Stephon Marbury was wearing a white shirt and blue shorts -- not his practice uniform -- as he walked off the court at the Knicks practice facility this morning following the shoot-around. It didn't take a seasoned reporter (read: me) to surmise that he won't be in the lineup tonight against Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden.
"I'm not going to go tonight," Marbury said. "It's more looking like Friday."
Marbury's left knee is still troubling him, though he and the team medical staff do not feel an MRI is necessary. It is tendinitis, something that flared up a month ago and has since been re-aggravated. It led to him pulling himself from the game on Saturday with 1:26 left in the win over the Pacers in Indiana. It then caused him to call it quits at halftime of the Knicks' blowout loss in Miami on Monday.
Some of Marbury's worst critics might suggest he's ducking Nash, the two-time MVP who looks as if he's headed for a third. But that would be an unfair accusation. In the game at Indiana, it was clear that Marbury's knee had buckled twice on drives to the basket. In Miami, his knee didn't look stable in warmups and Marbury grimaced a few times on landings in the first quarter.
"If I was able to play and I was ready today, I'd play," Marbury said. "It wouldn't matter what the tempo of the game would be."
Marbury has been the team's best perimeter defender over the past month and has had strong performances against the likes of Ray Allen and Gilbert Arenas. Once the knee troubles started, it was clear his lateral movement had suffered and, more notably, his ability to explode to the basket was hindered.
Isiah Thomas will go with a backcourt of Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson, with Nate Robinson expecting to see a significant amount of playing time off the bench against the run-and-gun Suns.
Track shoes might be required for this one.
Comments (7)
OK, the Knicks lost by 5 but it didn't seem that close. The Suns were not on their "A" game tonight.
Too many turnovers, plus Stoudamire took over when Curry went out. It's a moral victory, but we need real ones at this point.
If Jeffries starts another game for the Knicks, then Isiah has officially lost his mind and needs to go.
Please start Lee and Balkman.
Marbury-Crawford-Balkman-Lee-Curry is our best starting 5, assuming everyone is healthy.
Our best starting 5:
Marbury-Richardson-Lee-Frye-Curry
Hate to break the news to you but this is what passes for parity in today's NBA. When you have a few teams with stars and the rest just a lot of teams with streaky and inconsistent scorers this is the result. Teams like the Knicks and Nets will look like world beaters one night when they are hitting shots early and other nights it seems that they start the game down by 10. There is a reason that 4 games under .500 leads the Atlantic division. Lets face it NBA talent is watered down. Maybe 6 teams with a dominating star (guranteed 20+pts per) and then there is everybody else. Even teams like Phoenix get exposed in the playoffs when you make them slow it down and play halfcourt offense. Suns and Mavs try to put up a shot within 10 seconds of the clock. taking a lot of shots masks other problems. I also miss the old days. On the 70's Knicks any one of the 5 starters (Reed, Bradley, Frazier, Monroe, DeB) could put up 20 on a given night depending on the matchups. Now teams are lucky if they can get 2 consistent scorers. It's frustrating to watch but it is what is I guess. The Knicks are not the only ones. I guess a reson why more teams are adopting the Phoenix style. If you can't shoot 40%, you need to shoot more often to get the points.
I don't know, I just remember Crawford stating many times he prefers to start than coming off the bench. For whatever reason, he looks so much more comfortable when he starts, plus with his great chemistry with Curry, I would make Crawford the full-time starter at the 2 position.
Frye is really a mystery and I think we should trade him. Outside of a jump shot, he really offers nothing else. His defense is awful, he doesn't rebound like he should or block shots. I think he might have some value to other teams if we deal him, and that will also open up more time for one of Lee or Balkman.
I like Richardson on this team and would rather see him come off the bench, but he seems to be playing hurt yet again and that always is a problem with Q.
By the way, Malik Rose needs to be bought out, as does Francis. Rose doesn’t really do anything well, plus the fact he is now a complainer due to his lack of playing time is something we don't need. I’d get rid of him, and there is also just no room for Francis either, if/when he comes back.
I also want Isiah to play Collins more (I don’t think Nate really is a 1, more of a 2), which would help give Marbury more of a rest.
Cato should get a chance, too.
Jerome James is another wasted signing by Isiah.
Get rid of the dead weight, Isiah!
Let’s go with:
Curry/Cato
Lee/Frye
Balkman/Richardson/Jeffries
Crawford/Robinson
Marbury/Collins
At the very least, this lineup will hustle and play with a lot of energy and should be fun to watch.
Jeff, Isiah's lost his mind a long time ago. You know it, I know it, the only one who doesn't know it is Dolan. How long has this team been in rebuild mode? And this is the best we can get from Isiah? That they're playing harder than last year. The guys he traded away could beat this team.
Alan, I don't think Starbury was ducking Nash. If that was his mentality he would've ducked Kidd the other night also. But since he was on the bench last night watching Nash it would've been a perfect time for him to jot down some notes..