BACK COURT BLUES

By MARK BERMAN

November 22, 2006 -- MINNEAPOLIS - Stephon Marbury is unhappy with Isiah Thomas. But it's not the same type of unhappiness he had with Larry Brown.

Yes, Marbury is steamed at Thomas for his early third-quarter benching Monday after he committed a turnover. After the game, Marbury, who had gone three straight games without a turnover, said he "didn't understand" the benching. Marbury made an implication if he's not allowed to commit one turnover, then that's how he'll play - passively, without trying to make plays.

Marbury spoke to Thomas late Monday night after he vented to the press, and that's something that would not have happened if the uncommunicative Brown was in charge. The Knicks did not practice yesterday, possibly to let tempers cool.

Marbury considers Thomas a father figure, and the son is displeased that dad embarrassed him Monday night, yanking him 65 seconds into the second half, along with partner Steve Francis.

There seems to be an agreement Marbury will be more aggressive in the future and attack the basket - his bread and butter. Marbury is averaging a paltry 9.2 shots a game, which is unacceptably low.

And it's become abundantly clear the Marbury-Francis backcourt is on its last legs, if not already dead.

Marbury needs a new backcourt partner, and it's possible Jamal Crawford starts ahead of Francis at shooting guard tonight when the Knicks play the Wolves at Target Center, where Marbury had his most prosperous two years as a pro.

Marbury and Crawford have always had a nice chemistry. Basketball compatability is something you can't break down with X's and O's. You either have it or don't. Marbury and Francis don't.

If the Crawford-Marbury backcourt marriage happens tonight, it could be short lived, too. In two weeks, Jared Jeffries is expected to return as starting small forward. At that juncture, Thomas should slide Quentin Richardson to shooting guard and perhaps take Francis out of the rotation altogether. That would pair the sizzling duo of Crawford and Nate Robinson together.

Francis looks shot as a player. Marbury, meanwhile, is playing without spunk, and it's not the sneakers. On Monday night, Marbury scoffed at a question of whether he's pressing at home. Marbury wonders how could he be pressing when he's not even shooting.

Marbury is trying to follow Thomas' directives of less dribbling, more passing. Often, Marbury doesn't have the ball in his hands for more than a couple of seconds before he's hitting the next open man. It's not working. Marbury's plus-minus is third-worst on the team. The Knicks are minus-5.3 points when he's on the court, plus-7.6 when he's on the bench. Only Channing Frye's and Eddy Curry's plus-minus are worse.

Thomas wants an equal-opportunity offense, talks about Marbury and Francis sacrificing points. But with a record of 4-8, Thomas has to realize the team's strengths. One of them is Marbury's ability to snake ferociously to the rack and either finish or create for others. Marbury is averaging just 10.9 points, but his assists-turnover ratio is a strong 4.8-to-1.83.

Yes, we all love what Robinson, Crawford, David Lee and Renaldo Balkman bring off the bench. But the Knicks can't make the playoffs if those guys are starters. They can if those reserves supply reckless energy off the bench to complement the starters.

Thomas did Marbury a disservice by yanking him so quickly. Marbury is already unfairly booed at the Garden for every mistake. The fans are too ambivalent about Francis to boo him. Two minutes into Monday's loss to the Rockets, Marbury committed a charge. The fans jeered.

Thomas said in training camp he'd need 15 games to sort it out. Francis and Marbury are not the answer as a starting backcourt. Francis hasn't shown he deserves to play, especially when Jeffries returns.

Unlike Brown, Isiah tried it and it didn't work. When asked if the Marbury-Francis backcourt will stay intact Monday night, Thomas said, "Um," then paused a few seconds and added shakily, "Yeah."

Repeat after me, Isiah. The answer should have been, "NO!"

berman is totally marbury's mouthpiece

Posted by nixluva:

I don't believe either player is shot or that they can't play together. I think most of the problem is coming from these guys being asked to hold back for the good of the team. Isiah is trying to solve other problems in the SL. 1st it was Frye and now it's Curry. Steph we know can always do what he's done in the past, if he wants too. Plus he's the whipping boy for Isiah, for a practical reason. Many coaches will be harsh on the perceived star on the team as a way of showing the rest of the team that he's displeased, won't play favorites and is setting an example. As long as he's not saying nasty things about him in the press and they continue to actually communicate I don't see a problem, with it. I'm sure that Isiah explained what's going on, so that Steph can be able to endure it.

it's only been 12 games tho it seems longer. I wouldn't take anything that's happened in this short time period too seriously yet. There still remains time for things to turn around. If they continue thru this month, then i'd take action, but for now it's still short of the 15-20 game mark so there's no reason to overreact.

Posted by anrst:

Posted by BRIGGS:

Francis is not shot. He did just have a 40-6-6 game in pre-season. This place is not the best for him--marbury and steve are to close in skills to make it work no synergy
if these guys werent being paid ludicrous amounts of $ they would be easily tradeable because other teams know they have talent--but just not the same as their prime+ the condition of the knicks.

If Francis was here first and if Francis, not Marbury, played for Lincoln, people would say Marbury is shot and Francis is holding back.

Posted by nixluva:

it's only been 12 games tho it seems longer. I wouldn't take anything that's happened in this short time period too seriously yet. There still remains time for things to turn around. If they continue thru this month, then i'd take action, but for now it's still short of the 15-20 game mark so there's no reason to overreact.