It?s been several months since the champagne drenched the Miami Heat locker room. In that span the word ?potential? was uttered several hundred times by Jay Bilas at the NBA draft, Allen Iverson survived another summer of trade rumors in Philly, and an Indiana Pacer is facing a legal battle. All of these events suggest things stay the same year-in year-out; however, Knicks? fans and Isiah Thomas better pray some things change.

After a disgraceful 23-59 season for a once-proud franchise, team president and new head coach Thomas faces an ambiguous mandate from team owner James Dolan: show significant progress or get out. Part of the reason the Knicks failure last year was so heavily scrutinized was because it was so unexpected. After the acquisitions of a young force in the middle in Eddy Curry, a sharpshooter in Quentin Richardson, and three energetic rookies to their talent-laden but mishandled roster, coupled with the addition of coach/miracle-worker Larry Brown to make the team gel, the Knicks were expected to at least reach the playoffs.

A new season brings a fresh start, but in the back of Isiah Thomas?s mind looms the fact that his performance this year will be a benchmark to judge his once-regaled career. In order to have any hope of success as the coach of the Knicks, Isiah must meet two important team challenges and two player-specific goals.

Perhaps the most enigmatic aspect of the Knicks? bizarre campaign last year was Larry Brown?s inability to settle on a starting lineup and consistent rotation of players. While it is understandable that a new coach would need time to find his guys, it is unforgivable that Brown broke the all-time NBA record for most starting lineups used in a relatively injury-free year. The highlight of the season was a six-game winning streak where Brown settled on a rotation, but what followed were more trial-and-error lineup experiments that drove the Knicks to the bottom of the league standings. In the constant media battle between Brown and his team last year, every player begged for a consistent rotation and an understanding of roles within the team. This season Thomas needs to enter the regular season with a named lineup and stick with it even through an initial setback. Further, Isiah needs to play the right guys. While this might sound like a difficult task to meet, what is meant by that is minutes should be given based on merit, not contract size or veteran experience. Brown too often benched performers for preventors. When David Lee was playing like the steal of the rookie class, Brown would bury him in the rotation behind an inept Antonio Davis or Malik Rose, or when Eddy Curry needed time to get in a consistent groove Larry would bench him as a way of ?motivating? him.

Isiah?s challenge of building a set lineup, and more importantly building a cohesive unit out of his individual pieces, fully depends on developing a team identity. One thinks of the Pistons as slow-paced and defensively oriented much in the same way one thinks of the Suns as a run-and-gun team. The only connotation inspired by the Knicks last year was loser. Isiah seems to be addressing this problem in training camp and pre-season by installing a free-moving, fast-paced offense that calls on dynamic roles that fit within the theme of everyone on the court being a playmaker. The Knicks don?t have a traditional distributor at point-guard, or a defensive force in the middle; however their strength lies in their depth in talent at every position. By focusing on this strength, Isiah seems to be installing the idea that anyone on the court can beat the opposition, and the flow of the game will determine who that is on any given night. Not to make a comparison to the balanced championship Knick teams of the 1970s, but this similar approach could translate to success if Isiah can get his players buy into the system.

Even though Isiah is intentionally shrouding his real thoughts on the Knicks? prospects this season, it isn?t hard to figure out which players need to step-up for him to keep his job. It was only last year that Isiah described his newly-acquired big man Eddy Curry as a franchise cornerstone, and a once-in-a-generation combination of size, strength, athleticism, and talent After a disappointing season last year marred by foul-trouble and conditioning problems with flashes of dominance in the low-post spliced between, it?s time for Eddy to show this potential. Eddy?s performance seemed to follow a pattern last season; he would be the focal point of the offense in the first quarter and delivered results until picking up a few offensive fouls or running out of energy and disappearing for the rest of the game. It was when the Knicks could re-establish Curry later in the game that they pulled out a rare victory. Isiah has largely remained silent on Larry Brown?s performance last year, except for consistent subtle jabs about Curry being an all-star when given enough playing time. Curry will be on the floor more than he can handle this year; Isiah will give him ample opportunity to become the best center in the East. If Curry performs, the Knicks will be a playoff team.

While Eddy Curry may have a lot on his plate this season, he will have help from two former all-star guards in Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis. No two players suffered more under Larry Brown than these ball-dominating, shoot first point guards. Even though Larry described them as the next Walt Frazier and Earl Monroe after Francis?s arrival last season, it soon became clear that he couldn?t work with them. Marbury and Francis seem to have formed a bond this past off-season, both understanding that their ability to gel in the backcourt will be essential to both of their careers. While they look like a scary tandem in a Rucker Park game, whether they can be cohesive in the NBA is a big challenge for the former point-guard Isiah Thomas. If the Knicks can get them to work together in an inside-outside balanced offense with Curry, supported by promising second year man Channing Frye, off-season acquisition Jared Jeffries, and supporters Jamal Crawford, David Lee, and Quentin Richardson, then Knicks fans might have a lot to look forward to this season. On second thought, if Isiah doesn?t meet these challenges, then Knicks fans will still get to look forward to something: a new coach.