James Dolan’s Banned, Beaten New York Knicks

Charles Oakley was banned from Madison Square Garden by owner James Dolan while the New York Knicks dropped their fourth straight game at home.

The New York Knicks‘ publicity nightmare continued Friday as team owner James Dolan made a surprise appearance on ESPN Radio’s “Michael Kay Show.”

The top priority for Dolan was addressing the recent Charles Oakley altercation that had the former NBA All-Star dragged out of the arena and arrested. Dolan came to the decision to ban, Oakley from Madison Square Garden because he could possibly be a safety risk to those in attendance.

Dolan gave a detailed breakdown on the show from his and MSG personnel’s point of view during the Knicks matchup with the Los Angeles Clippers.

"“It is very clear to us that Charles Oakley came to the Garden with an agenda, with a mission in mind. From the moment he stepped into the garden, from the moment he walked through the doors, he began with this behavior, abusive behavior, disrespectful behavior, stuff you don’t want to say on the radio.“You do those things, you come to the Garden and you behave that way … you will be ejected and banned, That is the right thing to do. Yes, I understand he was a big star and a Knick, et cetera, but that doesn’t excuse people from that kind of behavior.”"

The troubling part of the ESPN Radio interview was Dolan’s suggestion that Oakley was under the influence and may have a serious drinking problem.

"“He may have a problem with alcohol. We don’t know.“He was a great Knick, and we would love to have him and all his teammates come and he should be up there at center court,” he added. “But this behavior just doesn’t work with that. Until he can address it and get it under control, then we probably won’t be able to do it. Yes, I would love if that were to happen.”"

Oakley continues to refute these allegations and it appears both sides will continue to be at odds and the legendary Knick’s status remains banned.

Fans attending the matchup against the Denver Nuggets made sure their opinions were heard throughout the game, chanting “CHARLES OAKLEY” at almost every dead ball.

The chants definitely didn’t help the Knicks as they dropped their fourth straight game at home, 131-123, once again struggling on defense.

Head coach Jeff Hornacek was completely embarrassed by the starters’ efforts on defense as the Knicks allowed Nikola Jokic to score 40 points on 17-of-23 shooting.

Kristaps Porzingis was saddled with the job of guarding Jokic and had his issues after a surprise start at the center position to match up with the small Nuggets lineup. This move allowed Brandon Jennings to return to the starting lineup and moved Derrick Rose to the shooting guard spot while Courtney Lee played small forward.

Carmelo Antony was effective back at the power forward position, scoring 33 points (21 points in the fourth quarter) and grabbing six rebounds.

The continued issues on and off the court for the Knicks have continued to plague them in the Eastern Conference playoff race for the eighth and final spot.

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Phil Jackson will have even more to think about as the Knicks are heading to possible sell mode at the trade deadline. It may be a better solution to get as many assets from teams to try and turn this team around in the draft and hope for a fresh start.