Posted by majorleads:

Nobody likes to get booed, especially on your home court. If the fans hadn't booed him, would Marbury have tried as hard as he did?

That's the thing, you never know when you are going to get maximum effort from him. Normally it's when his back is against the wall. As soon as things start to go well for him he regresses.

You can say this about nearly every player on the roster. This is why when any of our guys have 2 or 3 good games or one good week I don't even blink anymore. How many times can you tell yourself: "Wow, he's turned the corner. He finally gets it. He's playing really well. This is fantastic." only to see said player turn back into the pile of crap that infuriates you so?

Our entire team is comprised of inconsistent players who freely take quarters or entire games off just going through the motions looking to cash a check at the end of the day.

I don't know what makes people think this is going to change. I don't know why Isiah thinks either time or his teachings is going to change players like this for the better. It has not happened in over 7 or 8 years for a number of these guys why would it suddenly change? It won't and I'm surprised how many still don't seem to understand that.

It's been a failure and squeaking out a win against a disastrous Bulls team doesn't change anything.

Steph always seems to do better against SG's and SF's than PG's. His stats last year proved that. He was terrible defending PG's, but his stats against SG's were very good. I think the ball fakes give him problems, whereas he seems to be able to do a better job when his man doesn't have the ball and he can try to deny the pass.

I actually felt that Steph was pretty consistent last year after Nov. It could be that he'll eventually do the same this year. I'm not as worried about that as I am with the feeding of the post and our SG's not making shots. If the team can continue to defend as they did yesterday that will be a major plus for this team the rest of the way. There was much more talking and pointing going on and that's a good sign.

Posted by Bippity10:

I'm watching yesterday's game and he is playing some awesome D on Gordon. Not mediocre D. Not above average D. Awesome D. Gordon is trying to get open and Marbs is in his grill all over the court. 2 1/2 quarters and Marbs hasn't let up once. The more I see him do this during this game, the more upset I become. Where is this every other night? Why is it on other nights he looks so awesomely pathetic on defense?

Grrrrrrrrr.

Marbury can't do this every night because he can't guard pg's to save his life. Gordon is a good match up for Marbury because Gordon is slow and does not have a killer dribble. Marbury can guard 2 guards not pgs. As long as Marbury is guarding pg's he will get beat every night. It has nothing to do with his energy level.

Posted by EnySpree:

What upsets me is he can still dunk! I been to 3 home games this year......in the layup line Marbs takes off baseline and 2 hand jams it. The rim is lined with the middle of his forarm.......one time he took a power dribble baseline and did a 180 2 handed jam on the other side of the rim. Im like......you can still dunk?!?!?

That annoys me cuz he barely takes off in games to make layups. @ times he seems to play slow motion. Then some games he is a blur on the court. What im getting @ is he actually hasn't lost a step. He's just a bitch. Plays when he feels like it.

What is this dudes problem? What is his agenda? Does he really care about the game and winning in the nba?

Mike bibby where are you! I mention bibby cuz the way he plays is exactly what isiah wants from marbs. No way marbs shouldn't still be putting up big numbers. He should be getting 20/8. He has finishers and he has plenty of opportunities to take the offense into his own hands. That's his job. All the nonsense about changing his game is bull****. Giving up the ball early? Ok so? The ball comes back cuz he's the point guard. I bet all the money in my pocket(all of $4) that if mike bibby, sam cassell, or some similiar scoring point like marbs were here the knicks would have won 3-4 extra games. Sam and bibby score but they are experts in finding guys when the time is right. They also score when needed not cuz they want to.

I understand your anger. I think tho that it's different when you're just messing around or warming up. I can still get up as high as I used to, but at 42 once the game starts it saps some of my energy running up and down and defending and I don't even try to dunk, it's a waste of my energy. I think he's just being smart. I do agree that is seems he has enough left to play at a higher level tho and that is aggravating.

As for him not playing the game in a way you'd see other guards like Bibby or Cassell playing, that is something that has had me scratching my head too. There's no way that he doesn't know by now how to play the game. It does make you wonder if he's just being stubborn, trying to prove some point. It's a simple game. You run the play, if they take that away you penetrate and create some offense for you or your teammates. There are times when he does this and you say that's it! Just keep doing that! But you wonder why he doesn't do it all the time. This is what Isiah has been trying to get thru to him. He did this last year and then after Nov. he was playing very well. I hope that he snaps out of it and does the same thing this year, minus the injury.

I think the same way about Jamal too, so it's not just Steph. There's a reluctance from our guards to do the necessary things we need to win. In the 1st 3 games Jamal was penetrating like crazy and setting up his teammates. He was taking good shots. All of a sudden he reverted and it makes no sense. It makes me wonder if Isiah said something to him that has made him change the way he was playing, cuz he's clearly not playing the same way as he was.

I've actually seen more of an effort from Nate to look for his teammates lately. If he keeps working on his game like he has, he may yet become the Guard that he should be. He's been whipping some good passes and taking good shots.

Posted by majorleads:

Nobody likes to get booed, especially on your home court. If the fans hadn't booed him, would Marbury have tried as hard as he did?

Very good point. 'I'll show those fans that I am great'! Otherwise, he's just another basketball player. The millions have spoiled him to no end.

Posted a few days ago

You hear guys helping each other by speaking," said Marbury, who has long been frustrated with the slow-to-help defense by the Knicks' big men. "That's the kind of a team we want to be in the future."

Let us remind you here about the point Thomas made in the preseason, when he said guards shouldn't rely on help defense from the big men.

"Don't get beat; that's how we teach," Thomas said a little over a month ago. "We're not saying 'if you get beat,' we're saying 'don't get beat' . . . If it continues to happen to that guard, we sub and we find somebody that won't let it happen. The answer is not 'Eddy, do something'; the answer is you do something or I'll find somebody else to do what you can't do."

I think the hard stance by Thomas & the booing by the Knicks are what inspired Marbury to play with the type of effort he did. I don't expect it to continue for long though. He just doesn't have that type of passion.

i wish he'd put up the 12 dimes he said he would

Posted by misterearl:

“I love all my players, and I have a great relationship with every single player on the team,” Thomas said. “I have no favorites. And you guys sometimes have painted the picture that there is a favorite. But if you’re suggesting that Marbury is my favorite, then Marbury probably would say the way that I treat him, he doesn’t want to be the favorite.”

Hmmm... I guess Isiah can write pretty good fiction after retirement.
Like: "Live story of man from West Side of Chicago"
Or: "Miracle kid from Coney Island"
Or: "How to be cool in NY City"