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I never have understood the rap against the NBA.

Yes, the product is overpriced and the constant barrage of piped in sound effects is enough to drive Seinfeld's Lloyd Braun into another nervous breakdown (hearing Ric Flair's patented "Wooo!" after every basket at Hornets games would be enough for me), but there's something special about watching the best athletes in the world compete at the highest level. I mean, the NBA is like a college all-star game every night, right? This, among other things, is what I was telling myself as I settled into my press-box seat to watch the Knicks' home opener Saturday night.

Boy was I wrong.

It's not that the Knicks are bad -- they've been mediocre since Jeff Van Gundy pulled his parachute 19 games into the 2001 season -- it's that they are the most fundamentally dysfunctional team I've seen, a condemnation that is as much a testament to general manager Isiah Thomas' infatuation with high-profile scorers as it is Lenny Wilkens' inability to coach them. Bounce passes in traffic. Failure to box out. These are facets of the game more likely to be taught at the AAU level than an NBA practice, but New York either forgot these basic fundamentals or simply chose to ignore them.

It's easy to blame Wilkens, but everyone knew when he took the head-coaching job last January he was more of a caretaker rather than the long-term solution. He is someone to hold down the fort until Isiah either A) hires a more high-profile coach, or B) decides that high-profile man is himself. But the real culprit here is Thomas, a tremendous competitor in his playing days whose abilities as a GM rank somewhere between a Clippers draft pick and David Caruso's movie career.

What has he accomplished since taking over 11 months ago? He's acquired a franchise player in Stephon Marbury, who has led his team in scoring each of the past five seasons but has yet to lead one out of the first round of the playoffs. He overpaid on an extension for Kurt Thomas when no team appeared willing to pay him anywhere near that amount. He has commandeered the checkbook of owner James Dolan and pushed the New York payroll above the $100 million mark for the first time in franchise history.

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And to what end? In trying to model his team after the Yankees, Isiah has turned them into the Mets. The Knicks are a mediocre team in a mediocre conference, destined to salvage that elusive seventh seed and earn the right to get waxed by the Pistons, Pacers or Heat in the first round. I understand New York isn't like other markets. You can't blow up the team and not expect to feel the wrath of the tabloids as you struggle through a series of 27-win seasons. But what's the alternative?

Thomas needs to realize that the only way for this team to get better is for him to allow it to get worse. Build around the talents of young draft picks Michael Sweetney and Trevor Ariza instead of hoarding "stars" such as Marbury and Tim Thomas. Bring in a young coach such as John Kuester or Dwane Casey and give him the latitude to build a team from the ground up without living with the fear of finding a pink slip in his mailbox.

The Knicks are one of the most storied franchises in sports, with a great history and tradition. I think it's time they start acting like it.

Quick Hits

• One week down and the biggest surprise out of Orlando is not that Grant Hill looks like the guy the Magic traded for four years ago, but that Dwight Howard already looks like the monster we expected him to become three years from now (did anyone see him work Dirk Nowitzki on Tuesday?). You think T-Mac might be rethinking his decision to leave?

• I'd like to hear from Suns fans who can tell me what in the name of Dan Majerle is going on out there. Phoenix is not only beating teams, it's blowing them out and is playing the kind of defense that will make them tough to beat in May and June.

• Nice to see former center Todd MacCulloch back in the game. MacCulloch, who retired in September because of a neurological condition, is working as an analyst for the Sixers radio broadcast while continuing to rehab in the hopes of making a comeback. One of the most personable guys in the NBA, we wish Todd the best.

See you next week