Wade: Larry just meddled

BY GREG LOGAN
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

November 29, 2005


MIAMI -- The Knicks' problems adjusting to Larry Brown's emphasis on team basketball over individual skill are the same problems the 2004 U.S. Olympic team had on its way to a disappointing bronze medal.

Miami guard Dwyane Wade was quoted in yesterday's Miami Herald saying, "I don't think any of us got the opportunity to play to our strengths, which makes us good players and would have made us a good team."


With Brown and the Knicks in town to play the Heat last night at American Airlines Arena, Wade sounded a conciliatory note, saying he had an "unbelievable" experience and expressing his gratitude for the time Brown spent working with him. But even though he said he was "kind of misquoted," Wade essentially repeated his observation that most of the NBA stars felt restricted by Brown.

"What I was saying was that when we were in the Olympics, there were a lot of guys that were good one-on-one players, and we weren't able to play to our strengths because [Brown] wanted the ball to move around a certain amount of times," Wade said.

"You've got guys like Iverson and Stephon who can come down and break their guy down off the dribble. And I'm a good driver. And LeBron. We weren't able to do that. We were trying to get comfortable with each other, and we didn't have enough time."

Marbury struggled as much as any Olympian before breaking out with a 31-point game against Spain in the quarterfinals. "Stephon is one of the best driving guards in the game, and coach Brown wanted him to be a point guard and dish the ball and run the offense," Wade said.

Changing was difficult for the U.S. players, and Wade added, "Of course, while we were going through our changes, the other [national] teams were playing at their maximum potential because they've been playing together for so long."

Brown shrugged off the criticism and praised Wade as being similar to Michael Jordan in a lot of ways except for his size. "I love him to death," Brown said. "I don't care what he says ... He's a pretty special kid."

Posted by boomann:

He had a team of superstars and after watching the guy meddle with the Knicks in this early part of the season I do see what Wade was saying? I think Larry Brown needs a GM to give him certain type of players to be effective. He need a run around jump shooter like AI, Hamilton, Reggie Miller and Danny Manning. He needs a defensive minded forward like the Davis boyz, Ben Wallace and Tyrone Hill. He's the type of coach where he needs a certain type of roster. I like our players, but LB is like a kid in a candy store right now he is using too many diffrent lineups. The guys do not have the chemistry yet where they can get any continuity. I say he needs to pick a lineup and stick to it. He's having too much fun coaching.

Larry Brown dosen't care about athletic people