It was a familiar sight: Knicks PR man Jonathan Supranowitz leading Jeff Van Gundy to the interview room.

The head coach passes the gaggle of media waiting to enter the locker rooms. Supranowitz walks briskly, tries to clear a path for the saggy-eyed coach. Van Gundy, no tie, Diet Coke in left hand, looking to the ground as if it could reveal some secret plan.

After the second game (and first loss) of the Don Chaney Era, I stood in the hallway of the Garden's underbelly, as usual, when I saw something most unusual. Chaney rounding the corner with his tie still knotted -- and his left hand Diet Coke-free. No coach other than Van Gundy has walked that path in six years.

My impulse was to resist change, to peek around the corner and maybe Van Gundy would show. But as I looked at Chaney, I saw a familiar sight.

Just one loss in, he already had Jeff's eyes.

Chris Palmer covers The NBA Life for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail him at christopher.palmer@espnmag.com.