the prince who turned the frog into a champion.
I was wrong.
The N.B.A.’s unbecoming frogs — your New York Knicks — have beaten down another suitor.
Red Holzman was the last Knicks coach to win consistently, and led them to their only championships, in 1970 and ’73. Since then, there has been a long line of coaches who have just missed and others who have not even come close: Hubie Brown, Bob Hill, Rick Pitino, Stu Jackson, John MacLeod, Pat Riley, Don Nelson, Jeff Van Gundy, Don Chaney, Lenny Wilkens, Larry Brown.
The frog has prevailed yet again. (...)
