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djsunyc
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Difficult adjustment for Marbury
Friday, November 11, 2005
BY DAVID WALDSTEIN
Star-Ledger Staff
SAN FRANCISCO -- Based on their vigorous practice yesterday, and their jovial moods afterward, panic has not yet set in with the Knicks. But make no mistake, these players are getting anxious for a victory after opening the Larry Brown era 0-4.
"Am I (ticked) about it? I'm furious about it," Stephon Marbury said. "I'm everything. I'm all of the things you can possibly think of. It's not fun playing for the New York Knicks and being 0-4."
Among the myriad feelings Marbury is encountering in this frustrating start is a growing sense of confusion. While trying hard to adapt to Brown's system, the point guard has been caught between doing what comes naturally to him, scoring -- although, remember he was fourth in the NBA in assists last year with 8.1 -- and trying to do what the coach wants him to do, which is run the offense.
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Much like the Knicks' season, it hasn't been easy.
In Wednesday night's loss to the Trail Blazers, Marbury showed the strain of this difficult transition. He was uncharacteristically tentative and, for the first time this season, didn't lead the team in scoring. He made only three of his signature drives to the basket, while in the first three games he averaged 8.3 layup attempts.
He also was beaten on dribble penetration in the second half, and turned the ball over five times, two of them unforgivable giveaways.
"I don't know how you can explain that," Brown said. "I don't know, but I do know they're trying. I do know they care."
Chauncey Billups, Brown's point guard in Detroit, said Tuesday that Marbury has called him frequently to seek advice in dealing with Brown, and Marbury acknowledged trouble assimilating his game to Brown's demands. But he remains determined the process will succeed.
"It's kind of tough for me to get going in that sense," Marbury said. "But that's not important right now. Eventually it will swing around for me. All I'm trying to do is run the team, get us in sets and make sure we get a good shot every time down the court."
Brown lamented the Knicks' lack of organization on offense and pointed out that even a rookie like Channing Frye could see it going helter skelter. Brown said Frye approached him at the airport after Wednesday's loss and said, "Coach, it's amazing. When things get tough, instead of us slowing it down and executing to get a good set, very rarely do we get in good position to run a play."
Brown has become so uncertain about what his players can do, that he said he will pare down the Knicks' playbook to just a handful of sets. He already has taken to calling plays from the bench, something he hates doing, and on fastbreak opportunities he will limit them to two options.
In practice, before games and in timeouts, Brown has been hammering home his most basic tenets in the hope that repetition will lead to execution.
"If you say it a hundred times, you've got to say it a thousand times until they get it," he said. "I want to be specific so there's no indecision at all. That's what I told them again today. We're going to limit the things we do."
Strip it down, and start from the beginning.
As Brown keeps saying, it's a work in progress.
Note: Jerome James re-injured his left hamstring during practice and will likely go on the inactive list. Brown hinted Penny Hardaway would be activated for the first time and could play some point guard.
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11/11/2005 1:38 AM
