I'm a native of Los Angeles, yet for some reason I always find myself watching a majority of the Knicks games on television. This season, I've watched the new look Knicks under Mike D'Antoni and have been scratching my head with a few things. The number one thing is the benching of Stephon Marbury. Say what you will about Marbury, but he is an immensely better point guard than Chris Duhon. D'Antoni's system needs a point guard that can push the ball, penetrate and dish. Duhon does none of those things well. This became very clear to me last night when the Knicks would have great spacing, but couldn't get open shots because their point guard couldn't penetrate, draw defenders, and kick out to open shooters or cutters. The only time this happened in the entire game was when Nate Robinson was handling the point guard duties.
Last night the Knicks were +10 when Lil' Nate was handling the point position and an atrocious -19 when Duhon was handling the point guard duties. Duhon finished the game with 6 points, 3 assists, and two turnovers on 2-6 shooting in 37 minutes of play. Duhon is averaging 6.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 1.67 turnovers per game. He's also shooting thirty percent from the field. The shooting percentage is slightly off, but these are right around Duhon's career numbers. And that is with him playing more minutes in a system that is supposed to promote offensive efficiency. You can't tell me that Marbury wouldn't be a better solution at this point.
Mike D'Antoni keeps saying that he doesn't want to play Marbury because he needs to take a look at the future. Duhon is the future? Guy is a backup trying to play starters minutes. The only places in the league he could possibly do damage as a starter are in L.A. or Cleveland where he would just be asked to be a spot up shooter and defender. But in a system where the point guard is the focal point, Duhon is going to fail. As well, Duhon is only on a two year deal, so it's obvious the Knicks are not really committed to him long term either. I'm just not seeing D'Antoni's logic here.
Steph is not the long term solution, but neither is Duhon. D'Antoni says he is trying to set the foundation for his system. I think playing someone with the skills to actually run the system would help set that foundation better than playing Duhon. By all accounts, Steph is in great shape and has come in more focused than he has in years. So what's the harm in playing him? Don't be surprised if we start hearing more "We want Steph" chants at the Garden throughout the season.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-03-2008 @ 11:49AM
Matt said...
THANK YOU MAN! THANK YOU!
I'm from New York and this is the same exact point I've been making. They're building for the future with Duhon, Crawford (liability as a starter), Robeson, Q-Rich, and Collins??
The Knicks have just lost one of their most loyal fans.
Well said, Nate.
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11-03-2008 @ 12:21PM
Smack Adams said...
Nate,
I think D'Antoni's resistance to playing Marbury -- the most talented guy on his team -- arises from (a) his and Walsh's need to establish their primacy over Dolan, (b) Marbury's history of alienating the other guys on the floor, and (c) the understanding that 25 wins with Steph on the bench is better in the long term than 35 wins with Steph at the point.
In reference to (c), above, the Knicks will have better lottery odds and the current regime can foist blame on Isiah for assembling such an unbalanced roster to be led by an unbalanced point guard.
I'll never say that Steph is a bad guy. He might be an asshole in the micro sense, but in the macro he's been quite the opposite. In basketball, though, only the micro matters; his teammates carry a grudge from the Phoenix flight meltdown. Steph is already on the outs with several teammates, including J. Crawford and Q. Richardson (reportedly) and I doubt Malik Rose liked it much either. Coach may be making clear the message that "me" bahaviors will not be countenanced.
But that's just the opinion of yet another jackass posting anonymous comments on the web. And I'm a Nets fan, so I don't much care either way.
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11-03-2008 @ 5:14PM
mrali05 said...
Do the media not understand that steph is a me first player that infects the other team, Dantoni's offense is baed on selfless ball movement, can steph average 8 assist a game or more? yes, can iverson? yes....doesn't mean they aren't selfish me first players, it different when your trying to get the "dime" or just when you drive in kick it out if your option is open which those guy can do then just tryin to get the ball moving and teammates involved, marbury will only hurt the new team...its ridiculous to ask steph to play, is he a talent, if your going a new direction, i wouldn't want him...and if they release him, the media will stop? please, every time he scores they will look back and say ny you shouldve let him play, theres no winning, and media only ruins it more
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11-03-2008 @ 6:16PM
frank said...
Knicks will win more games this year
then any other year (past 4 years) as a whole
and the games the knicks will loose
at least they will be hustling to
the end and that is a big CHANGE .
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11-05-2008 @ 11:34AM
Cat said...
Great points, Nate. The team CLEARLY played better in preseason w/ Marbury/ Nate/ Chandler dominating off the bench. I'd rather win now than watch Collins and Roberson "develop" themselves. Plus, if D'antoni's playing the young guys for the future, why's Malik Rose getting burn? He's old and he's a free agent. If the coach isn't interested in winning games, I'm not interested in watching.
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