Basketbawful

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

Larry or Stephon? Is that even a question?

Stephon Marbury's grasp on reality has always been tenuous at best. This is a man who doesn't just refer to himself in third person, he refers to himself in third person by his self-appointed nickname "Starbury." Speaking of which, his recent tirade against his coach, his team, and life in general went something like this:

"I went into this year trying to do something, to put myself in a situation where we can win, okay? To help the team win games. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, what do I do now, as far as the way I play? I go back to playing like Stephon Marbury, aka Starbury. I haven't been Starbury this year. I've been some other dude this year."

What kind of drugs is this guy on? Because seriously, I want some. I don't know where he gets his crazy ideas. I mean, every team he's gone to has gotten worse, while the teams he left all got better. Much better, actually. For instance:

Case Number 1. When he left the Minnesota, the Timberwolves went from .500 (25-25 in the lockout-shortened season, which equates to 41-41 over a full season) to 50-32.

Case Number 2. When he left New Jersey, the Nets went from 25-56 to 52-30. Oh, and they made back-to-back appearances in the NBA Finals.

Case Number 3. When he left Phoenix, the Suns went from 29-53 to 62-20 and made it to the Western Conference Finals.

Shortly after Marbury arrived in New York, he announced that he was "the best point guard in the NBA," which is ridiculous no matter how you look at it. He's been on a winning team twice in 10 years, and he's never been out of the first round of the playoffs. Since his "best point guard" statement, the Knicks have gone 34-80. As Bill Walton would say: "That's terrrrrible." Here at Basketbawful, the running joke we make about Marbury is that (until this season) he's good for 20 points, 10 assists, and 50 losses. That's good for your fantasy team, but absolutely horrific for his franchise.

Now the big question seems to be who will get the boot first: Starbury or Larry Brown? I don't see how this can be a question. Sure, Larry's first season with the Knicks hasn't gone as planned, but that's due more to Isiah's shoddy personnel decisions than Brown's coaching. But Brown is a proven winner, a championship-caliber coach. Marbury has proven...what, exactly? That he's a raving egomaniac incapable of winning at the professional level. This is a no-brainer. You get rid of Starbury by any means possible, even if you're giving him away for 25 cents on the dollar.

Of course, with Isiah running the team, there's no telling how this is going to end up.

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