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” D'Antoni and Knicks Make a Statement
By Howard Beck
In his first meaningful night as the Knicks’ head coach, Mike D’Antoni delivered just about everything a suspicious fan base could want: entertaining play, a cohesive team and a victory over an old rival.
In the process, he also made a symbolic break with the inglorious recent past. D’Antoni left Stephon Marbury and Eddy Curry on the bench Wednesday night when the Knicks grinded out a 120-115 victory over the Miami Heat at Madison Square Garden.
The decision to bench Curry had been announced a week earlier. But excising Marbury was an unexpected, bold and potentially disruptive move.
Marbury was already unhappy at being relegated to a reserve role in the preseason. His response to Wednesday’s benching could determine how much longer he plays for his hometown team. Team officials considered cutting him before training camp.
The rest of the Knicks seemed unfazed. Jamal Crawford erased memories of his preseason slump by scoring a team-high 29 points. Four teammates also finished in double figures, led by Zach Randolph (20). David Lee had 16 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists.
Crawford’s October malaise had topped D’Antoni’s list of preseason concerns. But Crawford made his first four shots, including a pair of 3-pointers, as the Knicks took control early.
Miami, with a rookie coach (Erik Spoelstra) and two rookies in the lineup (Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers), looked wobbly in the first half, giving up a 19-2 run to fall behind by double digits. The Knicks led by 23 in the third quarter.
The Heat rallied late behind the hot hand of Daequan Cook and knocked the deficit down to 5 by the final minute. Cook’s final 3-pointer made the score 116-112 with 20.9 seconds left. The Knicks held on with free throws by Crawford and Nate Robinson.
Dwyane Wade, coming off his memorable Olympic performance, led the Heat with 26 points. But he went 9 for 24 from the field and fouled out with 1 minute 25 seconds left.
D’Antoni never announced that Marbury was out of the rotation. But he dropped rhetorical hints that something might happen. He began emphasizing the importance of developing the Knicks’ prospects, Wilson Chandler and the rookie Danilo Gallinari. He repeatedly stressed the need for a change in culture and chemistry. Marbury, it could be safely concluded, is viewed a hindrance to all of that.
Ninety minutes before tip-off, D’Antoni — without naming names — drew his final line in the sand, separating the in crowd from the out.
“We will have probably eight or nine guys tonight,” he said. “There will be some guys ticked off.”
And the rotation is not likely to change much, he said, even if the Knicks stumble.
“One thing as a coach, I just want my players to know that I trust you, I believe in you,” D’Antoni said. “I’m going to pick who I like. They will perform and go, and I’ll suffer with them and I’ll live with them. And the other guys will try to kill me.”
Marbury and Curry will lead the insurgency. Both were longtime starters with big salaries and big expectations. Each had been advertised as a franchise cornerstone when the Knicks acquired them.
Now they are buried on the bench behind Malik Rose, Mardy Collins and a 20-year-old rookie. Chandler and Robinson were the first players off the bench. Rose and Gallinari came next, late in the first quarter.
As D’Antoni’s plan gradually came into focus, Marbury sat stoically at the far end of the bench, next to Anthony Roberson. As the second quarter opened — with a backcourt of Collins and Robinson — Marbury stared straight ahead, rocking slightly in his seat. When Randolph made a pair of free throws, he clapped politely and smirked slightly.
At halftime, Curry and Marbury walked off the court together, a pair of befuddled former stars with uncertain futures. Q-Tip (who performed a new version of “Go New York Go”) played a bigger role in the evening than either of them.
Marbury spent the second half on the bench with his teammates, but Curry never reappeared from the locker room. Pressed for an explanation, a team spokesman said Curry was icing a sore right knee.
With the Knicks surging to a 15-point halftime lead, no one in the stands seemed to miss the former starters. Finally, as the Knicks pushed the lead to 25 late in the third quarter, a group of fans began a chant of “We want Steph!” Each time they did, a dissenting group of fans responded with boos.
The crowd generally seemed unsure what to make of their madeover team. They offered tepid applause through most of the pregame introductions. They roared only twice, for D’Antoni and David Lee. Marbury got a mix of cheers and boos. Curry got only boos.
Q-Tip did not fare much better, trying in vain to get the fans to echo his chants of “Newww York.”
REBOUNDS
Although he dropped Eddy Curry from the rotation, Mike D’Antoni said the ban is not necessarily permanent. Curry reported to camp out of shape and missed nearly two weeks because of an illness. “Probably he needed those two weeks more than anybody,” D’Antoni said. “We want him to be a factor. I want him to play really well. And if he does we’ll be a better team, no doubt about it.” ... For a 20-year-old rookie who missed most of training camp, Danilo Gallinari is not lacking in self-confidence. D’Antoni recalled asking Gallinari if he was ready to play. “He says, ‘Well, if you want to win, I’ll play,’ ” D’Antoni said, laughing. “Spoken like a true Italian.
I'll never trust this' team again.
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10/30/2008 12:15 AM