Coach the Knicks

[SuperGenius]

NBA.com has Steph down for 43:39!!! I am here to tell you that
is absolutely not true!!! He did NOT play in the 4th quarter, it was
Crawford and Francis the majority of the time. I watched the entire
game NBA.com is wrong

Yahoo.com has his minutes at 19. I know they make alot of mistakes
but like I said, I watched the whole game and Steph was NOT on
the court for 44 minutes!!!!

Can you picture that man on the court that long and only taking
8 shots???

NBA.com prolly meant 4+3+3+9= 19 minutes . There is a difference when Marbury's not on the court. Before the Knicks weren't getting any effort, now it seems like their ATLEAST trying harder. David Lee deserves more playing time to me also.

 

[xfactor]

What do you NY Tricks fans think that Thomas is going to do about the roster in the off season? Its not going to help D. Lee or Nate Robinson to waste away on the bench like that and Marbury is getting way too many minutes.

I think someone posted this before or I heard it on NBA TV but the stat was that every team (MIN, NJ, PHX) that Marbury has been traded from, the following season his former team has went on to win 50 games or more. Talk about being a true MDP (Most Destructive Player)

 

[RunawaySlave]

I think someone posted this before or I heard it on NBA TV but the stat was that every team (MIN, NJ, PHX) that Marbury has been traded from, the following season his former team has went on to win 50 games or more

I have been saying that for years now. It wasn't so much the case in Minnesota
though. They didn't improve as dramatically as the Nets did. Also, the Suns WERE
a playoff team when Steph was there, it's just that when he left they became a
championship contender (as did the Nets)

The sense of apathy that Knicks fans are feeling right now is the EXACT same
feeling Nets fans had when we were floundering around in LAST place when
Steph was our PG. Exactly TWO MOVES later (hiring Byron Scott was the first)
we were a playoff contender....

In Phoenix, Steph had Amare and Marion (and John Johnson).....In NJ, there was
Kenyon Martin, Keith Van Homo (no. 2 pick) and Kerry Kittles. In all fairness to
Steph, the Phoenix transformation had as much to do with them dumping Scott
Skiles and hiring Mike D'Antoni as it had to do with them trading Steph. If he
had played for Mike D, he may have ALREADY been playing the shooting guard

 

[RunawaySlave]

The saga continues...Sorry if there are popups:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/story/399157p-338205c.html

 

[cranrab]

more on 'starbury'

Brown responds to Marbury's vows to play differently

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
March 13, 2006

NEW YORK (AP) -- Knicks coach Larry Brown responded to Stephon Marbury's vow to be more offensive minded, saying he never restricted his point guard's ability to score in the first place.

Brown also questioned the timing of Marbury's remarks, which came before the Knicks lost at Charlotte on Saturday night to give them the worst record in the league.

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"I've never given a guard more freedom than Stephon Marbury in my life, and he has the ball all the time," Brown said before the Knicks played the Denver Nuggets.

In comments that appeared in New York area papers, Marbury said he sacrificed his game for the sake of the team, but it didn't work out.

"I went into this year trying to do something, to put myself in a situation where we can win, OK?" Marbury was quoted as saying. "To help the team win games. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, what do I do now, as far as the way I play? I go back to playing like Stephon Marbury, aka Starbury. I haven't been Starbury this year. I've been some other dude this year."

The Knicks had won consecutive games before Saturday, even though Marbury averaged only nine points in the victories.

"We had just won I think two in a row when I heard those comments," Brown said. "So again, I'm hopeful that he'll step up and be Starbury."

The relationship between Brown and Marbury has been closely watched since Brown became the Knicks coach last summer. Marbury is a point guard who prefers to score, and Brown has been demanding on point guards throughout his career. There were doubts the two could get along.

Brown was so unhappy with Marbury's game that he sought to have him removed from the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, though the two eventually worked out their differences and Marbury played well in Athens.

Marbury's average of 17 points this season is his lowest since he scored 15.8 per game as a rookie with Minnesota in 1996-97. But Brown made it clear that the Knicks' problems aren't because of scoring.

"I've said since Day 1, I don't care if a guy takes 25, 35 quality shots, it doesn't bother me at all," Brown said. "But we're not going to win any games until we start guarding people and taking care of the ball better."

 

[cranrab]

here it goes again

Brown fires back in anger at Marbury
/ FOXSports.com
Posted: 5 hours ago

Larry Brown fired back in anger after Stephon Marbury said, among other things, that he needs freedom on offense, according to The New York Times.

"Look, I've been coaching how many years?" said Brown, whose Hall-of-Fame career spans three decades. "I never left a team in worse shape than I got it. Not one. Now think about that. Think about me and think about the guy who's talking," he said, referring to Marbury. "I never left a team in worse shape. Never asked anything of my players any different than I'm doing right now. Think about that. Think about that."
The Times says it was Brown's strongest, angriest, and most honest appraisal of a feud that became a back-page staple in the Big Apple not long after the start of the NBA season.

"So the bottom line is, I want us to rebound, defend, share the ball, play hard. That's all. If you can't do that, if that's not important enough to you, it's not on me. It's not on me. And you owe it to your teammates to do that every single night if you care about the right things. We're 17-45, all right? So we've got to figure out a way to get better."

Brown's tirade came in response to Marbury's recent cry for more freedom on offense. The star guard, citing the Knicks' poor record, also said that playing Brown's way has not worked, and that he would go back to playing as Starbury, the nickname he has given himself.

Monday, Brown generally deflected questions about Marbury saying, "I'm hopeful that he will step up and be Starbury." But on Tuesday, Brown left little doubt that if the relationship can't be mended, he does not intend to be the one to leave town.

You can bet that the Knicks will actively shop for a Marbury trade this summer.

 

[RunawaySlave]

This article only magnifies the fact that Brown is not trying very
hard to win games anymore. He KNOWS he needs to bench
Steph, yet he refuses to do so. Steph started again tonight and
played damn near the entire first half

Of course, the FANS finally made up Larry's mind tonight when
they bought on the BOOOOOOOOS and Steph FINALLY saw
some serious bench time. Not coincidentally, that is when the Knicks
came all the way back to win the game.

Marbury did not see the 4th quarter AGAIN. In fact, the last time
he played was about 6 minutes into the third quarter. Francis
as well

And I have been saying all along, Crawford and Nate compliment
each other in the backcourt very well. They did in the summer league
and they still are now


Of course, it won't matter because next game neither one will play
more than 15 sporadic minutes

 

[Mellonomama]

somebody said it earlier but that kid david lee is good. He runs the floor well. That boy can dunk too... Anyone see the nuggets game the other night. lee had like 4 dunks all highlights.... fuck larry brown. he sounded so stupid like a high schooler saying"how long have I been in the league compared to marbury" what kind of shit is that? why would he start a war of words with one of his players??? thats not a sign of a good leader....

 

[cranrab]

burying the hatchet?

Brown: I want Marbury back next year
/ Associated Press
Posted: 3 hours ago

Larry Brown pulled Stephon Marbury out of a meeting and sent him a message: After days of feuding, the Knicks coach still wants his temperamental guard back next season.

"He told me he could do whatever he wants with this franchise, and that he don't want to trade me," Marbury said Thursday after practice. "And that he wanted me to be here and that everything that basically went on throughout the last week was over with."
Nearly a week of fussin' and verbal fightin' through the media has gone on between the two, with much of it finding its way onto the back pages of the New York tabloids. The feud, though, could be simmering down.


"I was sorry that the crowd, some of the people booed him, that's never what any coach would like to see happen." ~ Knicks coach Larry Brown on Stephon Marbury (Frank Franklin II / Associated Press)

Marbury also said it seemed clear to him that final personnel decisions would be made by Brown, not Knicks president Isiah Thomas, who has been quiet while his coach and point guard have taken potshots at each other.

Brown pulled Marbury out of a film session for their brief chat.

"He flexed a real hard juice card, I know that," Marbury said. "So he definitely made me aware of what he can do. But that doesn't scare me at all."

Marbury's salary would make him difficult to trade, anyway. Brown said he wants Marbury to return, "If he'll buy into what we're trying to do.

"I told him I just wanted him to let us coach him the rest of the year and he's not going anywhere and let's move on," Brown said. "Let's deal in the present and not in the past."

The bickering between the two began after Marbury's comments over the weekend that he needed to be more offensive minded because playing Brown's way wasn't leading to enough wins. The Knicks have one of the NBA's worst records.

Brown responded Monday night by saying he had already given Marbury more freedom than any guard he had ever coached. They kept at each other for two more days, with Marbury vowing at Wednesday's shootaround to keep talking as long as Brown did.

But Brown decided it was time to talk after watching Marbury get booed during Wednesday night's double-overtime victory over Atlanta. Marbury didn't play after the third quarter, and Brown praised his attitude while sitting on the bench.

"Basically, I told him that I appreciated the way he cheered for his teammates at the end of the game and it meant a lot," Brown said. "I was sorry that the crowd, some of the people booed him, that's never what any coach would like to see happen.

"I want to coach him and I want to make him better and I don't want him to have to go through what he's gone through. I really was proud of the way he acted."

The relationship between Brown and Marbury has been closely watched since Brown became the Knicks coach last summer. Marbury prefers to score, while Brown has been demanding on point guards throughout his career. There were doubts the two could get along.

Brown was so unhappy with Marbury's game that he sought to have him removed from the 2004 U.S. Olympic team, though the two eventually worked out their differences and Marbury played well in Athens.

Marbury feels he's tried to play the way Brown wants him to, even though he prefers to play at a quicker tempo. He says he'll continue trying - but not surprisingly offered no guarantees.

"I'm down for what's right," Marbury said. "Like I said, I was committed and I'm still committed to the organization, to doing exactly what he's been asking.

"He told me to play the way he wants me to play and if I don't feel like it's the right way just bare with it. And I didn't say yes and I didn't say no."

 

[RunawaySlave]

Fans in the stands have played an important role on the Knicks
this year....they have basically given Steph a pass most of the
season, but whenever they do wake up and voice their displeasure
(and they only do it when it's blantantly obvious he is a problem)
then the team usually responds with an all out effort....

You should've seen the last 25 minutes of this game. It was like
a whole different team out on the floor. More deflections by the
backcourt tan the entire season with Steph out there.....

One play, there was actually both Knick guards diving into the
stands trying to save a ball that Crawford deflected. Crawford
and Robinson practically knocked each other over going after
lose balls. It was a beautiful thing. Actually seeing a Knick with
his hands up on defense (instead of when asking for the ball)

Sad part is....that it's nothing new. Craw and Nate been doing
this since the summer leagues together, but for financial reasons
Nate gotta sit and Marbury has NO chemistry with anyone except
himself

 

[Sango]

Man Marbury would create his own stat line if he could.. SELF ASSISTS... oh wait didn't he do that in an "all star" game. Very hardheaded.

 

[RunawaySlave]

Another 4th quarter with Steph primarily on the bench and Taylor
and Richardson in street clothes. Another win for the Knicks. This
time against a very tough team.

Even though Rasheed got himself tossed (and suspended, that
was his 16th and 17th Techs....automatic one game suspension)
and Rip got thrown out too, it was still a good win

Another big 4th quarter for the backcourt tandem of Crawford
and Robinson. These guys compliment each other because one's
weakness is the other's strength. And they BOTH hustle on both
ends of the court. By contrast, Steph only really hustles when he
has the ball in his hands (or when he wants the ball in his hands)

Steve Francis drew a charge against Chauncey Billups. I think it
might've been the first time I've seen that by the Knick PG all
season. He got more props from me for doing that. Steve is trying
to hard to do the right thing, but at least he's trying

 

[RunawaySlave]

March 22:

The return of Mo Taylor and Quentin Richardson to the lineup
Also, Steph sees his first extensive 4th quarter action in a week

Can you guess the results??
Knicks get BLOWN OUT in Orlando
Richardson blows UP at his teammates lack of defense
in the 2nd half. He doesn't single any one person out
but the players on the floor at the time??

Eddie Curry (the only one hustling )
Steph
Nate Robinson
Mo Taylor
Quentin Richardson

The announcer (Mike Breen) incorrectly stated that Q's
ire was directed at Curry. Not true. If you looked at the
Knicks bench during the TO, he was clearly chastising
Stephen Marbury

Richardson means well, but just isn't a very good all
around player. Steph did not play defense at all. Guards
penetrated at will against the Knicks for easy buckets

 

[RunawaySlave]

After watching tonight's game....I got just one thing to say....

MO MUST GO!!!

 

[NinjaspiT]

nice

 

[RunawaySlave]

Watching Larry Brown's substitution patterns, I am 100% convinced
that he is deliberately trying to lose games. Don't know why, but he
can NOT be trying to win by starting Malik Rose and subbing him with
Mo Taylor while a rookie like David Lee sits. Or why Quentin Richardson
is even in the rotation while Nate Robinson rots on the bench

It should be apparent to the most casual observer, that the so-called
vets on the Knicks are not even concentrating on playing ball at this
point. And that they basically have one foot out the door towards the
off-season. Which makes one wonder why doesn't Brown at least play
the people who WANT to play??

He moves Jerome James up to second string now that there is nothing
for him to play for?? When he's known to mail in his performances when
the games are meaningless?? Meanwhile Butler sits?? Larry is doing
some ass backwards shit.

 

[HandsSolo2K5]

Even to the end, New York is the most overhyped last place team...... I tell you about NY Media..... The Knicks just flat out suck

 

[RunawaySlave]

Dude, there is more to this than meets the eye. It's way more
complicated than that. Many NBA players are baffled as to why
this team, with so much talent, has such a shitty record.

 

[cranrab]

brown puts the onus on the GM and the owner

someone's gotta go... but who has the balls to decide?

Brown says some Knicks are 'tuning us out'
/ Associated Press
Posted: 10 hours ago

NEW YORK - Larry Brown knows the Knicks need new players, even wondering Wednesday if he should be the one coaching them.

Before the Knicks hosted Cleveland, the Hall of Fame coach acknowledged that some players are no longer listening to him as they wind down his dismal first season in New York.
"I think there are some that probably are tuning us out and I think some that are making progress," Brown said.

Even after their 96-94 victory over the Cavaliers, the Knicks have an NBA-worst 20-54 record despite owning the league's largest payroll. Brown thinks some players have just stopped trying. He felt that was the case again Tuesday night in the Knicks' 105-90 loss at Washington.

"I've been doing this forever, I haven't had trouble with getting guys to respond," he said. "Never. You bang heads for a little while, but eventually they know you care and you want to make them better.

"I've never had a problem before in that regard. You can go and say isolated incident here or there, but I don't think I've ever remembered anybody telling me my teams didn't play hard, didn't try to guard or didn't try to play unselfishly."

Brown publicly feuded with point guard Stephon Marbury and has been critical of rookie Nate Robinson. He pointed out that the Philadelphia Eagles cut ties with Terrell Owens because of his insubordination, and the Knicks may have to do the same with the players that won't work under Brown.

Brown reiterated he won't quit. But if team president Isiah Thomas or owner James Dolan prefer the players over the coach, he knows he could be the one to go.

"It depends on Isiah and Mr. Dolan, what they think of me," he said. "If they don't want to do what you ask them to do and you're going to be the coach, why would you have them around?

"You surround yourself with people that care about doing the right thing and I think that's what we've got to do. If they think I can't do it I understand, but I'm not giving up."

 

[RunawaySlave]

Brown is talking about Stephen and Crawford. You gotta read between
the lines....Steph has tuned him out from the very beginning. No matter
how many time Brown pats Steph on the butt, he is doing his own thing
(and he even said so)....meanwhile, Crawford has gotten shafted by Brown
all season. Done EVERYTHING Brown asked him to....You gotta watch a
Knick game....Crawford does not make a move without looking over his
shoulder to Brown first. Yet, it was only after Steph got hurt again....and
Richardson was out, and Francis was hurt, that Brown FINALLY gave in
and started Crawford and gave him big minutes.


Everybody knows that Steph gotta go....No one has the balls to come
right out and say it. Not that Crawford (by himself) is the answer, but
as a Nets fan, I've seen this EXACT same scenario play out a few years
back.....when we achieved addition by subtraction and traded Steph
away for Kidd. One change and the whole fortune of the franchise turned
around

 

[cranrab]

welcome back?

let the heads start rolling and the streets run red...

Brown says he's staying with Knicks
/ Associated Press
Posted: 1 day ago

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) - Forget the health concerns, the 59 losses or the feud with Stephon Marbury: Larry Brown is coming back next season.

That's what Brown and team president Isiah Thomas said Thursday, one day after the New York Knicks completed one of the worst seasons in their history.
As for the rest of the team's high-priced but underachieving roster, changes figure to be coming.

"I am loyal to winning and I am not loyal to any singular individual," Thomas said at the Knicks' practice facility. "I'm going to do what I need to do to make our team better."

He'll have plenty of it after the Knicks went 23-59 in Brown's first season, tying the franchise record for losses. And though the players want the team kept intact so they can make up for it, Thomas knows that isn't realistic.

"When you won 23 games, I think we'll make some changes," he said. "Coach and I haven't sat down and fully decided what changes we'll make, but we'll probably make some changes.

"We have a group that from everything that I've heard today like each other, want to stay together and want to play together and believe that they can get it done. However, I don't know if that will be the case."

Thomas made a number of moves before and during this season, and almost none of them worked. Brown was hired to much fanfare but had one of the worst seasons of his Hall of Fame career; center Eddy Curry didn't show much progress after Thomas acquired him from Chicago during training camp - using the No. 1 pick that will be a lottery selection - and Jalen Rose and Steve Francis failed to make much impact after being dealt for during the season.

And while no players may be safe, Brown apparently is. Thomas said he won't fire the coach, and Brown said none of the health issues that sent him to the hospital twice and forced him to miss three games at the end of the season would keep him from the bench.

Concerns about Brown's health were part of the reason the Pistons didn't bring him back after last season. This time, he says they won't be the cause of his latest departure from a team.

"I wasn't in control of that," he said of the Detroit situation. "I want to return here. I want to fulfill my contract and I want to stay involved as long as they'll have me."

Thomas said Brown's job is safe because of his past successes, but there wasn't much to like about this season. The Knicks won 10 fewer games than last season, and Brown criticized some players through the media. It was almost as if things were tougher than the Brooklyn native expected.

"Nobody can train you or make you aware what it's going to be like to coach in New York," Brown said.

Dealing with Marbury was the toughest part. The coach and point guard bickered through the media in March, and Marbury has made it known that playing Brown's way isn't his preference.

Typical of their dysfunctional relationship was Marbury's session with the media Thursday. He said that "Larry Brown made me a better man," but then gave a "No comment" when asked if Brown was the right coach for the team.

Even if Brown and Marbury can work together, there's much more to address. The Knicks committed an NBA-worst 17.7 turnovers per game and surrendered an average of 102 points, a combination that led to plenty of ugly losses.

"For the most part we weren't even in some of the games we lost," Curry said.

Changes won't be easy. The Knicks have plenty of bad contracts that make up the league's highest payroll, and they won't be easy for Thomas to move.

But he will have to come up with something. No matter what the players say about being about to turn things around, 23-59 says differently.

"To sit here and think that we're going to stand pat is kind of silly," Brown said.

 

[cranrab]

knicks fans happy or not?

Report: Knicks may buy out Brown
/ FOXSports.com
Posted: 12 hours ago

The Knicks were Larry Brown's dream job, but quickly turned into a nightmare. And according to one report, it's one that may be about to end.

According to a report in the New York Daily News, Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan is considering buying out the final four years of Brown's contract, worth at least $40 million.
The Knicks declined to comment and would neither confirm nor deny a report that Knicks president Isiah Thomas would be named as Brown's successor.

A month ago, the New York Daily News reported that a majority of the Knicks players blamed Brown for the team's disappointing season during their exit interviews with Thomas.

Brown was widely expected to be the team's savior after engineering a messy departure from the Detroit Pistons to take the reins of the Knicks. But New York went just 23-59 in 2005-06, finishing last in the Eastern Conference.

Brown feuded openly with point guard Stephon Marbury — a development that perhaps should have been expected, given the two clashed during the 2004 Olympics in Athens. According to sources, Thomas was upset that Brown publicly complained about Marbury and the Knicks' flawed roster.

Brown also missed several games this season due to health concerns. In late February, Brown entered a Memphis hospital complaining of chest pains. In the final week of the season, took ill and left a game in Cleveland during the third quarter. He missed the next three games, but returned for the season finale, although he let assistant Herb Williams run the team

 

[RunawaySlave]

Okay, this latest story is like the ultimate in attention whoredom
Luckily the BGOL family knows exactly what that means, so no
need to explain that one...Strike one up on the back pages for
Cablevision and the Dolan family

Think it's a coincidence that this story comes out at the EXACT
time as the NETS are playing across the river in the playoffs and
we have Shaquille O'Neal, Dwayne Wade, Gary Payton and Pat
Riley, the NBA equivalent of royalty, in town??


I wonder if the writer will apologize when this turns out to be a
crock of bullshit. Even if it turns out to be true, it is so crass and
typical of the slipshod way shit get reported in this town and country

Instead of concentrating on the Nets plight, we are inundated
with this latest barrage of gossip.....effectively diverting the attention
from where it belongs...In the Meadowlands


The so-called NYC Journals make me sick. As do the so-called"
journalists" that work for them

 

[RunawaySlave]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=750 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class="" vAlign=top width=560>

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD height=7><SPACER height="1" width="1" type="block"></TD></TR><TR><TD class=yspsctnhdln>Fly in the Knicks' ointment</TD></TR><TR><TD height=7><SPACER height="1" width="1" type="block"></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Ian Thomsen, SI.com


Wasn't it just one year ago that we were speculating the premature end of Larry Brown's reign in Detroit?

Now the Knicks are planning to fire Brown after one remarkably pathetic 23-59 season in which the most expensive team in NBA history ($190 million in payroll and luxury taxes for their 15-man roster! No other team in any sport in any country has ever spent an average of $12.7 million per player as the Knicks did this season) finished with the second-worst record in the league.

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

I'm told that owner James Dolan has turned against Brown for two reasons. First, it is Dolan's conviction that Brown pushed for the midseason trades of expiring contracts to Toronto and Orlando in exchange for Jalen Rose and Steve Francis, respectively, moves that cost the Knicks an additional $63.7 million in payroll and luxury taxes through next season. Yet when Rose and Francis showed up in New York, Brown quickly lost interest in them.

Of course, it's hard to feel sympathy for Dolan on this score. He can't blame Brown for the financial disaster the Knicks have created. But it's not the money that upsets Dolan. My understanding is that he's far more worried about the future of the team so long as Brown is in charge.

The Knicks' plan -- dismissed as farfetched by rival executives, but it's their plan nonetheless -- is to ultimately lure one or more superstars of the stature of Kevin Garnett or Jermaine O'Neal. The word coming out of Madison Square Garden is that Brown has sabotaged those plans by publicly criticizing his players and diminishing their trade value.

Dolan doesn't much care whether Stephon Marbury's feelings have been hurt by Brown's denigrations in the New York papers. But the owner apparently believes that Brown's presence will make it harder than ever to recruit the big star that the Knicks desperately covet.

Brown's reputation among NBA stars has turned negative in recent years: Many of the players from the 2004 Olympic team felt mistreated by him, and more than a few of his former Pistons don't have great things to say about him either. Sure, they take the high road in their public comments about Brown, but in private -- especially among peers -- they complain about his public criticisms and his ambitions to further his own reputation at their expense.

On this point I'm sympathetic to Brown, because the question of whether or not he should criticize his players speaks to the larger issue of how fans feel about the NBA. As a general rule, fans want the coach to be the boss. That's one reason why they love the NFL, because there's no doubt that the Big Bills -- Belichick, Parcells and Cowher -- are in charge of their teams. But coaches have far less authority in pro basketball, and the abiding impression that the players are running the league hurts the NBA with fans. A lot of Knicks followers identified with Brown's frustrations this season.

But the reality is that the Knicks didn't hire Brown to teach a course in philosophy. For $10 million per year they expected him to produce results, and he failed miserably. He lost control of his team.

The Pistons paid Brown $7 million to not coach this season and the Knicks may pay him up to $40 million to not coach the next four years. That's a five-year stretch worth $47 million, which would be the most lucrative coaching payout in NBA history. And Brown would be receiving it to not coach. Two organizations have decided independently that they would rather pay him that kind of money to stay home rather than let him near their teams. That is a horrible indictment of Larry Brown.

LeBron ahead of schedule

Here's the big mistake I made about LeBron James: I compared him to Michael Jordan.

The assumption was that it took Jordan years to work his way through the playoffs, so James was going to struggle in his postseason debut. But it is with great pleasure that I admit I couldn't have been more wrong. At 21 years of age, James has played with more poise than any of the elders opposing him, from Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison to Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups.

The Cavs have followed suit.

Cleveland was unimpressive defensively all season, but during these playoffs the Cavaliers have turned into the No. 2 team in field goal defense while holding opponents to just 43.6 percent from the floor (1.9 percent stingier than during the regular season). The Pistons, on the other hand, have failed to raise their defensive level, permitting teams to shoot 45.2 percent in the playoffs -- the exact same rate as the 82-game season.

The only question I had about the Pistons this year was their field goal defense. They ranked a mediocre 13th in that category this season, a big drop-off from previous years, when they were always among the league's stingiest defenses. Everyone I asked this season -- including Gregg Popovich, Larry Bird and Joe Dumars himself -- maintained that the stat wasn't indicative of their defense and that the Pistons would always be able to generate stops when needed. But LeBron is ruining that premise.

Though they're down 3-2 heading into Friday's game at Cleveland, I would still be surprised if the Pistons fail to win the series. I just can't imagine them surrendering so easily. But then it's shocking that they're in this position at all: Instead of exuding the passion and anger of previous seasons, they seemed both arrogant (as if trying to behave like All-Stars) and insecure (as if knowing deep down they were behaving out of character). It's like they've forgotten many of the blue-collar qualities that made them special. They haven't shot better than 43 percent since Game 1. Maybe it's true that they can't win without Larry Brown.

In fact, this entire series is turning into the curse of Larry Brown. While coaching the Pistons to the NBA Finals a year ago, he was also surreptitiously assembling the current management team of the Cavaliers. At that time he was aiming to become Cleveland's team president for this season, with Danny Ferry to join him as GM and Mike Brown as coach. Though Larry Brown ultimately bailed on the Cavs, Ferry and Mike Brown have done a terrific job this season.

So even as Detroit was paying Brown his $5 million salary last season, he was sabotaging the Pistons by laying down the foundation of the opponent that now stands one game away from eliminating them. He's an evil genius, that Larry Brown.

Updated on Friday, May 19, 2006 12:41 pm EDT
​

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[RunawaySlave]

Garden chief: Isiah has one year to show progress with Knicks


By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer
June 26, 2006


NEW YORK (AP) -- Isiah Thomas has one year to turn around the Knicks -- something Larry Brown couldn't do. And if Thomas doesn't, he'll be gone, too.

"I'm saying this right with Isiah here. This is his team," Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan said Monday. "He made this bed. There's nobody better than him to make this thing go forward.

"But he has to do that and he has one year, one season to do that. At this time next year Isiah will be with us if we can all sit here and say that this team has made significant progress towards its goal of eventually becoming an NBA championship team. If we can't say that, then Isiah will not be here."

The remarks by Dolan were his first since firing Brown as coach Thursday and replacing him with Thomas, the team president and general manager.

Dolan acknowledged that the team "made a mistake" hiring Brown.



<noscript>

</noscript> Thomas assembled the roster that went 23-59 to tie the franchise record for losses in a season. And though Dolan said the Knicks are still rebuilding, he wants to see results next season. Dolan wouldn't say how many wins the Knicks would need, only that he wanted "evident progress, not just debatable progress."

And if he doesn't, he said Thomas would not only be replaced as coach, but would lose all his roles within the Cablevision-owned organization.

"It's his ship to steer," Dolan said, "his ship to make go fast, his ship to crash. His ship."

Thomas, who was seated to Dolan's right in a meeting with the team's beat writers, said he was prepared to work under the deadline, and would not sacrifice his plan to build with young players -- the Knicks have two first-round picks in Wednesday's draft.

"I've been in pressure situations before," Thomas said. "All my life has basically been about pressure and about having to get it done. Just because you say it publicly does not make me afraid of it or shy away from it. We've got a job to do, we'll get it done."

Dolan said his problems with Brown had less to do with wins and losses then with the Hall of Fame's coach refusal to go along with his bosses' wishes.

Reports surfaced in mid-May that Dolan planned to fire Brown. However, Dolan said that wasn't the case, and that he wanted to find a way to make things work going forward as long as Brown would accept certain conditions.

Instead, Dolan thinks sometime during that time that Brown -- who has a history of leaving jobs early -- decided he didn't want to return. Brown was fired with four years and $40 million left on his five-year contract.

"Larry never intended to coach this team beyond this season," Dolan said.

Brown was frequently critical of the players in the media, and also spoke to reporters without the presence of a public relations official. Dolan said both go against his preferences and policies.

A bigger problem, Dolan said, was that Brown overstepped his role as coach by trying to get involved in personnel matters. He said there were at least two instances when the Knicks proposed a trade, only to be told, "That's great, but I got a better offer from your coach."

"We couldn't get Larry to focus on his job," Dolan said. "He wanted to focus on Isiah's job."

Dolan said he was particularly upset when Brown said after the season that five or six players needed to be waived for the team to avoid another poor result next season.

Despite all that, Dolan said he hadn't made up his mind to fire Brown when they met Thursday at the team's training facility. But he said Brown wouldn't acknowledge that any of the issues Dolan brought up had even happened, so he had no choice but to make Thomas the Knicks' fifth coach in the last three years.

"I had 50 million reasons to stay with this," Dolan said. "If I thought there was any chance that next season we could have the Larry Brown that everybody thought we were going to get, I mean I'd jump through hoops for that. But I don't believe there was any opportunity to do that."

The matter of Brown's payment now goes to NBA commissioner David Stern. The Knicks are refusing to pay the remainder, and a clause in Brown's deal -- one Dolan said he has never given to another employee -- makes Stern the arbiter if there is any dispute.

Dolan said the Knicks will go along with whatever Stern rules. A message seeking comment was left with Brown's agent, Joe Glass.

Thomas coached the Indiana Pacers for three seasons through 2002-03, going 131-115 and leading them to the playoffs in each season. But he said he wasn't planning to return to coaching with the Knicks, claiming he was both heartbroken and mad that his longtime relationship with Brown had ended this way.

"I know from our standpoint, the Knicks' standpoint, we needed Larry Brown," Thomas said. "I wanted Larry to do a great job for us."

Updated on Monday, Jun 26, 2006 7:23 pm EDT
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[RunawaySlave]

Been saying all season that Brown was fishy

 

[Sango]

Perception became Reality... We're now starting Anew...Go Knicks!

 

[cranrab]

so?

come on now, RS...

i'm waiting to hear what you think about the knicks' 1st round pick: renaldo balkman

i'm cool with the nets' PG pick of marcus williams, but they didn't really improve their frontcourt (a sore weak spot) significantly with josh boone...

least surprising, but most utterly disgusting was the WASTE of the number 1 pick overall for euro trash Andrea Bargnani. i mean, who could be surprised that mastermind Bryan Colangelo would do that, considering he was also the same genius who picked zarko cabarkapa over david west and josh howard in 2003? or jake tsakalidis over michael redd in 2000?

the toronto raptors finished 5th WORST OVERALL in the nba last year. could part of the problem be that they wasted their 2nd round picks to take wonder euros like roko ukic and uros slokar (i didn't make those names up, either!)? or is it just continued fallout from their brilliant draft day decisions of 2004 where they wasted their 8th pick on brazilian fluffer rafael araujo and a 2nd round pick on superstar albert miralles

whoever said gms are smart is STUPID. their euro fetish is REPULSIVE. but then, shouldn't we expect these sorts of DUMB ASS picks from a team who makes euro maurizio gherardini vice president and assistant general manager?

 

[RunawaySlave]

I am not familiar with either of the Knicks picks.
I do trust Isiah's judgement though. If he picks
them, they can play.....and they probably WILL
play....

but I really don't know much about the college
players these days. I rarely watch that level anymore
thanks to all the underclassmen going straight to
the NBA.

Only players I saw that impressed me were Rudy
Gay and Sheldon Williams. Both will make immediate
impacts with whoever was smart enough to draft
them


Anyway, it looks like the Knicks are going to concentrate
on that 2-3 spot. It was something of an albatross for
them last year. Q never got it going at all. The only SF
that had any impact was David Lee. And Larry Brown buried
his ass.

Jalen could've been something. but these youngsters
probably mean that his Knick days are numbered. Either
Jalen or Q must go.

 

[cranrab]

toronto raptors becoming euro freakshow

least surprising, but most utterly disgusting was the WASTE of the number 1 pick overall for euro trash Andrea Bargnani. i mean, who could be surprised that mastermind Bryan Colangelo would do that, considering he was also the same genius who picked zarko cabarkapa over david west and josh howard in 2003? or jake tsakalidis over michael redd in 2000?

the toronto raptors finished 5th WORST OVERALL in the nba last year. could part of the problem be that they wasted their 2nd round picks to take wonder euros like roko ukic and uros slokar (i didn't make those names up, either!)? or is it just continued fallout from their brilliant draft day decisions of 2004 where they wasted their 8th pick on brazilian fluffer rafael araujo and a 2nd round pick on superstar albert miralles

whoever said gms are smart is STUPID. their euro fetish is REPULSIVE. but then, shouldn't we expect these sorts of DUMB ASS picks from a team who makes euro maurizio gherardini vice president and assistant general manager?

maybe this is why john salmons turned down almost $5M per... how can an american baller fit into a system that is being populated with euros (4 as of today, plus 1 american emigre)? this blatant euro love disgusts me: george garbage-osa?

Raptors sign Spanish Finals MVP
/ Associated Press
Posted: 5 hours ago

TORONTO (AP) - The Toronto Raptors signed free agent Jorge Garbajosa to a three-year contract worth just under $12 million on Monday.

Garbajosa averaged 14.8 points, 6.9 rebounds and 35 minutes for Unicaja in the Euroleague this past year.
The 6-foot-9 forward has earned a number of honors during his European playing career, including 2005 and 2006 Spanish club finals MVP.

The 28-year-old has spent 11 seasons playing in Europe and has played in two Olympics.

"It's an important moment for me," Garbajosa said in a conference call from Spain. "I have played a lot of years here in Europe, and the Toronto Raptors gave me the opportunity to try to play in the best league in the world. I like the city, I like the team, I like everything else, so I want to be part of it."

Before playing with Unicaja, Garbajosa spent four seasons with Benetton Treviso in Italy. Maurizio Gherardini, Toronto's new assistant general manager and Benetton's former GM, recommended the Raptors sign him.

"He's a guy who's not afraid of fighting anybody," Gherardini. "He's got the size to go against guys in the paint without being afraid of anybody."

The signing adds another European to the team. General manager Bryan Colangelo selected Italian forward Andrea Bargnani with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft, then signed Anthony Parker, an American who played the last six seasons in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv. He acquired Slovenian center Rasho Nesterovic in a trade with the San Antonio Spurs, and hired Gherardini.

Toronto's roster also includes Spanish guard Jose Calderon.

 

[RunawaySlave]

Could we apply the referee scandal to some of those calls against Curry??

As well as other Knicks??

 

[Rollie_Fingaz]

Could we apply the referee scandal to some of those calls against Curry??

As well as other Knicks??

THere was NO consistency in the calls. The let the Knicks do what they wanted late in the game.

Back to what I said in another post. I'd SERIOUSLY get rid of Marbury and Q. Let either Balkman or Lee start at SF. (Lee had planned for that this year anyway.)

 

[RunawaySlave]

THere was NO consistency in the calls. The let the Knicks do what they wanted late in the game.

Back to what I said in another post. I'd SERIOUSLY get rid of Marbury and Q. Let either Balkman or Lee start at SF. (Lee had planned for that this year anyway.)

I was actually referring to the older posts back when Brown was the coach.
If you had seen some of the crazy calls against the Knicks and applied what
we NOW know about the refs, it makes perfect sense why they were doing it

And I could agree more about Steph and Q, Unfortunately, it will be easier said
than done. Steph's getting upwards of 20 Million and Q gets over 10 himself

 

[Textiles]

What about the new Knicks?

Zach is a beast..

RIP to Z-Bo's Granny...

HE and Eddy w/Q., D.Lee, Crawford and Steph, Nate and Ro are the truth..

 

[RunawaySlave]

What about the new Knicks?

Zach is a beast..

RIP to Z-Bo's Granny...

HE and Eddy w/Q., D.Lee, Crawford and Steph, Nate and Ro are the truth..

Regarding these "new" developments, I believe Isiah Thomas had a GOLDEN opportunity to get rid of Steph, but did not make the corrct move. By allowing Steph to walk away from the team, then come right back the very next night, he sort of undermined his own authority over his team.


Stephon got fined all that money, and he didn't start against LA, but he still played the lions' share of the minutes...not a very harsh punishment at all for walking out on the team.


Thomas has to stop coddling these veterans. BENCH their collective asses and go with youth. Some of these guys are decent ROLE players, but the Knicks have TOO many players who actually believe they are stars...Such as:


Quetin Richardson (nice SET shot...nothing else)

Stephon Marbury (10 years later, he still makes the same rookie mistakes)

Malik Rose (put the 15 footer in your pocket; there is a REASON why you are wide open)

Nate Robinson (just play the point man; stop trying to get a dunk, we all know you can do it)

David Lee (will only do well in an uptempo offense. Also need an unselfish PG)




Having said that, I still believe Thomas should start Nate & Jamal with Steph coming off the bench as INSTANT offense (a la Vinnie Johnson). I've said it before, it would be a very good role for Steph because he won't have to worry about setting up his teammates anymore

In other moves, Thomas needs to shitcan Quentin Richardson. He is an nderachiever with delusions of grandeur. He cannot create his own shot and needs a good unselfish PG to set him up. And if Eddie Curry aint hustling, shitcan his ass too.



Wilson Chandler is a player. We don't need Eddie with Zebo at the PF. Let the kid play center if necessary. Or just use Morris. They both need to be out there anyway


Every summer, the Knicks' rookies kick ass in the summer leagues with little Nate and Jamal leading the way. Then we get to October and we get all these overpaid and over the hill veterans playing. No Balkman, no Lee, no Ariza (gone), no Collins, no Chandler, no Robinson (very little) or others. Just under the rim Q & Malik and a ever sulking Marbury

Time for the youth movement Isiah. Hurry up before it's too late!!