An Open Letter To Lawrence "Opie" Frank.
Congratulations on blowing a series that should've been won in six to a team that's 24 hours away from winning the Eastern Conference in six. Just so you know, as long as I've been alive and breathing I've been privvy to a few gutwrenching moments by some of my favorite teams...
- Ewing blowing the finger roll in Game 7 against the Pacers in 1995, which all but certainly cost them a trip to the Finals as I think they would have beaten the Magic.
- Jordan killing the Knicks on a regular basis from 1993 on in the Eastern Conference Finals. Or Semis.
- The Cowboys being sandbagged by the Panthers the year after winning the Super Bowl in 1996, then being punked by Jake The Snake and the Cards in 1998. (The same year they passed on Moss, who went on to help the Vikes to a 15-1 mark.)
- The Giants blowing a huge second half lead to the 49ers in the Park Formerly Known As Candlestick...then following that up by losing to the Eagles last January in Philly. Garcia times two.
My list of Coaches I'd Most Like To See Pink Slipped used to have just one name on it and that was Tom Coughlin. I don't think I need to state how adamant I am that he lose his job, but now, congratulations. He's #2 and you're #1 with a bullet. How do you not get the ball out of Vince's hands in that crucial Game 6? How do you not see that his shoot first, ask questions after the season's over mentality was going to kill the team? Why have your team settling for jump shots when they could've been driving the lane and drawing fouls or what have you? How could you not have made the adjustments needed to ensure you weren't outcoached by Mike Brown and let me tell you since I'm around Cavalier fans 24/7, even THEY CAN'T STAND HIM!!! Bottom line is, you wasted perhaps the last great run that J-Kidd had in him and for what? For what? So Vince can shoot us into another offseason with no silver ball to show for it? At the end of the day, you blew it majorly with this team. You had two great first round picks in Boone and Williams, the former not seeing time until late in the year when he should've been a part of the rotation or at least worked into it at the start of the year. All in all, this should've worked out better than it did. You let the Krstic injury have a more damaging effect on the team than it should have and while you figured out a way to outcoach the Coach of the Year in 5 games, you got outdone in 6 by someone I know you might be better than...but it's a moot point now.
I don't expect Rod Thorn to fire you, because he sees you as some type of prodigy or something. I don't. Not anymore. You had a roster that even without Krstic was good enough to win the Atlantic and with the way the bottom half of the bracket set itself up, go all the way back to the Eastern Conference Finals to renew acquaintances with the Pistons. But...you blew it.
At this point, I'd rather have Rick Carlisle managing this team going forward because I'd at least know he's gonna get maximum effort out of this team on a nighly basis. You have proven time and time again you can't get this team out of the second round. So have fun over the summer and here's hoping you can get this shit right going into next year. I would like to see the Nets return to the Finals at least ONCE before they head to Brooklyn.
Sincerely,
Len Gotti
- President of the Fire Frank Foundation
- President of the Can Coughlin Coalition
Posted 06/01/07 by Len | Filed under: An Open Letter To...
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