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djsunyc
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Marbury Trying to Find His Game
By HOWARD BECK
DENVER, Nov. 17 - Stephon Marbury does not have a championship ring, an N.B.A. finals appearance or, for that matter, a simple playoff series victory. For 10 pro seasons, Marbury's greatness has instead been defined by the box scores.
He has averaged better than 20 points and 8 assists a game in his career, numbers matched in league annals only by the Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.
But for the first time in Marbury's career, his defining trait has been stripped away, and what remains is a confused, frustrated player struggling to retain his identity and still please his demanding new coach.
That kind of tension figured to be a subtext to the Knicks' season since the day Larry Brown was hired in July, and it has come to a head.
After Wednesday night's 97-92 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, Marbury asked Brown to move him to shooting guard. Brown said he could not do so because the Knicks have no other reliable point guards.
The conflict could push the Knicks to trade for a veteran point guard and is sure to fuel trade rumors involving Marbury. In the meantime, it will be a daily point of concern for the Knicks, who have lost six of their first eight games while trying to sort out roles.
Brown and Marbury are not entirely at odds, but they are not entirely on the same page, either. That much is already clear.
In Wednesday's loss, Marbury had 10 assists but just 4 points. He was precisely the facilitator that Brown wanted, but Marbury was deflated by his scoring total, coupled with the loss.
"I'm not playing the way how I normally play," Marbury, sounding exasperated, said Thursday. "And I know that I could do way more than what I'm doing. I know last night I got 10 assists, and it felt like that was the hardest 10 assists I ever got."
In a clear indication of how differently they view the matter, Brown praised Marbury's performance as a play-maker in that game. He sounded incredulous at Marbury's remark that he was O.K. with the new role as long as the Knicks were winning.
"When have we won here? Did we win the other way?" Brown said, referring to Marbury's record as a scoring-first point guard. "So let's get real here. We're trying to get better. We're trying to figure out a way to win games.
"I talked to him last night, he told me he wanted to play off-guard. It's not that easy right now. What, are we going to invent a point guard? I'm just trying to figure out ways to help guys. But this is a work in progress."
The Knicks' only other options at point guard are Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, both of whom are regarded as hybrid guards with limited play-making abilities. So Brown's challenge is to keep Marbury happy and productive and willing to adapt his game.
It has been the priority since Brown was hired. Brown likes his point guards in the traditional role - running the offense, calling plays on the court and helping teammates get easy baskets. Marbury is accustomed to having more freedom to score.
Penny Hardaway, who has played with Marbury for four-plus seasons in Phoenix and New York, said Brown was asking Marbury to do things that no coach had asked of him.
"Coach Brown might want us to run a play every time down, and with Steph's creativity, he probably thinks that, 'Hey, I want to go and blow by this guy whenever he pressures me,' " Hardaway said last week. "And then Coach Brown wants him to stand there like a point guard and run the play and make everybody else around be involved. That's probably more difficult for him, because in the past, pretty much the offense was done through Stephon."
Now, Marbury is often expected to pass the ball early in the halfcourt set and score only when the ball happens to return to him. Still, Brown recognizes how critical Marbury's scoring is to the Knicks. Asked if they could win with Marbury scoring just 4 points, Brown said, "I doubt it."
"I'm not discouraged at all," Brown said. "I'm going to get this thing worked out."
Brown said Marbury had ample scoring opportunities Wednesday.
"We ran 25 pick-and-rolls. How many more can you run?" Brown said. "You go 2 for 9 and you're a scorer, you figure out ways to get more shots."
Brown said he wanted Marbury to take "15 to 20 good shots a game," and he expected him to score at the foul line.
"How many free throws did he shoot last night? Zero," Brown said. He also faulted Marbury for not being aggressive late in the game, a product perhaps of Marbury's attempt to be a pass-first guard.
"I shouldn't have to go on the court and decide where I'm going to be aggressive," Marbury said. "I should be able to be aggressive the whole time I'm on the court."
A clash in styles and priorities is almost a given with Brown and his point guards. He clashed with Allen Iverson in Philadelphia and ultimately moved him to shooting guard. He wrestled at times with Chauncey Billups in Detroit. But Brown forged an understanding with both players, taking Iverson to the finals in 2001 and Billups to the championship in 2004.
Fundamentally, Marbury has a difficult task. He must get teammates involved first, but he also is the team's best scorer. It is a delicate balancing act, one that Kobe Bryant of the Lakers has been trying to master during his 10 years in the league.
"I think he's playing a more structured game right now," Bryant said Wednesday night. "I think he's trying to understand the flow of the game, instead of just going out there and being a gunslinger, which is something that he was very good at. It's a process, where Larry's trying to elevate his game and get it to the next level. Because you can be just as effective scoring points, but also you can pick your spots. It's tough, though, man."
While Marbury tries to find a comfort zone, his numbers are sinking. His scoring average, 15.3 points, is 5 below his career mark, and his assists average of 5.8 a game is also down, from 8.2.
"I think it's important for the city of New York to be patient, because it's going to pay off," Bryant said.
Teammates are encouraged by Marbury's willingness so far to bend to Brown's style. Marbury, the 28-year-old point guard, and Brown, the 65-year-old coach, are said to have a good rapport in practices and huddles.
"It's encouraging to see him and Larry, they talk," Malik Rose said.
Isiah Thomas, the team president, praised Marbury's steady growth before Wednesday's game. He cited Marbury's play in victories over Sacramento and Utah, calling them "probably the two best games that I've seen him play, in terms of understanding the position."
Thomas later added, "Finding the right time to score the 25 or score the 10 is really probably the most difficult thing that a guy who has talent has to do. I fought that battle throughout my whole career."
Despite his dejected tone and his frustration, Marbury said he was committed to adapting to Brown's way - as long as victories are attached.
"If we lose, of course I'm not going to be happy playing like that," Marbury said. But if he scores 4 points and the Knicks win? "Oh, I wouldn't think twice about it," he said. "Not at all. If we can go to the N.B.A. finals and I play like that, I can deal with that. All day."
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4/18/2006 1:39 PM
