first off, THE SKY IS NOT FALLING!!! ok, maybe it's starting to sag a little bit but it ain't falling yet...

some quick observations:

- eddy curry has a LONG LONG LONG way to go. but i'm ok with that. he's 22. but he is totally one dimensional. he gets the ball and he shoots it. no passing whatsoever. and have you ever seen a big man with WEAKER hands? wow. but he's still going to be very good for us a one of our MAJOR building blocks.

- nate robinson has NO CLUE what he's doing out there. he really needs to work on his jumper as he can't just drive at will anymore since the nba is much bigger than college, he gets his shots alterted/blocked much more. but i'm ok with that also...he's a rookie.

- what is Q's role on this team? it was nice that he got back and drew a charge and grabbed some boards but he looks totally disinterested out there. he just doesn't look like he wants to play out there. we went to him in the post ONCE this entire season. he's just chucking away...and looking pitiful doing it. we don't use him in the post, he's not an option on the offense. what is he here for? is he hurt? this is like the whole tim thomas scenario from last year all over again.

- AD is done. time to move on already.

- what is mike breen doing? he's talking about AD as a true professional yet he refuses to show up in nyc after the trade was made. and he talks about nate being called "gary coleman". and then he calls him that...WTF?!?!? does he want a gary coleman chant coming from every arena now? i can't believe i heard that.

- if LB is the greatest coach alive, then what the hell is going on? that's what leads me to believe that something else is going on here. something below the surface and to me, all roads point to marbury...

- stephon marbury...oh stephon. the gift and the curse. we've been over this 100X in over 100 threads but the ONLY WAY THIS WILL WORK IS TO MOVE HIM TO SG FULL TIME!!! him dominating the ball is just killing us. crawford's role is not as a SG for this team. that is UNDERUTILIZING HIM. crawford needs to be the point guard and marbury needs to just get the green light to shoot. uggh. i mean seriously, why can a team that is younger than us still outplay us like that? is steph truly is the best pg in the nba, then why is our offense looking so bad? i mean i understand there will be growing pains but come on, there are so many teams out there with new pieces that seem to gel yet we can't make a simple pass into the post. it's just totally mindboggling. the ball doesn't move with steph running it. it's not this year, it's his entire career. that's why we need to move on already and see if crawford can be the guy to do it. i don't know if he can...nobody knows but it's time to find out.

this team needs a leader. this team needs someone to feed off of and marbury IS NOT that guy. he starts sulking on the court...in front of everyone. he's making careless turnovers. did you guys see that crosscourt pass or that dribble off the foot? and why does he keep leaving his feet when he passes? i don't get it. this guy has been in the league for 8+ years and still is very flawed. his best attribute is when he tries to score and go for his...so you know what, LET HIM DO IT and let someone else distribute the ball.

getting back leadership, marbury is not that guy and the problem is, imho, that as long as marbury is here, and if there is a leader waiting in the wings, then he can't emerge.

man oh man, marbury is an all world talent, our best individual player, but utilizing him as the point guard has been proven not to work time and time again. let him score and go for his - he can easily drop 23+ ppg...and he said so himself on SAS. let's give the keys to crawford and see if he can drive this train(wreck). i don't know if he can but it really is time to turn the page and find out.

again, i am not hating on marbury. i just see what his glaring deficiencies are and why we are constantly succumbing to them instead of putting him and us in a situation where they can't hurt as much and concentrating on his positive attributes.

people say you can't rebuild and that people are panicking. i say that's a bunch of hogwash. this is not a rebuild, it's a reclamation and we will be stuck if we keep recycling these old veterans that can no longer go. sometimes it has to be addition by subtraction.

if we are in a true rebuild, then of course we will still b tch and moan after every loss but at least there's a purpose and a light at the end of the tunnel. but right now, we are a $120 mil team that really has no excuse not to make the playoffs. i'm not panicking but as each loss mounts, it makes it tougher and tougher later on in the season. yes, if steph or curry hits ft's we win in boston. yes, if lb (our $10 mil coach) plays the young guys, we beat golden state. we'd be 2-2. BUT WE'RE NOT. so those 2 extra losses will come into play later on in the season and that's what gets me irked. now if we went with a lineup where our oldest player was craw, that's a different story. but it's with our $20 mil steph and AD. and i really don't want to see it anymore.

on the flip side, this may be lb's way of showing the veterans that they can't go anymore and that we will go all out with the young guys within a few weeks. this could be a way to show steph that with him running the point and dominating the ball, it doesn't work. there could be a lot of politics and mind games being played here. the question is whether or not this will be beneficial in the long run. our players are scared and playing scared. we sulk and put our heads down when things don't go our way. and that comes, and the end of the day, to marbury. they need someone on the court to pick them up, and he's not doing it. i can say this about him b/c he's supposed to be our franchise player and he's getting paid to be. but obviously, he's not. he's just a $20 mil part of a machine that up to this point, is not being used most efficiently.

i know, it's a process and we're just 4 games into it. i know. and at the end of the day, it's just a f'n basketball team regardless of how much $$$ i give them every year as a season ticket holder. i know. but sometimes you just get frustrated and bewildered and need to voice some concerns.

we need starbury and craw to play like they did last season. Starbury should drive more, start hitting his jumpshots, layups, and FTs, pass more, and score some more. We need Craw and Q to start hitting their jumpshots. This is the main reason we're struggling. They aren't hitting their threes and open jump shots.

Nice post as always... It's clear that Marbury cant run a team. Agreed they should move him to the two. We need him to get 20+ a game not playing ppoint guard. I dont think anyone has scored 20 points yet for this team.

Posted by BRIGGS:

youre right. marbury should be a full time 2, no matter what the horde says, no matter what stats marbury has put up, the time has come to put him at full time 2 and find a pass/tempo first defensive PG with some size. right now we have 0 real PG.

Given the chance, I think Craw can be a good enough PG for this team. Not a lock-down player, but good enough defensively - he showed the effort in preseason.

Marbury played an excellent first half of PG basketball. He passed will and picked he shots well. I don't know what game you guys watch. He made some nice passes too that guys could not convert. I'm gonna watch it again tonight.

This is Season #3 for Marbury, if you look at his past history with teams, he gets disinterested and shows it in his play on the court, his leadership is lame, his basketball IQ is low, his ability and willingness to learn anything new is non-exsistent, another he is a bad team basketball player, period.

I think Nate will be fine in time. He has all the skills in the world, the problem with he and a lot of guys is that he's pressing right now and trying to impress the coach rather than playing his game. Nate also needs to be on the floor with a shooter, to dish to, not Malik Rose.

i think maliik played good last night on defense and rebounding...just dont give him the ball on offense