KP
Starter
Larry wary on Marbury
Steph wants to play
BY MICHAEL OBERNAUER
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/385208p-326918c.html
It wasn't even a month ago that Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury were barely on speaking terms. Now, over the past week, it's become increasingly clear the two can't live without each other.
Exactly when the beleaguered coach and the injured point guard will team up again, however, is - surprise! - the subject of some disagreement between the pair.
Marbury returned to practice yesterday for the first time since spraining his left shoulder running into a pick against Minnesota eight days ago. But he was held out of all contact drills, and afterward, Brown said Marbury's status for tomorrow's game against the Kings remained up in the air.
"I don't know. We'll just see what happens (today)," Brown said. "He's making progress, but we just didn't want to put him through any contact right now."
Marbury - who two days ago had too much pain to lift his left arm over his head, but who had targeted tomorrow as his return date all along - replied simply: "I'm playing Wednesday. I said I'm playing, so I'm playing."
"When he's ready, he'll be ready," Brown said. "I don't want to put him in a position where he could have a setback."
Marbury's arrival can't come soon enough for the suddenly reeling-again Knicks, who have followed up a six-game winning streak with a five-game slide. During the current skid, Marbury's fill-ins, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, have proven unequal to the task of directing the offense, while on the other end, the Knicks repeatedly have been burned by opposing point guards, culminating in Hornets rookie Chris Paul's 27-point, 13-assist Garden exhibition on Saturday night.
Sacramento's Mike Bibby must be salivating right now.
"Jamal's been out there kind of freelancing," Marbury said. "I think he got stuck out there (at the point guard position) a little bit. When I'm playing, I take some of the pressure off him, that when I come out he knows better what he has to do to play the point."
Brown, however, can only wish a solution were that simple. The Knicks' effort level in Saturday's 109-98 loss - after which, according to a team source, assistant coach Mark Aguirre and forward Maurice Taylor exchanged heated words over who was most to blame for the team's shoddy defense - was deeply upsetting to Brown, and he's at a loss as to how to fix the problem.
"I don't know how to address that, especially when you've got young players," the coach said. "... You should never as a coach ever have to demand effort. That's something that should be a given."
All of which makes it rather ironic that Brown should now be looking to Marbury for an infusion of positive energy. Brown has criticized Marbury in the past for maintaining too negative a demeanor on the court, saying last month, "I've commented to him numerous times that when things are going bad we have to have him with good body language."
That, however, was then. Yesterday, with his point guard returning to his fast-sinking team for the first time in a week, Brown allowed this: "It's really good to have him back."
Originally published on January 24, 2006
--I hope Brown doesn't play him
.
Steph wants to play
BY MICHAEL OBERNAUER
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/385208p-326918c.html
It wasn't even a month ago that Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury were barely on speaking terms. Now, over the past week, it's become increasingly clear the two can't live without each other.
Exactly when the beleaguered coach and the injured point guard will team up again, however, is - surprise! - the subject of some disagreement between the pair.
Marbury returned to practice yesterday for the first time since spraining his left shoulder running into a pick against Minnesota eight days ago. But he was held out of all contact drills, and afterward, Brown said Marbury's status for tomorrow's game against the Kings remained up in the air.
"I don't know. We'll just see what happens (today)," Brown said. "He's making progress, but we just didn't want to put him through any contact right now."
Marbury - who two days ago had too much pain to lift his left arm over his head, but who had targeted tomorrow as his return date all along - replied simply: "I'm playing Wednesday. I said I'm playing, so I'm playing."
"When he's ready, he'll be ready," Brown said. "I don't want to put him in a position where he could have a setback."
Marbury's arrival can't come soon enough for the suddenly reeling-again Knicks, who have followed up a six-game winning streak with a five-game slide. During the current skid, Marbury's fill-ins, Jamal Crawford and Nate Robinson, have proven unequal to the task of directing the offense, while on the other end, the Knicks repeatedly have been burned by opposing point guards, culminating in Hornets rookie Chris Paul's 27-point, 13-assist Garden exhibition on Saturday night.
Sacramento's Mike Bibby must be salivating right now.
"Jamal's been out there kind of freelancing," Marbury said. "I think he got stuck out there (at the point guard position) a little bit. When I'm playing, I take some of the pressure off him, that when I come out he knows better what he has to do to play the point."
Brown, however, can only wish a solution were that simple. The Knicks' effort level in Saturday's 109-98 loss - after which, according to a team source, assistant coach Mark Aguirre and forward Maurice Taylor exchanged heated words over who was most to blame for the team's shoddy defense - was deeply upsetting to Brown, and he's at a loss as to how to fix the problem.
"I don't know how to address that, especially when you've got young players," the coach said. "... You should never as a coach ever have to demand effort. That's something that should be a given."
All of which makes it rather ironic that Brown should now be looking to Marbury for an infusion of positive energy. Brown has criticized Marbury in the past for maintaining too negative a demeanor on the court, saying last month, "I've commented to him numerous times that when things are going bad we have to have him with good body language."
That, however, was then. Yesterday, with his point guard returning to his fast-sinking team for the first time in a week, Brown allowed this: "It's really good to have him back."
Originally published on January 24, 2006
--I hope Brown doesn't play him
.
