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djsunyc
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Brown Speaks. Is Anyone Listening?
By LIZ ROBBINS
GREENBURGH, N.Y., Feb. 1 — Larry Brown peered through his horn-rimmed glasses Wednesday afternoon and, as the coach of the Knicks and the only official voice of the organization talking these days, calmly addressed the mess on the court.
He called it befuddling. And that made the most sense of all.
Brown's reluctance to settle on a lineup or a rotation has confused his players and boomeranged, possibly contributing to an aimless team with a 14-30 record. Such a state seems to mirror the dysfunction off the court at Madison Square Garden.
Isiah Thomas, the team's president, is not providing any answers because he is embroiled in the sexual harassment suit that the former team executive Anucha Browne Sanders filed against him and the Garden last week. Thomas rarely talked before the lawsuit.
Steve Mills, the Garden president, smiled but declined to comment Tuesday night after the Knicks' 130-97 loss to Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
The smoke has still not cleared. Brown, who did not speak after being ejected in the third quarter Tuesday, criticized his players' effort Wednesday, emphasizing the disconnect he has had with them and, in the process, virtually impugning the youthful roster Thomas gave him.
"Coaches coach execution, they're not supposed to coach effort," Brown said. "I've never been in a situation where that has ever been an issue for me. I've always been places where I knew I could count on the effort. Again, this is as young a group as I've had in a long time."
Throughout his career, Brown has never been a youth advocate. "With young guys, I feel like I've got to figure out a way where how it really clicks," he said. "I'm searching right now."
Brown, a Hall of Fame coach whose system is rooted in defense, is presiding over a team that allowed 110.2 points a game, on 48.2 percent shooting, in its nine losses over its past 10 games.
"We're way behind in terms of matching up in potential," Brown said of his team's defense. "Can we be the kind of defensive team like San Antonio or Detroit? No, I don't think we have the personnel, the athleticism or the shot-blocking. Can we be a good defensive team? Yes. I really believe we lacked the commitment in terms of effort and the toughness in terms of having a mind-set and the trust, and then, to be honest with you, I ought to be coaching them better than that."
In a clue to the distance that seems to exist between the hard-driving coach and his players, Brown admitted that the veteran team captain Antonio Davis approached him at Wednesday's optional practice and told him to simplify things.
"I've been simple and consistent in defense, but we are dealing with a lot of young guys and a lot of guys where this wasn't a priority to them," Brown said.
"We've been pointing out the same things over and over again, and they keep popping up in film sessions. You hope guys watching will do something about it, and it's kind of befuddling right now because we do the same things over and over again."
Throughout his career, Brown has always favored veterans over rookies. In Philadelphia, Brown had Tim Thomas and Larry Hughes traded. He kept LeBron James and Amare Stoudemire on the bench at the Olympics in 2004.
Thomas has drafted Channing Frye, Nate Robinson, David Lee and Trevor Ariza. None of them are in the starting lineup; Lee is barely in the rotation and Ariza is ensconced in Brown's doghouse. Qyntel Woods, a troubled forward who was unwanted by Portland and Miami, started and played a game-high 37 minutes Tuesday.
"This is a much different team than I expected to have," Brown said. "I never imagined the young kids — Qyntel, Nate, David Lee, Channing, Eddy Curry, Jackie Butler, Trevor — people like that playing. I think it's difficult for young guys, and that's been the case."
Curry, in his fifth season in the league, has signed close to a $60 million deal. Frye was the one player Thomas refused to part with when the Knicks talked with the Indiana Pacers about acquiring Ron Artest. Lee, who had started throughout the Knicks' six-game winning streak at the start of January, played only six minutes Tuesday
"But I really believe what Isiah's done here is he's got some kids who can grow and get better," Brown said.
In Brown's system, with young players being inconsistent, growth is hard to chart. It is possible to think that Brown, who once had his eye on becoming a team president in Cleveland, will consider taking over personnel matters if Thomas's situation comes to an untimely ending.
For now, Brown seems to be running the show, saying that his young players are going through an "an advanced science class that will help them down the road."
But is he the mad scientist in this picture?
Since winning his 1,000th career game on Jan. 13, Brown has watched the Knicks unravel while using seven different starting lineups. He has employed 27 starting lineups so far this season.
"Most of it is because of injuries we've had," Brown said.
Some of his shuffling also comes from his players' inherent inconsistencies — Jamal Crawford and Curry also struggled in Chicago — and no reliable veteran outside Stephon Marbury.
"His whole point — and I'm just guessing — is that he wants everybody to be prepared at all times," Frye said before Tuesday's game against the Lakers. "If you know you have the opportunity to start, you're going to be a little more excited to play, you're going to be more hungry in practice."
But it seems as if the opposite has occurred. Brown implied that the team quit during Monday's loss in Atlanta, giving up 120 points to one of the worst teams in the league.
On Tuesday, the Knicks allowed Andrew Bynum, the Lakers' 18-year-old rookie center, to score a career-high 16 points, all in the fourth quarter. He shot 7 of 7 from the field. By that point, Brown had been ejected and was watching from his office.
One Knick did not give up, as Brown plainly saw. Robinson threw down a showy unguarded dunk in the final nine seconds and turned to taunt the Lakers' bench. Bryant only laughed.
Brown's staff put that into the film clips, with the score superimposed over the play as a message.
"When you look at our game, so many young kids coming from A.A.U. programs, everybody giving them things, they don't know about the importance of winning and losing and doing the right thing," Brown said.
The Knicks are paying Brown a salary of $10 million a year. Asked about how he approached the difficult circumstances, he said matter-of-factly: "Oh, it's killing me. But it's my responsibility to get this thing right, and I got to do my job better."
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