Knicks' Marbury to Handle the Ball Less

By CHRIS SHERIDAN
.c The Associated Press

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) - After reviewing Stephon Marbury's double-zero performance in the second half of Game 1, the New York Knicks have decided to take the ball out of his hands.

New York's point guard will now spend more time as a shooting guard, with the ballhandling duties to fall to someone else.

``When Penny (Hardaway)'s in there, definitely. We have great confidence that he can handle it, and we can run Steph off some screens instead of him always handling it,'' coach Lenny Wilkens said Sunday.

The Knicks went through a long practice and video session Sunday, dissecting the way the New Jersey Nets picked them apart in a 107-83 victory Saturday. Marbury was held without a single point or assist in the second half, and New York scored just 28 points.

One of the most effective things the Nets did was to send a second defender at Marbury in the backcourt or near midcourt to assist Kerry Kittles, forcing the Knicks' offense to originate elsewhere.

``I'm the guy that normally ignites the offense, and they did a great job of getting us out of our offense by taking the ball out of my hands,'' Marbury said. ``We'll be ready for it.''

Whether Tim Thomas will be ready for Game 2 Tuesday night remains to be seen.

The Knicks' small forward had to be wheeled out of the arena on a stretcher after he was flagrantly fouled by Nets center Jason Collins during the fourth quarter. Thomas was released from a Manhattan hospital Sunday morning after being held overnight for observation, then underwent MRIs on his left hip, left ankle and back.

The Knicks listed him as day today with multiple bruises of the lower back and a bone bruise to his left ankle, and he didn't attend practice.

``At least there are no broken bones or anything like that,'' said Knicks president Isiah Thomas, who - like Wilkens - did not find fault with Collins' flagrant foul.

Collins defended himself, pointing out that Thomas' injuries happened because of the way he landed - not because of the foul.

``It was a clean play. I was going for the ball,'' Collins said. ``You never want to see another player get hurt, and it was never my intention to hurt Tim.''

Isiah Thomas wouldn't criticize his players for failing to retaliate for Collins' foul, noting that the NBA is not as physical a league as when he played. But he did make a mental note of the lack of a response from his team.

``For me, this is a good time to really observe what it is we have and what we'll continue to need to perform in the playoffs and get better,'' he said. ``What the playoffs are about now are raising your emotional intensity level and your concentration level. We'll see if we're capable of doing that.''

There was a good deal of distaste between the teams simmering just below the surface before the series began, and some of it reared itself in Game 1. Knicks backup point guard Frank Williams took exception to Jason Kidd standing menacingly over him after Williams fell to the floor, and he responded with a two-hand shove.

Richard Jefferson of the Nets briefly stepped onto the court during the altercation, but the NBA reviewed the videotape and decided Jefferson's actions didn't merit a suspension under the so-called leaving the bench rule.

``When it happened, I stepped up off the bench and pointed, saying, 'Hey, that's a foul.' That's all I did. I wasn't going to go on the floor,'' Jefferson said.

Asked whether Jefferson should have been suspended, Isiah Thomas replied: ``If you're going by the letter of the rule, yeah. But I guess that's how it's not being judged today.''




Does marbs handling less even matter? i dont know... feels like our game plan is like how to not get killed instead of how to attack their weaknesses... blah.. maybe im wrong.. jefferson should be suspended.. i would say no but we got screwed by that same rule before

Yeah Jefferson should have gotten suspended but that rule only seems to apply to the Knicks. There have been plenty of games where guys have come off the bench to break up a fight or to calm things down. When Ewing was suspended that was just insane. Ewing wanted no part of it because he knew his team needed him to be on the court. This really sucks....Then again I want the Knicks to beat the Nets straight up....no free bees.

About Frank or Hardaway starting at point.....definately because Marbury is the Knicks first option.....He needs to work off the ball especially if no one else can do it. I say start Frank and run the offense through Frank and Marbury....Have Penny back them both up.