Marbury bolts again
By MARC BERMAN

Stephon Marbury didn't bolt Phoenix today but he bolted the practice court quicker than his burst to the basket at Lincoln High.

Before the media was let in, Marbury was gonzo, causing a question on whether Marbury even showed up for practice. A Knicks spokesman swears he did.

Marbury clearly did not want to answer questions about his feud with Isiah Thomas and his embarrassing benching to the great Mardy Collins. The saga got even more interesting with a Marbury friend telling The Post in today's editions it was Thomas who suggested first that Marbury leave Phoenix, not the other way around. As in, "If you don't like the decision, Go home.'' The profanities have been left out.

Thomas has left open the possiblity of starting Marbury tomorrow night at the Garden vs. the Warriors. The Knicks are 0-4 with Marbury out of the starting lineup. But one way or another, both Thomas and Marbury will hear jeers from the crowd tomorrow. And if they fall behind, "Fire Isiah'' chants assuredly will follow. Unfortunately, as The Post reported Sunday, James Dolan is not listening. Yet.

Marbury bolts on media; Isiah not worried about his job
Greenburgh, N.Y. -- Stephon Marbury was nowhere to be found on the Knicks' practice floor when reporters were allowed in, and Isiah Thomas said, "We'll see," when asked if his demoted point guard would return to the starting lineup against Golden State.

Either way, the Knicks were in full-blown circle-the-wagons mode Monday, in the midst of a six-game losing streak including an 0-4 West Coast road trip.

Asked to describe the level of support for Isiah, Jamal Crawford said, "It’s very strong. He’s very loyal in bringing all of us here and we’re all very loyal to him."

Was there any fallout from Thomas' decision to play Marbury in L.A. after he'd abandoned the team?

"Everything we’ll keep in house, but we’re not thinking about that," Crawford said. "That was a week ago, and now we just move on and try to play basketball."

Locker room turmoil? Nope.

"We’re good, we’re good," Crawford said. "There’s no turmoil. Teammates get into it on every team. We haven’t had that here but we’ve got to continue to work hard."

Crawford and Nate Robinson were the only players who spoke with reporters. Marbury, the focus of a tumultuous week, was not on the practice floor when reporters arrived. Team public relations officials said he did, in fact, practice.

"We’re a play or two away from having a winning record," Thomas, who twice gave the one-word answer "no" when asked if he's worried about his job security.

Suffice it to say it'll be an interesting night at the Garden tomorrow against Golden State.

"If they boo, if they cheer, they’re coming out to support us," Crawford said. "So we’ll be there trying to play hard."

Posted by crzymdups:

it's kind of a unique situation to have one of the papers that covers a sports team have a schill "reporting" the news thru the filter of its "star" player.

can you imagine if there were such a thing going on with Kobe in LA? maybe it is. either way, it's not news, but its entertaining which is all the post cares about.

as the knicks turn...

Posted by djsunyc:

kobe has a mouthpiece on espn too = ric bucher.

Posted by newyorknewyork:

We should continue to use Jamal Crawford as the Knicks spokeman. All comments, opinions, press confrences from Marbury & Isiah should be spoken through Jamal Crawford. They should just talk in Crawfords ear like defendants do with there lawyers.

Posted by TrueBlue:

Posted by VDesai:

Oh boy:

"We’re a play or two away from having a winning record," Thomas, who twice gave the one-word answer "no" when asked if he's worried about his job security.

Worst blurb from the article and one could flip his words around and say they are a play or two from being 0-9.