SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Knicks captain Stephon Marbury’s remark last Monday before the team flew west sounds all too prophetic now.
Marbury, one day after the rehabbing Allan Houston was booed at the Garden, said the Knicks need him healthy if they are “to compete for a championship.”
After two hideous blowouts in Utah and Dallas by a combined 62 points, Marbury made another comment that, for coach Lenny Wilkens’ sake, better not be as prophetic.
Before the Knicks faced the Timberwolves last night, Marbury warned if the club continues to show a lack of effort and play no defense and gets off to a horrible start in the regular season, fans will call for Wilkens’ head.
“You can win nine preseason games and everyone’s talking about you, and as soon as the first game starts and you lose five in a row, they’re talking about the coach getting fired,” Marbury said. “So, you know how that goes. I’m just being honest.”
Wilkens and his coaching staff felt it important enough to give an extended lecture to the club after the Mavericks blowout Thursday, the locker-room doors closed to the media for 20 minutes. But last night’s game wasn’t considered important enough for Marbury to play. Wilkens, citing a back-to-back, sat him out.
One theory is if the Knicks get off to a miserable start, the Wilkens Watch begins in December. However, Knicks president Isiah Thomas lowered expectations at the outset, saying the club would be “lucky” to be .500 after 20 games because of a vicious opening schedule that includes a four-game road trip – Indiana and the fearsome Texas triangle.
But Thomas also said preseason wins were important to create a habit. It’s premature for Phil Jackson to be seriously mentioned, especially since he’s busy with his book tour. One of Jackson’s close friends believes Thomas’ and Jackson’s massive egos would clash. But it’s known Thomas respects Jackson. He feels Jackson is one of the few coaches who make players better, which Thomas values more than X’s and O’s.
Marbury was frustrated Thursday night in Dallas after the 38-point blowout and called for “a sense of urgency.” They have fallen in a deep hole from the start of both games.
“It’s impossible for us to go out and play one way for two games, then play another way,” Marbury said. “If you lose, it’s cool. [But] we can’t lose how we’ve been losing.”
The Jazz and Mavericks shredded the Knick defense, which has looked as confused as last season when the furious roster turnover was blamed for robbing them of cohesion. The defense still looks sickly, the offense selfish. They have no center. Jamal Crawford, after a strong first two games, has not looked to share the ball when at shooting guard.
“The breakdowns occur because we don’t talk on the defense,” Wilkens said. “We talk in practice. We have to transfer that from the practice court to the game.”
