It's A Block Party

Get the EPMD cassette tapes and D batteries for the boom box. Get me that lighter fluid so I can fire up the grill. Start defrosting some Topps hamburger patties and get some mayonnaise to make some cole slaw. Because the Knicks are having a block party over at Madison Square Garden.

Through three games of the 2010-2011 NBA season, the Knicks have blocked 25 shots. Say what? That's right, your new New York Knickerbockers are averaging 8.3 rejections per game thus far. And while I don't need someone from Basketball-Reference to to tell me that this is a statistically meaningless sample size, I'm still optimistic that perhaps this isn't an early-season mirage. Or an asbestos-induced hallucination.

Last year, the Knicks had the second fewest blocked shots of any NBA club with just 372. During the 2008-2009 campaign, the Knicks blocked the fewest shots, having returned only 204 shots to sender. This was 104 fewer than the second-to-last team in blocks. In 2007-2008, the Knicks were also last in blocks with 213, putting them 93 behind the the 29th-ranked Timberwolves.

The last respectable showing in blocks for the club was during the 2006-2007 season when the Knicks finished with the 11th-highest tally at 406. Paced by Renaldo Blockman's 42 rejections, the Knicks had three players with 40 or more blocks - Balkman, Channing Frye (42) and Eddy Curry (40). Jared Jeffries added 30 more and even David Lee chimed in with 23.

Ah, remember the Halcyon Day of that '06-07 season? No. Well allow me to remind you: On Saturday March 3rd, the Knicks beat the Hawks at Atlanta in overtime, 104-100. Stephon Marbury finished the night with 38 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 steals and a blocked shot (which was, in case you're wondering, the team's only rejection of the night). Even recently-acquired redundancy Steve Francis played 41 minutes after Quentin Richardson was sidelined by his balky back. The triumph lifted the Knicks' record to 28-33, and pulled them within a game of the eighth playoff spot. A few days later, Knicks owner James Dolan would extend Isiah Thomas' contract for showing "significant and evident progress." The team would, of course, finish the season on a 5-16 skid and miss the playoffs. The rest, as they say, is history. And sexual harassment.

In the years since, blocked shots have become as rare as winning streaks 'round these parts. And, while this year's Knicks have yet to put together a winning streak they have been racking up the rejections. Offseason acquisition Ronny Turiaf has eight blocks already. Amar'e has 4 and Russian import Timofey Mozgov has a pair. But, most impressively, Wilson Chandler has kept 9 shots from reaching the rim in just three games. While his athleticism was never to be questioned, Chandler seems to have improved his court awareness and dedication on the defensive end. Perhaps it's increased confidence telling him that he can make more plays or perhaps it's anger about coming off the bench that is fueling him to make more plays. Either way, he ranks behind only Dwight Howard and Josh Smith in blocks per game so far.

Again, I'm well aware that we're just talking about three games. But for someone who grew up rooting for defense-first teams, it's got me excited. Stalwart defense and blocked shots in particular always seemed to me the mark of a proud team. From an emotional standpoint, blocks are the defensive equivalent of dunks. Fans and players alike get a charge out of them. After all, who doesn't love a block party?

And So It Goes

Marbury and Knicks Reportedly Agree to Buyout

Our long national nightmare is over. And for that I am glad. Stephon Marbury and the Knicks have parted ways. And, Marbury is free to sign elsewhere and participate in the postseason with any new club.

Forgetting (for the time being) how we arrived here, I'm glad that this chapter in Knicks history ended this way. I know that many Knicks fans and New Yorkers wish that the organization kept him from playing elsewhere. But that never appealed to me. I don't think it was the right move for Walsh and D'Antoni as they look to open a new era in franchise history. And I don't think that Steph deserved it. The guy may be an undereducated and self-involved flake but he didn't deserve to be kept from playing basketball.

There will be more - too much more - to come on this later. Stay tuned. Or avoid this space.

Shipping Up To Boston

Before the season began I was concerned that Stephon Marbury would end up playing for Miami. I had nightmarish visions of him pairing with Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion and the No. 1 pick from the previous draft to lead a resurgence in South Beach. I imagined him running the pick and roll with Udonis Haslem to perfection during a key game in late March as the Knicks and Heat battled for one of the last playoff spots in the East.

I wanted D'Antoni to give Steph a chance to play so that we wouldn't have to see that. I also wanted D'Antoni to give Steph a chance to play because I beleived (as I do now) that he was the best professional basketball player on the Knicks roster. Well, Steph never stepped on the floor for the Knicks. Yet, according to recent reports, I don't need to worry about him playing for the once and possibly future rivals in Miami. Which is a relief. Instead, I need to brace myself for Marbury winning an NBA title with the Boston Celtics.

As each day passes without a buyout, rumors about Marbury's eventual destination are going to multiply. Today he's heading to Boston. Tomorrow it might be San Antonio. The day after he might be heading to Dallas. Or Phoenix. The Knicks created this situation by benching/alienating/exiling a healthy player with a All-Star talent. The worst thing that can happen is for Donnie Walsh and Jimmy Dolan to get cheap and spiteful right now. We can't be concerned with where Marbury ends up. Do I want to see him win a title in Boston? Nope. But that's just because I wanted to see him win a title at the Garden and not because I hold any ill will towards him.

Aside from the fact that there is really no reason for Walsh to want to wrong Marbury, the team needs his roster spot. Badly. And, the fate of the Celtics has little to do with the Knicks right now. These two teams are not competing for the same things. If Marbury ends up lowering his shoulder and barrelling to the rim in the waning moments of Game 7 of the NBA Finals and dropping in the clinching bucket then so be it. Walsh and D'Antoni didn't want him here. But they've got to realize that decision was based in their ideas about the direction of the team and not in any lack of ability our health on the part of the player. They need to cut him. And, let him go whichever way the wind blows. It may help the Celtics (and Marbury) down the road but it will definitely help the Knicks immediately. That has to be the main concern.

Money For Nothin' and Tickets For Free...Full Price

Marbury Pays To Watch Knicks in LA

Let me preface all that is to follow by saying that I do think Stephon Marbury is a pair of pants that never came with an Inspected By.. sticker and needs to be removed from the Knicks roster.

Stephon Marbury who has been banished by the Knicks - meaning that he is barred from attending practices or games as a member of the team - turned up courtside in Los Angeles last night as the Knicks took on the Lakers. He bought his own ticket for the game. And, I thought it was a shrewd and funny move. In fact, I am totally for him showing up at last night's @Lakers game in plainclothes and buying a ticket along celebrity row (near the Lakers Girls) at the Staples Center. Good for him. Marbury, who has been out on the Left Coast working out and getting himself into shape for his eventual acquisition by another team, has fallen from the back pages since Plaxico shot himself in the leg and both football teams went into parallel tailspins.

When Plax shot himself he didn't only derail the Giants run to the Super Bowl. He also derailed the buyout process for Steph. With unlicensed firearms far more alluring then any team's "new direction" or healthy but unwanted players, the buyout drama was lost deep inside the tabloids. The Knicks banished Steph, Plax forever changed a well-worn metaphor and all of sudden no one was clamoring for a resolution. Marbury was out of sight and out of mind.

Well, that's not fair and not helpful for anyone involved. We need to get this buyout done. Steph needs to be allowed to play elsewhere and the Knicks need to be allowed to turn the page. Frustratingly, the Knicks are dragging their feet and haggling over money when they have already ceded the high ground. Which is a near impossible thing to do when you're fighting a land war against Starbury. I believe Vizini said that. But the Knicks managed to pull it off. Which is nice.

Looking back, it's clear that Walsh and D'Antoni (and Dolan) should have cut their ties with him before training camp opened. Because since then he's done everything right and made them look like reactionary hacks. And to top it off, they decided to add "cheap" to the list of adjectives used to describe them. Marbury was willing to hand back $1 million if they bought him out but the club balked. They said that he needed to hand back $3 million. And, for what? For being healthy and eager and not shot? They want him gone so they need to eat the money. He showed on Opening Night ready to play and they decided that they weren't going to play him. Ever. This is actually fairly simple.

And, still the Knicks did their best to ignore this fact. They want to make it shady and complicated. Last night the MSG network
never even sent anyone over to interview Marbury (on the radio Gus Johnson did relay bits of his pregame conversation with Steph). MSG showed images of the scrum of reporters (featuring a very Grimace-like Marc Berman) around Marbury during hafltime but didn't think it was important enough to get one of their guys/gals over their to ask a question or get a soundbite.

My desire for this to be over soonest rather than later is not based in any deep-seated sympathy for the Coney Island product. I don't feel great about him getting all of this money for nothing while most people I know are struggling. But the contract is signed and he didn't draw it up. So, I just want the Knicks to free up that roster spot, which seems destined for Patrick Ewing Jr. (presuming that Mobley's spot goes to a shooting guard). Although I do enjoy D'Antoni's Seven Players Or Less philosophy I would like to get some more live bodies on the bench. If the team is going to stay close to .500 through the winter then they're going to need bodies warmer than Anthony Roberson and Jerome James.

Until this buyout gets done I hope that Steph just keeps showing up at every road game. Maybe that will force the hand that feeds him to send him packing. We know Steph can afford the tickets.

So, Let Me Get This Right...

The New York Football Giants welcomed Plaxico back to their facilities today in order to continue healing his hamstring injury (and one must assume another, different leg injury) even though he shot himself at a nightclub in Midtown Manhattan with an unlicensed (and very illegal) concealed weapon that he was carrying in the waistband of his pants on Friday night after repeatedly flouting team rules throughout the season while Stephon Marbury has finally been banished from the Knickerbockers altogether (after being relegated to the sidelines to start the season) even though he reported to training camp on time, in peak condition and said all the right things about coming off the bench?

Is that what these headlines over at ESPN.com really mean?

That the Giants are sticking by their player as the season turns towards the playoffs even though he faces serious jail time for a crime with strict mandatory sentencing laws while the Walsh/D'Antoni regime preemptively benched the best player on the roster to start the season in spite of him doing everything they asked leading up to the opening game and not being a person of interest to local law enforcement? And, nobody is saying this is a ridiculous double standard?

And, let me say it plain, I don't think the Knicks can or should welcome Marbury back at this point. He needs to be bought out of his contract sooner than possible and all parties need to move on. That doesn't mean, however, that I don't think the double standard in the way that NBA players are treated in the media is completely unfair as compared to their colleagues in the NFL. The NFL regularly gets a pass on steroids and criminal activity from the same people who will gladly tear apart other pro circuits for identical transgressions.

In fact, they'll tear apart NBA players for far less.

Marbury's time in New York will not be remembered fondly, no doubt about that. But his biggest crime is being overpaid the same as most ballplayers are overpaid and more associated with Isiah Thomas than his teammates. In other words, his crime is not an actual crime. He didn't carry an unlicensed gun into a nightclub. He didn't take ill-gotten performance enhancing drugs to cheat the record books. In fact, off the court Steph was taking a stand against high-priced shoes and the gun crime they cause among kids while making face time for those less fortunate without having to have a NBA Cares television crew filming his every move.

Yet today he is banished. While Plaxico was welcomed back to the Giants facility. And, let me get this right...we're all OK with this being the way things are? We're all OK with the fact that just a few minutes of talk radio will make clear that Steph is as least as much of a pariah as Plax in this town?

Open In Case of Emergency

If the Knicks manage to trade Zach Randolph to the Mavericks or Clippers this afternoon then does exiled point guard Stephon Marbury have to be in uniform tonight? Generally, 1-3 players are inactive for each game with Jamal Crawford (already traded to Golden State) and Z-Bo out the door then the Knicks might not be able to keep anyone in street clothes. If you let Marbury wear a uniform then do you play him? Or do you just run the Quentin Richardson and Nate Robinson ragged at shooting guard?

They're Not Saying "Booo." They're Saying "Dooo." Oh, Wait.

On Chris Duhon Not Being a Good Point Guard

If you frequent this space then you no doubt have noticed that I'm not overly enthusiastic about the play of starting point guard Chris Duhon. During the home opener I wrote that "I am not extending him the benefit of the doubt in the first eight minutes of the season." That is true. Thus far in his NBA career he hasn't earned that.

I was skeptical of the acquisition when it went down in July and wrote that I "don't know if he is the Knicks starting point guard (though he seems to think he is), a pass-first back-up or just someone else that Donnie Walsh is throwing at the wall to see if he sticks." Now, we know he is the starting point guard. We know that he starts over Stephon Marbury. We know that Marbury hasn't gotten one minute of run so far this season. We know it is awkward.

Skepticism aside, I am clearly predisposed to being won over by anyone in a Knicks uniform. Heck, I've even been writing glowingly of Zach Randolph for the past week. Anything is possible. I'm a Knicks fan. Obsessively. Compulsively. I want to like these guys and I want to believe in them. Even if just to be able to tell myself that all these words aren't for nothing. But, I'm done with Duhon. He shows me nothing. His mediocrity is what makes me want to chant "We Want Steph" from the rooftops of Midtown.

Duhon's play is uninspiring and uninspired. On the offensive end he has no authority. He is not an engine for the offense. He doesn't orchestrate anything. He isn't the transmission for the offense. He doesn't pick up tempo and push the ball in transition or slow the team down when it is moving too fast. He isn't the steering wheel, moving teammates and defenders around the floor with his dribble or his passing. He isn't event the seat belt, keeping us safe and steady in case of a sudden turn in the game. Duhon isn't any of those car parts. Rather he is something like the special-order fog lights that some guy in your high school auto shop class put on his blue 1987 Dodge 600. Yeah, you understood that a car should have fog lights but not why he needed special-order, neon ones when the factory lights worked and were already on the car. Chris Duhon is those lights. He's something you can say you went out and got but was undeniably and utterly needless and purchased just so things would look better rather than perform better.

In trying to legitimize my dislike for the former Duke captain (and show that I'm just not against him because he is a former captain at Duke), I've gone to the numbers. The cold hard facts. Duhon is on the floor more than any other Knickerbocker, averaging 37 minutes per game. During those minutes the numbers are not pretty at first sight: 27 points and 19 assists through four games. Those are not averages. Those are totals. And, the numbers are even less attractive with a little deeper analysis.

Since no one would ever, ever pretend that Duhon is a scoring point guard (and the numbers would embarrass them if they did), you might disregard the point total and just assume that the strength of his game is distributing the ball and getting good shots for his teammates. False. He does not do those things. Through four games, Duhon has just three passes that have resulted in layups or dunks for his teammates. His other 16 passes that were slotted into the box score as assists only landed there because his teammates made plays or hit jump shots after getting the ball in their hands. And since Duhon is not a penetrate-and-kick player, or even a player who has shown an above average aptitude for getting to the rim or into the paint, those jump shots have not, for the most part, been open.

Dribbling the ball up the floor after a made hoop by the other team does not make you a point guard. It just makes you someone playing basketball. When watching a point guard it is seeing-eye bounces passes on the break, needle-threading darts to big men in the paint, and those dribble-kick gifts to open sharp shooters that make us take notice. Those are the tools of the trade. That is running the point. And even though Duhon is listed as a point guard he is as fraudulent in that role as Joe the apparently unlicensed Plumber is in his.

To substantiate this claim I went rifling through the game-postmortems from other NBA teams to see how other point guards around the Association fare in the passes-leading-to-dunks-and-layups category*. While Duhon has racked up a staggering tally of three such passes in four games (zero in the opener, two against Philly, 1 against Milwaukee and zero against Charlotte), while averaging the fourth most minutes of any point guard in the NBA to this point, four of his own teammates have already surpassed him in this category, all while playing fewer minutes and having less of the ball. Jamal Crawford has five LorD (layup-or-dunk**) dimes, Nate Robinson has seven LorD assists, David Lee has four and so does Zach Randolph. For crying out loud, the Zach-hole has arguably set up more easy buckets for teammates than Duhon.

Obviously, assists from big men are a different animal since they are more often making shorter passes nearer to the rim or out of double teams to open teammates. So I don't want to make too much of Randolph and Lee here but it is worth pointing out. Still, looking at the assist numbers for Nate and Jamal it is clear that those two have a far greater capacity for play-making then the team's lead point guard. And, this fact is made far more obvious by watching the game then by looking at these numbers in a vacuum.

The tale of the tape is even less flattering for Duhon when you compare him to point guards playing for other teams around the league rather than his teammates. When studying a point guard on a D'Antoni-coached team I felt compelled to begin my investigation by seeing how Steve Nash has fared in the LorD assist category through his first four games. While averaging 32.2 minutes (almost five minutes less than Duhon) per game, Nash doled out 16 LorD assists in the first four games that he played this season. Now that is point guarding. Nash, of course, is a two-time MVP and someone who even Duhon's most ardent supporters (who I'm not sure actually exist outside of the Duke campus) would say is in another class. So, let's move on down the line, having established the high end of the spectrum with Nash.

Chris Paul racked up a more modest 11 LorD dishes in his first four games. Not quite as impressive as Nash but still far, far superior to Duhon. Paul managed 3+ such passes in three of the four games that the Hornets have played whereas Duhon hasn't topped three in 148 minutes. Again, Paul is an unfair comparison. Let us try to find someone in more comparable situation. How about Devin Harris of the NJ Nets? Harris has passed five passes that led to layups or dunks while While averaging less than 31 minutes per game in the first three games that he has played. He equaled Duhon in the team's second game alone and is already at 166% of Duhon's total while playing one less game. And, the Nets are brutally bad and openly tanking in hopes of landing Lebron James. Next up, I decided to check in on my March man-crush Derrick Rose. While he's no doubt a superior talent, Rose is playing in his first week in the NBA and Duhon is purported to be a steady veteran so I don't think this is totally unfair. And, it's pretty close. Rose has just four LorD assists over four games in which he averaged 35.2 minutes. The difference, though, is that Rose led the Chicago Bulls in scoring in two of those four games. Aside from the fact that he is just getting his high tops wet in the game, he brings other things to the table. Duhon, meanwhile, is the guy who just brought his fork to the pot luck dinner.

Yet, so far he plays more minutes per night than all but three other point guards in the NBA: Tony Parker, Jose Calderon and Chris Paul. Two of those three are legit stars in this game and the third is an up-and-comer who is tabbed to reach that level. Chris Duhon is not that caliber of player. Not even close. Which brings us to the elephant in the room with a sneaker logo emblazoned on his head: Stephon Marbury. When discussing Duhon's shortcomings it is unavoidable (even though I've done a good job thus far) to raise the specter of Marbury, who has been and might still be a top-notch player at the position. While I will weigh in on the buyout/don't buyout debate later, all that matters when it concerns Duhon is that Marbury is on the team right now and he is much, much better at playing the position. Right now.

For all of his personal foibles and public missteps, Marbury is a supremely gifted point guard. Through the first five games of the 2007-2008 season he registered 16 LorD assists. Which, for those uninclined to arithmetic, means Duhon needs to hand out 13 such passes in the Knicks next game just to tie him. After the fifth game of last season, Marbury and the Knicks boarded a chartered plane bound for Phoenix. They were set to start a four-game road trip with a game against the Mike D'Antoni-coached Suns. Aboard the plane, hurtling westward, former Knicks coach Isiah Thomas attempted an ill-fated motivation gambit which resulted in an argument/altercation with Marbury. Depending on who you believed Marbury was either sent home by Thomas or went AWOL shortly after the plane landed. Given Thomas's recent untruths regarding his overdose and just about everything else we've learned about him since last November, I know who I'm inclined to believe. Either way, Marbury was a no-show that night in Phoenix when D'Antoni's Suns beat the Knicks.

A few-days-short-of-a-year later, I can't help but wonder if the Marbury-related drama at the outset of the 2008-2009 season has its roots in those events in November 2007. I can't help but think that D'Antoni's stance on Marbury was formed in the crucible of those events. After all, he was full-time NBA coach and couldn't have been expected to actually be keeping tabs on the Knicks unless they were right in front of him. I can't help but think that somehow Isiah Thomas is still sabotaging the Knicks and Marbury. And, you thought I couldn't somehow blame him for Duhon!

Because, you see, D'Antoni's playing-for-the-future mantra doesn't really hold water when it comes to Duhon, who signed a two-year deal during the offseason. Chris Duhon is not the future of this team. There is zero chance that Duhon will be the team's starting point guard a single day after his two-year contract expires. And, neither will Mardy Collins or Anthony Roberson, who combined with Duhon form, arguably, the worst point guard trio in the Association (I don't count Nate as a PG right now because his role at this time is clearly as offensive spark plug). None of those guys are the point guards of the future and there is not a snow ball's chance in Hell that any of them will be on the roster entering the Summer of Lebron's Free Agency after next season.

There is no way that Donnie Walsh is going to try to lure LBJ to come to a Knicks team that is helmed by a player like Duhon. No chance. So, Duhon is not the future. Wilson Chandler may be. David Lee may be. Jamal Crawford may be. But not Duhon. And, therefore he shouldn't be the present. Duhon is not even close to the Steve Nash -type player that D'Antoni wants to run his offense and he is not nearly good as Stephon Marbury, who D'Antoni has at his disposal to run his offense.
*I will readily admit that this made-up statistic may be misleading, especially on a Knickerbocker squad with little interior presence, and that I am no John Hollinger when it comes to numbers. But I do think that this made-up stat gets to the heart of what Duhon's game lacks: playmaking ability and making-teammatest-better ability. And, hey, at least I'm trying to back up what I think.
**In a few cases (but really like three or less for all of these numbers) I've included a pass that led to a "1-foot shot" in my calculations.

That Just Happened

LBJ drops 50 on the Knicks
Aside from hitting the half century mark, LBJ also had ten assists. The last NBA player to rack up 50 and 10? That was Stephon Marbury, who accomplished the feat in 2001 and just happened to be in the crowd tonight.

Oh, and tickets were still available at tip-off.

Pre-Gaming: Knicks vs. Cavs

7:30 PM @ the Garden

Lebron is worth paying to go see.

Let Exhibit A establish that as a legitimate reason why you should go to tonight's game if you've got the cash and the time. Lebron is worth paying to go see. Since I have the time but not the cash I won't be watching this one in person.

Things other than Lebron to watch for:
1. Randolph Morris and the Junkyard Gang. Will Isiah again play the end of the bench? After the way he handed away a game on Monday night he best give these young guys some run again. That loss on Monday only makes sense if it is the start of a youth movement. However, I would hope that he manages to be a bit smarter about how to utilize the roster. He can get Wilson Chandler minutes without having to bench someone like Nate with the game on the line. He can also mix youth and experience. I doesn't really do much good to put all Chandler, Morris, Collins and Rose out their together. The only way to get a good look at any of them is to mix them into a lineup that actually has some experienced players.

2. Stephon Marbury. Remember that guy? According to Berman at the Post, he'll be at the Garden tonight. It's came out in the media last week that he had been banned from the building by Isiah. The NBA Players' Association is looking into that allegation, but no one has to dig deep to see that Isiah has thrown Steph under the entire Greyhound fleet. This could get interesting if he actually shows up. I only hope that interesting doesn't segue to embarrassing.

3. Eddy Curry. Just Kidding. Although with Ilgauskas scratched due to injury it is possible that he could get some PT. Or, we could just slot the returning Randolph into the 5-spot and play small. I know which one I'd rather see...

4. Lebron James is a phenomenal talent. He is playing on a different planet from everyone but Kobe right now. He is really a cross between Magic and Michael. There, I said it. He has the desire to push the ball and distribute it that Magic did. He has Magic's size advantage over everyone else and the ability to guard virtually every position. And, he's got the end-game tenacity that Michael had. I've watched him get layups in the closing seconds of at least a half-dozen games this season. The combination of his size and his will are singular. And worth watching no matters who he is playing.

5. Nate Robinson. Before being benched in the game's waning moments on Monday, Nate was having a heck of a game. He's been a good deckhand on a sinking ship this season even if he can get a little hot-headed during the game. And, he can do this:


6. The Knicks might win. For whatever reason, the Knicks play well against Lebron. He brings out the best from Q on the defensive end of the floor and seemingly a good effort from just about everyone else. The Cavs only have one win to show for their last 6 trips to the Garden. The teams have split the two previous games this season, with the Knicks loss occurring in their very first game (in Cleveland) and only coming by a 4 point margin. Gibson killed us with late 3's and the Cavs really stole that one.

Suns Trade for Shaq, Knicks Looking at Mo Rivera

The Knicks Need a Closer More Than the Suns Need a Diesel

2/6
The Knicks led the Pacers by 7 points with 7 minutes left.
They lost by 3.

2/4
The Knicks led the Clippers by 11 points in the 3rd quarter.
They lost by 9.

2/2
The Knicks were in a tie-game with Sonics with 1 minute left.
They lost by 1.

2/1
The Knicks led the Blazers by 8 points with 7 minutes left in the 4th quarter.
They lost by 6 in OT.

1/30
The Knicks just got flat-out beat by Utah last Wednesday.
They closed within 3 with about 7 left in the 3rd, but never even tied it.

1/29
The Knicks led the Lakers by 9 with 9 minutes left in the 4th.
They lost by 11.

1/27
The Knicks led the Warriors by 4 early in the 4th.
They lost by 2 points.

This is the anatomy of a seven-game losing streak in which the free-falling team has actually been playing very well. They were in control of 6 of these 7 games at various points during each. Aside from the hiccup in Utah, where they came out flat, each game, looked at by itself, was filled with positives. Except for the ending. Because the Knicks cannot close out a game.

The Knicks, as constituted can go up and down the floor with almost anyone in the league for the first 40+ minutes of a game. They proved this by winning the early track meet against the Warriors. However, they cannot cope in the final minutes when the game slows down and you need to execute a half-court offense and stop an opponent's half-court offense.

The reasons that they can't stop the other team are legion and well-documented.The reason why their offense stutters is that they DO NOT HAVE A POINT GUARD in the game.

We were all quick to notice how well-adjusted and cohesive the team seemed to be without Stephon, but now we are seeing the downside. Crawford and Nate are shooting guards in point guard bodies who are struggling running the game in 24 second intervals as opposed to over the long haul. This is about not knowing what to do rather than not being able to do it.

Therefore, the Knicks consistently fritter away the key possessions even in games when they've shown that they can exert their will on the other team. In other words, they need a closer.

Or a point guard.

"You know I noticed that somebody wrote in my chart that I was difficult in January of 92 and I have to tell you I remember that appointment exactly"

Your favorite out-patient and mine, Stephon Marbury underwent surgery yesterday to clean out bone spurs in his right ankle. The prognosis is that he is difficult, brooding, egotistical and likely to never suit up in a Knicks uniform again.

The professional speculators at the papers all think he'll be traded to a team looking for cap space going into next offseason or that the Knicks will simply buy him out over the summer. Oh, and his doctor said the he will recover fully after "successful" surgery. Yeah, someone said that too.

The media has created a situation in which it would seemingly be a surprise if Steph comes back. I'm not quite there yet. Mostly because I don't know how they will be able to move him to another team if doesn't get back on the court this season, with the Knicks. But, whatever happens we can be sure it will be dramatic and end poorly.

"You are not going to believe what happened to me at the doctors office today ...I was looking at my chart and it said I was difficult . Why would they write that ?"

"You see ethics are...business ethics can be seen as..."

The death of a family member reminds all the fans and reporters out in The City that Stephon Marbury is a man just like any of us. He may be wealthier and taller and less educated than some of us but he is just a guy who gets paid to play basketball. I get paid to edit and write and make occasional photo copies. One of my roommates gets paid to appraise real estate. The other roommate, he gets paid to cook. Stephon gets paid to play basketball. For certain, it is good work if you can get it but on a fundamental level it is just a job the same as ours. Even if those in the stands (myself included) fail to bear that in mind most of the time. You always hear from the players and coaches that "it's a business," and for them that's exactly what it is. It is a career. Same as yours. Just harder and easier and more demanding and probably more fun and, oh yeah, much better compensated. This will never fully make sense to fans. The things we see them do nightly seem so amazing to us at home that we struggle to relate to them.

In the wake of Sean Taylor's tragic murder and with the Jimmy V Classic playing on the television right now it reminds me that it is really only in moments of tragedy that we remember athletes are actually like us. They come from somewhere. And they'll likely go back there once their amazing physical skills dull with age and over-use. Stephon Marbury is from Coney Island, New York. The spot where all those subway lines end. It's the wrong side of four sets of tracks and Stephon was the youngest of seven children raised by Don and Mabel Marbury. He was named the National High School Player of the Year by Parade Magazine during his senior year at Lincoln High. He was a member of the 1994 US Junior National Team that won a Gold Medal. He wore number three at Georgia Tech because all of his older brothers wore the same number. Drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, Don's baby son went on to put up historic stats as he showed himself to be one of the more impressive players in the professional ranks. Stephon also signed up to play for his country again in 2004 when so many of his peers were avoiding the commitment at all costs. Up until his numbers took a hit in NY during the last few seasons, Marbury was the only player in league history other than Oscar Robertson with career averages over 20 points and 8 assists. In spite of his much publicized demise, his career averages have only "sunk" to 19.8 and 7.9 per game.

Off the court Don and Mabel's youngest child was also named to The Sporting News's prestigious "Good Guys in Sports" list in 2001, 2002 and 2005. He also teamed up with a discount clothing retailer to release an affordable basketball sneaker. He was the first big-name basketball player to buck the trend of over-priced shoes marketed at inner city kids. Steph came from the neighborhoods were kids were killed for Air Jordans and parents, like Don and Mabel, worked night and day to get their children such shoes.

Now, we can be sure that Stephon's charitable work does not make him a saint. In testimony (painfully and naively honest testimony) during Isiah Thomas's sexual harassment trail Marbury revealed that he had an extramarital tryst with an MSG intern. Barry Bonds is now facing federal jail time for choosing to be less forthcoming when asked for such embarassing honesty. In addition, Steph has had confrontations with former coaches and teammates but so have Jason Kidd, Kobe Bryant and innumerable players whose maturity didn't yet equal their talent. A man with works both bitter and sweet, he is just as conflicted and contradictory as the rest of us. He just takes his bows and his brow-beatings on a larger stage and with larger stakes.

In spite of any missteps in his personal life, Marbury has been an NBA ironman. He came from hard-working people and brought that work ethic to the basketball court. He didn't miss a game due to injury from April 2001 until January 2006. He couldn't lift his arm over his head but it was still a struggle to get him out of the game where he finally gave in to the pain. No matter what anyone thought about his performance he kept showing up night after night. But that is not enough. It never is. He isn't as good as we want him to be. And he probably never will be. He falls short of our expectations. And he always might. He hasn't lead a team to postseason success. And it seems like he might never "lead" a team in June. He has had some high profile problems with coaches and teammates. He hasn't turned into a pass-first point guard that we wish he could be and hasn't made the teammates to whom he should be passing more often any better. He hasn't replaced Walt Frazier in the hearts and minds of New Yorkers liked everyone said he might when he was a teenager. But let's not forget that Zach Randolph is no Dave DeBusschere. Eddy Curry is not Willis Reed. Jamal Crawford is not Bill Bradley. And Isiah Thomas is not Red Holzman.

Isiah Thomas is just the man who kept Stephon from his dying father's side. The coach who has allowed Marbury to become the scapegoat for the mess that he created is the man ultimately responsible for the fact that Stephon continued to play in an early December basketball game while his beloved father was suffering and being rushed to the St. Vincent's Hospital where he would expire.

Can you imagine if your boss knew that your father (or mother or brother or sister or spouse or best friend) had been rushed to the hospital and was having a heart attack and this boss neglected to tell you until you finished the project you were working on?

If my father was been taken suddenly to a hospital in an ambulance would it be strange to think that I would drop what I was doing to accompany him? Would it be wrong? Even if Steph's presence couldn't have kept Don Marbury's well-worn and well-used heart beating, he still could have been there during those last moments. Lives and relationships are defined and fortified in such moments. Old wounds are mended, bonds reaffirmed. They can provide solace for the grieving and perhaps peace for the fading.

Considering the hectic life of a professional athlete it is remarkable that Stephon was even in the same state when his father's heart failed. But he was in the same state. He was in the same city. He was even in the same building and the same gym. But he had no idea. I can't even begin to comprehend how miserable and helpless and isolated it would make someone feel to know that a loved one who needed you was within bounce passable distance and that you had no idea. This is the worst sort of pain that I can imagine adding on to an already awful situation.

The fact that no one told Stephon Marbury about what was happening is far and away the most despicable and selfish act perpetrated by this wretched Garden hierarchy. This is worse than an inappropriate firing of an employee. This is worse than creating a hostile workplace. This is worse than mismanaging the finances of an organizations because of ineptitude and ignorance. This is worse than turning your back on a tradition that was never yours to begin with. This is worse than treating lightly that for which others toiled tirelessly for a lifetime, yet was gifted to you. This is worse than insulting the very people upon whom your livelihood depends. This is worse than anything that has happened to anyone at the hands of the Garden.

How can Stephon ever trust Isiah Thomas? How can he ever trust any single member of the coaching staff? How can he ever trust any member of the security staff? Some person or persons in that group knew what was happening. Someone had called the ambulance. Someone had helped Stephon's suddenly stricken father from the arena. Someone fielded the call from either the ER or another member of the Marbury family. Someone had to do those things. That person likely asked their own supervisor what to do. Perhaps that person subsequently asked theirs. Perhaps that person asked MSG President Steve Mills. And maybe Mills got word to the head coach. Or, maybe this news never made it up that far in the chain of command. Frankly, I don't know. And I don't care. If someone felt like this news to be kept from Steph than likely they were doing what they thought that their boss (Isiah Thomas) would have wanted.

I can't imagine many things more devastating than having a parent need me and not being told until it was too late. And, all of that pain and doubt and self-recrimination for what? For a win in December? To play in the fourth quarter? This is not the case of the athlete making the sacrifice of family and selfhood during the Finals. This isn't heroic. It is tragic. Marbury was never given the choice to make any sort of sacrifice. That choice was made for him. His last moments with his father weren't sacrificed, they were stolen.

Hanging wih Carmen Sandiego

Where in the World is Stephon Marbury?

Apparently he is back in NYC this morning. Maybe eating breakfast right now. Maybe packing a bag to fly out to LA to play against the Clippers tonight. Maybe packing a bag to fly to Italy to play against La Fortezza tonight. Maybe he is just driving around in his truck thinking about old times. Who knows? Not me. And, not any of the intrepid writers who are on the case.

Is this just about Marbury being benched because of his play at the end of the Miami game? Is this about Dolan brining the hammer down on Isiah who is scapegoating his former pupil? Is this about an underachieving player who has just lost his desire? Is this a coach's teribbly executed plan at motivating one of his most gifted players? Is this about a sexual harrasment case in which Marbury's testimony didn't do anyone at MSG any favors?

Whatever it is about it isn't about winning basketball games. That much is clear after watching last night's game. Even if Steph's defense is porous he is still a better player than either Nate or Mardy. That is just a fact of the game. Nate is more exciting to watch and Mardy could, at some point, be better at keeping opposing players from getting into the paint, but neither is going to give the team a better chance to win tomorrow. Neither is likely to average 19 and 7. Oscar Robertson did that. Magic Johnson did that. Isiah Thomas did that. Stephon Marbury does that. And, lest we forget, almost every other player in the rotation prior to last night is subpar on the defensive end. Only Lee and Balkman are nominally considered D-oriented. And Lee still has a ways to come with his one-on-one defense. Q can play defense (and frequently does) but he is still a scorer first. So, that leaves Marbury with plenty of company in ineptitude.

According to Isola in the NEWS, Curry was also set to start last night's game on the bench before Steph flew back to NY. That makes a bit more sense. For all of his shortcomings as a player, it is hard to pin the team's defensive woes all on Steph. This move makes more sense if it were part of a larger move by Isiah intended to send a message to the team during a game that they would have been hard pressed to win even if they were playing well. Still, even if one were to give Isiah the benefit of the doubt regarding his intention there hasn't been a plan executed this poorly since Cobra Commander and Destro thought they could take over the world by controlling the weather.

All of that being said, there are number of ways in which the team could be better off with lesser players in Marbury's spot and we'll get into that later today.