i swiped this from another site

In the pre-interview, ahmad said the Knicks have been a disappointment and nobody takes it harder than Stephon. He's been at the top of his game but the team has struggled and will miss the playoffs. It's up to Stephon to hold things together as the star.

Ahmad: Last time we talked, you just got here, the dream of playing for the Knicks - how has the reality been versus the dream?

Stephon: The reality has been great. Everything has been like I imagined. The expectations are so high, and the demand is so high, but at the same time it's fun.

Ahmad: NY fans don't have patience, how about you?

Stephon: I don't have patience either, it won't all happen overnight.

Ahmad: When did it all go south, can you put your finger on it?

Stephon: When Jamal got hurt, when Penny got hurt - Penny was a key guy on our team. Then Allan couldn't go anymore. So we had some of our main guns down.

Herb has done an unbelievable job.

Ahmad: It seems as if you provide guidance for younger players.

Stephon: Ther'es no need to get frustrated with younger guys who have never been through it before.

Ahmad: This a more mature Stephon...could you have handled this a few years ago?

Stephon: Nah, I couldn't because I wouldn't have had anyone to talk to. But having Isiah makes it easier because I can communicate with him.

Ahmad: Regardless of the record, you've played like a warrior every night - what are your expectations for the team?

Stephon: Finish on a high note and try to build for next season.

Ahmad at the end said Stephon is the only Knick to play all games, and is having career highs in FG% and FT%. It's clear that Stephon needs a LOT more help if the team is going anywhere. The 2nd half of the interview will air during the next game at halftime.

it's one thing for marbury to blame injuries, but if isiah toes the same line, then we got problems...

knicks were 16-13 at the end of the year and after an EASY schedule. if we can't overcome the loss of penny, h20 (who wasn't there in the beginning), and craw at different time, then we weren't playing "so well" to begin with.

Man, not even Ewing was good in the final moments. You can't blame him for that.

marbury misses another FT!

Ewing always took the last shot and he sanked lots of clutch FTs!

hey, ewing made his fair share of last second shots including that bank shot in the corner against the bulls circa 97. as a matter of fact, i remember him only missing two, one against the pacers ( the infamous finger roll) and the miss shot in game 1 against the pacers in 99 because he was palying on a torn frigging achilles tendon. do you remember the tip in dunk against the pacers in 94 in the closing seconds? of course not. as far as marbury goes, he came from one of the biggest clutch players a year ago too one of the worse. i think he is excerting to much energy throughout the game that it is draining.

Posted by bsw3:

i don't know how to explain stephon's downfall in clutch shots this year. but don't say stephon is not clutch. stephon has been clutch his entire career. from his days with the t-wolves to the all-star game in 01 to his last year in phoenix when he won something like 7 games with buzzer beaters. stephon is a very clutch player. he loves the last shot. i just don't know why he doesn't this year.

Thank you BSW3. Starting from when he won his highschool championship with 2 fts Marbury has been pretty clutch through out his career. This season he hasn't made the last shot. And made some bad plays in the 4th. But we also take for granted all the times he has carried us on his back in the 3rd & 4th quarter this season. Ask yourself who is the reason it even comes down to the final shot.

I can admit Marbury though he has had one of his best season # wise. He could get a lot better in areas of his game. But I see a huge diffence in him now. He has been more positive with teammates. No longer putting his head down or giving them stairs after they make mistakes. He gives them high fives now.

Steph hasn't taken as many clutch shots this year because he is the best player and defenses focus on him. As soon as he gets near the rim the team collapses on him and he kicks it out, as he should. I think others have made some good points as well. This year was on off year for his clutchness. I remember hearing so many non-knick fans saying that about the H20 and it was obvious they wee not watching the games. H20 hit alot of clutch shots, people just remember the misses better.

i'm sorry, but this season has shown me time and time again that he's not a smart player down the stretch of games. how many times have we run iso plays for him at the top with 10 seconds to go, only for him to dribble out the clock or start the offense too late? he gets doubled, we all know that, but he needs to start that offense sooner so he can pass out of it, so we're not left with kurt heaving 3's from the wing.

Posted by BigAppleStar3:

Posted by Killa4luv:

Steph hasn't taken as many clutch shots this year because he is the best player and defenses focus on him. As soon as he gets near the rim the team collapses on him and he kicks it out, as he should. I think others have made some good points as well. This year was on off year for his clutchness. I remember hearing so many non-knick fans saying that about the H20 and it was obvious they wee not watching the games. H20 hit alot of clutch shots, people just remember the misses better.

No excuse ... look at Miami. You think teams expect Shaquille O'Neal to get the last shot? Everyone knows Dwyane Wade is going to take the last shot. Does he pass it to Udonis Haslem for a 20' brick? Stephon Marbury has no excuses. He NEEDs to take that shot. I feel much better losing a game with Marbs missing than Kurt Thomas shooting it.

100% agree w/u BigApple...great players never shy away from taking the big shots...they want the ball in those situations to take the accolades when they make them & aren't afraid take the heat when they miss it...i think Michael Jordan passed up the shot to Paxson & Kerr a couple times in the postseason, but for the most part he's the guy taking those shots down the stretch in big games.

[Edited by - TMS on 04/11/2005 11:57:40]