Brown rips Marbury; Knicks still favored
By Brian Covert
Wed, Mar 15, 2006
Larry Brown finally hit his boiling point with Stephon Marbury.
In a verbal tirade Tuesday, the New York Knicks coach berated his captain for everything from his desire to play defense to his commitment to winning.
“The bottom line is, I want us to rebound, defend, share the ball, play hard," Brown told New York’s Newsday. “If you can`t do that, if that`s not important to you, it`s not on me. And you owe it to your teammates to do that every night if you care about the right things.”
Brown’s remarks came in response to comments Marbury made Monday saying the coach’s style of play wasn’t working for the 17-45 Knicks and he said he wanted more freedom in the team’s offense.
But given Brown’s words, he may not get his chance. The New York bench boss gave a sweeping threat to the entire team saying he would only play those players who will "try" playing defense, beginning tonight against the Atlanta Hawks.
Oddsmakers have the Knicks listed as 3-point favorites and the total is 205 1/2.
“We watched the film and it`s amazing how bad we defended,” said Brown of Monday’s 108-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets as 3-point favorites. “We`ve got to get better doing that and that will determine playing time.”
Brown highlighted the play of Marbury and fellow guard Steve Francis specifically, going so far as to say he can’t play those two together at the same time.
“We didn`t guard anybody last night with that backcourt,” Brown told the New York Times.
Marbury was unavailable for comment Tuesday. He left the gym after the team cut practice short, allowing the veterans to leave early.
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