Steph understands now and respects way Brown is motivating


BY GREG LOGAN
STAFF CORRESPONDENT

January 8, 2006

GREENBURGH, N.Y. - Stephon Marbury was critical of Larry Brown yesterday. Said he doesn't agree with Brown's method of criticizing players publicly. Said the Knicks' coach could have settled the rotation and seen his team improve sooner, maybe as much as a month ago.

But Marbury said it all with a smile. Made a joke at his own expense. Laughed at the way Brown still was coaching so hard at the end of the Knicks' 21-point win over Washington on Friday and turning so red that, as Marbury put it, "He was a tomato."

Little more than a week ago, Marbury was caught up in another back-page feud with Brown, who had criticized him for a lackluster performance in Orlando.

But after his best three-game stretch of the season, Marbury is comfortable enough to display a sense of humor he keeps too well-hidden - and a degree of honesty about his relationship with Brown that really is a measure of his respect for a coach who has been hard on him, not to mention the rest of the Knicks.

Marbury had 16 points and 11 assists and generally controlled the tempo of the 113-92 win over the Wizards that gave the Knicks (9-21) only their second two-game winning streak of the season. They can win three straight for the first time this season by beating Seattle (14-18) this afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

As grim as things have been for the Knicks, their triple-overtime win over Phoenix before the Washington game sparked a surge of optimism.

Marbury agreed the Knicks have shown improvement since Brown finally settled on a starting lineup and rotation three games ago, but he added: "I think we could have done this a month ago ... But sometimes you've got to go through what you've got to go through to get to where you want to go."

By that, he meant the indoctrination process into understanding there's a method to what might have seemed like Brown's madness with his constantly shifting lineups and substitution patterns.

When Brown's criticism of him after the Orlando game was mentioned, Marbury didn't hold back. "I don't agree with that," he said. "I don't agree with Coach saying things publicly in the newspaper, but every coach is different. That's probably a way for him to get a message to people. But if I was the coach, I wouldn't do that."

Asked if Brown can motivate players that way, Marbury couldn't help but laugh at himself. "I mean, it motivated me," he said.

In the past three games, Marbury has averaged 23.7 points and 11.0 assists. He reached double digits in assists just twice in the first 27 games and hadn't done it for 12 straight games before getting 12, 10 and 11 assists the past three games.

"I'm trying to do everything he wants me to do," Marbury said of Brown. "I'm committed to him because the only thing that's important is winning."

Marbury insisted that he understands Brown's criticism is not personal. But he said it stings more than did barbs from his previous coaches.

"Coach is different," Marbury said of the 65-year-old Hall of Famer. "He's got that legendary mark already. So when he says it, it hurts a little bit more. When he says something, it travels.

"... He's going to always keep the bar high no matter what, and he's going to continue to coach. I mean, I was watching the [Washington] film, and I'm like, 'Damn, this dude is still screaming to the top of his voice. He's turning red, and we're up by 20 points.' But that's how he is, and he's not going to change. I think everybody is understanding that."

And accepting it.


It is showing in Steph's court appearence, I think LB will make sure it sticks, the other coaches we had were not very strong in making a player understand what they want out of a player, LB is like a pitbull when it comes to things like that.

Posted by attaboy2005:

Asked if Brown can motivate players that way, Marbury couldn't help but laugh at himself. "I mean, it motivated me," he said.

That's all that matters. Few coaches have been able to motivate Steph to do it their way.

But kudos to both for Steph becoming better.

Posted by BlueSeats:

Posted by attaboy2005:

Asked if Brown can motivate players that way, Marbury couldn't help but laugh at himself. "I mean, it motivated me," he said.

That's all that matters. Few coaches have been able to motivate Steph to do it their way.

But kudos to both for Steph becoming better.

Don't tell me you're now on the Marbury bandwagon??

Steph with your basic 15:1 assist to turnover ratio today!

He has been amazing lately, and was a coach on the floor today!

A master mindphuch!

Larry is gonna blast his mates until someone steps up and says to stop it in the Papers!

Ok, thats fine, but now Marbs takes on some responsablity. See how it works, phuch with them until someone else takes a leadership role.

If larry does slow it down in the press, then marbs feels empowered, but its a master-studant thing! Very cool.

Or I have no clue whatsoever!

3 game wins! Steph doing it right! It feels good!