Knicks Are Adapting to Brown's Prodding
By HOWARD BECK

GREENBURGH, N.Y., Jan. 7 - Larry Brown is different. Stephon Marbury is reminded of that every day, if not every five minutes.

Rewind to the closing minutes of the Knicks' 113-92 rout of the Washington Wizards on Friday, and see what Marbury saw: Brown, the Knicks' coach, ranting and gesticulating as frantically as he had all game.

"He's turning red; we're up by 20 points," Marbury said Saturday, chuckling at the memory. "But that's just how he is. And he's not going to change. And I think everyone's understanding that."

It was that kind of week for the Knicks. They won consecutive games for the first time in two months, even while Brown poked, prodded and bewildered his charges. Over a 10-day span, Brown publicly tweaked Marbury, Trevor Ariza, Jerome James and Nate Robinson.

The Knicks beat Phoenix and Washington in spite of it all, or perhaps because of it all. The cause and effect can be debated, but it does appear that the Knicks are adapting to Brown's methods. Or, at least, tolerating them.

Marbury played three of his best games of the season, all after Brown publicly criticized him for being passive in a loss at Orlando. It caused some initial tension, but the two now seem to be in sync.

And Ariza appeared to be more aggressive Friday after spending most of the week as Brown's verbal punching bag.

"I don't agree with the coach saying things publicly and in the newspapers, but every coach is different," Marbury said. "That's probably a way for him to get a message to people. But if I was the coach, I wouldn't do that."

Yet even as Marbury made clear his own displeasure, he conceded that the results had been good. Since going 0 for 7 at Orlando, Marbury has averaged 23.7 points and 11 assists.

"I mean, it motivated me," Marbury said. "It wasn't because of that, it's just that I'm trying to do everything that he wants me to do. I'm committed to him. Because the only thing that's important is winning."

It is no secret that Knicks officials - who mandate media training sessions for every coach and player - are discomfited by Brown's candor. The chatty Brown, a newcomer to the Knicks' controlling, corporate culture, has openly joked about the media training and about the daily briefings he gets from public-relations staffers before he meets with reporters.

None of it has kept him from delivering occasional shots at his players - some playful and some stinging. Brown has repeatedly noted that James and Eddy Curry are out of shape. He has chided Jamal Crawford's ball-handling. In an apparent shot at Marbury, Brown once bemoaned that "we don't have anybody with a head" to take charge on the court.

This week, he called Ariza delusional after Ariza claimed to be baffled by his benching. After Robinson committed seven turnovers Friday night, Brown said, "Sometimes he forgets whether he's playing on the white team or the blue team."

Robinson, the excitable, energetic rookie guard, has probably taken more shots from Brown, both publicly and in the locker room, than anyone.

"He definitely has a doghouse," Robinson said. "I've been in there a couple times. You've just got to work your way out."

For one day, Brown was voluntarily silent. He was in a rush to get to his son L. J.'s basketball game Saturday and thus got a reprieve from his usual daily meeting with reporters.

Although Marbury said he did not take Brown's words personally, some of his teammates have. And maybe that is the idea.

"I think Coach, at times he wants to see who's going to break," Marbury said. "Coach is different, because he's got that legendary mark already. So when he says it, it hurts a little bit more."

Marbury later added: "You take it as a challenge. But the best thing you have to know is that he's never going to set the bar low for you. He'll always keep the bar high, no matter what."

The Knicks have followed a similar path this season. After dropping to last place in the league with a 7-21 record, they have bounced back slightly. After struggling to adapt to Brown's way, they are starting to understand his court strategy and his mind games. After trying to think their way through plays in November, the Knicks are becoming more fluid, blending Brown's structure with instinctive play.

But even in victory, as the Knicks are learning, Brown will be hollering and stomping until the final buzzer.

"It's definitely a challenge, because he's not letting up. At all," Marbury said. Will his teammates embrace the madness as Marbury has? "They don't have no choice," Marbury said.

REBOUNDS

Jamal Crawford (foot) and Quentin Richardson (back) are questionable for the Knicks' game Sunday against Seattle.