BCBG25
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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 Posted: 12/31/04 11:41 pm ::: Marbury's Selection for Top Point Guard? Himself |
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NYT story:
By DAVE CALDWELL
Published: January 1, 2005
REENBURGH, N.Y., Dec. 31 - Stephon Marbury strolled off the Knicks' practice floor Friday with a scowl, as if a spoonful of cod-liver oil was waiting for him at the door. Not long into an interview, the subject had turned to another point guard: Jason Kidd.
Kidd is not just any other point guard, but the gold standard among active players. Marbury appears convinced of his own standing among N.B.A. point guards, but he also seems to be tormented enough by Kidd to become testy and boastful when he is mentioned.
"I know I'm the best point guard in the N.B.A." Marbury said. "I don't need anybody else to tell me that."
Marbury and the Knicks (16-13) play Kidd and the Nets (10-18 ) on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. The Nets have been fortified by the acquisition of Vince Carter, but the eve of any Knicks-Nets game usually dredges up comparisons between Marbury and Kidd.
"Me and Jason Kidd are two different players," Marbury said. "We don't play anything alike. We play totally different."
It does not seem to matter. The Knicks won their last game against Kidd and the Nets, 87-79, on Dec. 14 at the Meadowlands, but over the years, Kidd has taken his team much further into the playoffs. Marbury, a Coney Island native and a former Nets point guard, desperately wants to win an N.B.A. championship.
He is leading the Knicks in scoring, with a 20.2 average, and he is averaging an assist for every four and a half minutes he plays, about the same pace as Kidd, who has missed all but 12 games this season while recuperating from off-season knee surgery.
Because Kidd has taken the Nets to two N.B.A. finals, his style seems to have been validated. Even the Knicks' recent victory over the Nets had an asterisk: Kidd played only 21 minutes.
When told what Marbury had said about himself on Friday, Richard Jefferson of the Nets said sarcastically: "I agree with him. Steve Nash, Dwyane Wade - none of those guys have really done anything this season."
Jefferson then turned serious and added: "I think, right now, that him, Steve Nash and Dwyane Wade, right now, are playing at an extremely high level. But Jason Kidd is still getting his legs under him."
Marbury was less interested in talking about Kidd than he was in talking about the Knicks, who have won three games in a row. They have not lost since shooting guard Jamal Crawford sustained a toe injury Dec. 22 that will keep him out for at least a couple more weeks.
Crawford's injury, in addition to a hamstring injury that has caused the valuable reserve Penny Hardaway to miss 14 games, have forced the Knicks to focus inward, instead of on their opponents. The Knicks are playing comfortably together.
"The team kind of pulled together and said, 'Hey, we've got to do it ourselves,' " Hardaway said. "Everyone's just rallied around each other and did what we had to do to win."
Hardaway practiced Friday, and Coach Lenny Wilkens said he would decide Saturday morning if Hardaway could play against the Nets. But Wilkens said that the rotation would be hard to crack.
The Knicks left standing are taking on new roles and talking on defense in a way that pleases Wilkens. Allan Houston, who usually speaks in a soft, smooth baritone, is identifying opponents' offensive sets with a holler, so the Knicks can be in the right position.
"Any time you can stop people, you always have a chance," Houston said.
Wilkens said that Marbury, who has scored 66 points in the Knicks' last two games, is playing better defensively. Marbury's focus seems to be on the grittier parts of the game, even though a group of reporters tried Friday to tug it elsewhere.
"As long as I'm playing come April for the championship," Marbury said, referring to the playoffs, "that's the most important thing."
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dtsnms
Joined: 23 Sep 2004
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| Posted: 01/02/05 9:04 am ::: |
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One thing, though, and it's not meant to defend Marbury.
The press in NYC area has been after him for two years now to make a comment about him vs. Kidd as to who's better. He has always refused to comment, and been above board about it.
Well, he is having a great season, and the Knicks are in first place, Kidd has been injured and they still started pounding him with the question when I saw the interview when he made those statements.
He responded out of frustration, and what does anyone expect, him to say Steve Nash is better? Then the press blew it out of context/proportion as some in NYC are prone to do.
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Admiral_Needa
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