The End is Near.

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When the game ended in Houston on Saturday night, long after it became abundantly clear that the New York Knicks have a problem, Tyson Chandler swore that he "refuses" to lose, demanded that teammates "man up" and generally revealed that things are every bit as bad as they seem.

What he didn't expound upon is what exactly needs to be done to remedy the situation -- which is the best indication that a solution may be beyond anybody's control.

It is all in jeopardy, folks! The Knicks' playoff aspirations. The allure of a dynamic duo or a big three. The future employment of head coach Mike D'Antoni.

I believe that D'Antoni is done. Eventually, but inevitably. The Knicks will either deny this or avoid the questions altogether, but who cares? No one gets to hide from their record.



Let it be said that such proclamations are without provocation from these pages. Despite how horrid the Knicks have looked offensively, how subpar they looked defensively on Friday in surrendering 10 -- count 'em, 10 -- dunks to LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, nobody who works for ESPNNewYork.com is calling for D'Antoni to be axed as if it's all his fault.

The Knicks' head coach never wanted Carmelo Anthony. D'Antoni desperately wanted to hold on to Raymond Felton, Danilo Gallinari and the relatively young squad he was nurturing last season. But the fact that he wasn't able to have his way doesn't give the Knicks the license to look as moribund, as pathetic, as impotent as they have looked. And failed expectations, along with spiked ticket prices, demand that heads will roll.

Sooner rather than later.

Who can't see the handwriting on the wall with Chandler sounding off the way he has? With Anthony too hurt to play in Miami on Friday night yet able to show up for Charlotte and Cleveland?

Who hasn't noticed Amare Stoudemire perpetually walking around looking like a lost puppy these days? Who thinks GM Glen Grunwald and assistant GM Allan Houston accompanied the team to Miami on Friday for nothing?

No matter what the Knicks are willing to reveal, it's clear that chairman James Dolan is closely eyeing the situation, itching to make a move, and that the clock is ticking ominously on D'Antoni's career in New York. And who can blame Dolan, considering the Knicks' 1-9 slide to a 7-13 record -- identical to that of the New Jersey Nets -- with two stars who look like journeymen right now.


"I refuse -- I refuse -- I refuse to have a losing season," Chandler, frustrated as ever, said to reporters after Saturday night's defeat in Houston. "We have to do what it takes. I don't care what it is. I really don't. I refuse, I refuse to go through a losing season like that."

Sadly, Chandler has limited control in that regard.

It's not his fault the Knicks are shooting 40.5 percent from the field for the season, that they were 5-of-26 from beyond the arc in Houston, that they've shot 30.9 percent on 3s in the past 10 games or that they've registered a 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (188-to-188) during this embarrassing slide.

Nor is it Chandler's fault that two of the three games Anthony missed (Oklahoma City and Miami) came against the Knicks' stiffest competition, or that he's averaged just 19.3 points on 33.6 percent shooting from the field (20.7 percent on 3s) in the past seven games he played.

Chandler is here to defend, rebound and block shots. The offensive responsibilities belong elsewhere. And pondering the reality of the Knicks being held to 90 points or fewer in six of those games, and shooting worse than 46 percent in each of their nine losses in this 10-game stretch, the onus falls primarily on the stars paid to avert such catastrophes. But D'Antoni can't escape, either.

D'Antoni is a coach who's renowned as an offensive guru. He's a coach who appears to have made no adjustments whatsoever. He's the same coach who's been maligned for his rigidity with the style of play he demands, regardless of personnel. Knowing this, one must wonder why D'Antoni didn't insist to former team president Donnie Walsh that the Knicks go after Deron Williams before the Nets acquired him from Utah, instead of pursuing Anthony.

Except that question doesn't really matter anymore.

The team's body language says it doesn't matter. So does that of D'Antoni, who looks completely despondent, out of ideas, seemingly praying that point guard Baron Davis will show up and save him. There's a reason assistant Mike Woodson was forced upon D'Antoni. The Knicks clearly wanted to have a head-coach-in-waiting, evidenced by the contract extension they refused to grant D'Antoni before the season began.

And with Amare guaranteed $83.2 million over the next four years, and Melo inked for $85.7 over the same stretch, the Knicks are virtually stuck with them, at least for now. So they'll need to look beyond the roster to make changes.

"We all know what's going on," one team executive said recently. "Who can't see the handwriting on the wall? When you're paying guys that kind of money, the coach who's not winning games always goes before the players. That's anywhere, but especially in a market like New York. There are no surprises here."

Actually, there is one: No one expected the Knicks to look this awful. Yet here we are.

So it's not a matter of what's next. Just a matter of when.

We all know what time it is.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/sto...rk-knicks-mike-dantoni-done-bring-next-victim
 

Scipio

Benchwarmer
Please god let this be true. I would gladly fly from my home here in southern England to New York and give Dumbphoney a piggy back ride from the big apple to wherever he wanted to go just to get rid of this pathetic excuse for a basketball coach.
 

tiger0330

Legend
The handwriting is on the wall for sure. D'Antoni has about 15 games to right the ship, if he goes 5-10 in the next 15 the All-Star break would be the perfect time to fire him.
 

CoolClyde

Moderator
more hyperbole from Stephen A (the "A" stands for A$$hole)
however, the more press who write and talk about it, the more likely
D'oh-lans ears will bleed and lead to the inevitable end of Antoni's reign.
:pray:
 

KingofNy

Starter
Did you guys watch PTI? Phil Jackson is available and WILL coach the Knicks if Dolan calls. PICK UP THE PHONE MORON!
 

CA7

Scoring Champ
Dolan is a fckuing idiot the fans will start chanting "We Want Phil" and Dolan will fire D'Antoni and name Phil Weber the interim head coach
 

Crazy⑧s

Evacuee
Despite the team’s recent struggles, the New York Knicks are not looking to get rid of head coach Mike D’Antoni any time soon. According to SI.com, a source close to the situation says D’Antoni’s job is safe for now and that owner James Dolan is remaining patient that the Knicks will turn their season around after losing nine of their last 10 games and falling to 7-13 on the season.The biggest reason for the rumors surrounding D.Antoni’s future is the unhappiness of stars Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire with New York’s offensive production, which sits 17th in the league at 97.3 points per game. However, the Knicks have failed to score more than 90 points in six of the last 10 outings.

http://www.hoopsworld.com/knicks-coach-dantoni-not-going-anywhere-for-now
 
This season might be lost anyway, so I actually hope we continue losing after D'Antoni is gone and miss the Playoffs.

That way STAT and Melo will finally get the blame they deserve...and hopefully get traded.

Who needs another sweep in the first round?

I'd rather take a losing season and have em all outta here, D'Antoni and his staff and Melo and STAT.
 

Scipio

Benchwarmer
Being a Knicks fan just gets more and more depressing. When Donnie Walsh cleared all of that cap space we were all looking forward to better things. How quickly all of that optimism can disappear.
 

petescud

Starter
I really think Walsh had Denver on the ropes and was getting ready to either steal Melo for say (Gallo and Gov) or riding out the year - Dolan was like "For Melo" - give them our entire team...Can you imagine the shirt sales?



Being a Knicks fan just gets more and more depressing. When Donnie Walsh cleared all of that cap space we were all looking forward to better things. How quickly all of that optimism can disappear.
 
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