It wasn’t quite the same as a sit down with Freud. Or even some reassuring words from Mom. But the next best possibility for Stephon Marbury’s mental health was in town last night: veteran Terry Porter.
“I haven’t talked to him as much I’d like but I should,” Marbury said before the Nets tried to figure the riddle of the world champion Spurs’ Tim Duncan-David Robinson attack. “But I will after the game. Definitely.”
Porter was the hand-picked choice of Minnesota to guide Marbury when he first entered the NBA world in 1996. Porter was friend, mentor, coach and guide. Marbury said Porter helped in the “mental aspect of the game,” prepping him for all situations. OK, maybe not this Net situation – no one can prepare you for that – but for most stuff NBA guys face.
“I had to learn it but he told me what to expect, the things I was going to be faced with,” Marbury said. “He taught me a lot of stuff on the court. Running the point guard is hard enough as a rookie coming in and I had the chance to have a guy like him behind me. It was great.”
Minnesota executives told Marbury to shut up, watch and learn from Porter, a classy vet who twice went to the NBA Finals with Portland. Porter, now 36, admitted he was awed by Marbury’s talents and he feels for his younger friend who is caught in the middle of the Nets’ (2-13) misery.
“Whenever a young player gets into a situation and gets frustrated, a lot of things can happen,” Porter said. “The one thing more than anything I learned about him from my years in Minnesota is he wants to win and I’m sure its frustrating because the team and the organization I’m sure are disappointed with the injuries and only winning two games.
“It’s just a tough scenario the way it’s being played out. He’s disappointed with last year and obviously this year the way it’s working out,” Porter added. “They thought if they kept everybody healthy they’d have a run but unfortunately for them they’ve come out with injuries.”
So Porter said he would like to chat with Marbury as well, a reassuring, keep plugging, at least you’re not clearing minefields kind of chat. Marbury always impressed Porter before, no reason to stop now.
“My impression of him was a young kid with a lot of ability who wants to win. He wants to prove he has the capabilities of being a great player in this league. Those things are still in him,” Porter said. “He’s 22, frustrated and … ”
Extremely wealthy?
“I’ve never been in those shoes, but yeah. And it’s not a good combination,” Porter allowed.
The losing gets to Marbury. But it gets to everyone. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he is not surprised by the Nets plight but he does feel for them and he feels for Don Casey. After all, he went through it one year when Robinson and Sean Elliott were injured. Of course, he was rewarded with Duncan. See? Some good can come of all this.
“They don’t have their players. When we didn’t have our players, we won 21 games,” Popovich said. “I was the biggest idiot that ever lived and our team was terrible and so on and so forth. So I don’t understand why it’s so amazing to everybody. If you don’t have your players in this league it’s not going to work for you. Simple as that. When you lose some of your best players, two starters (Jayson Williams and Kerry Kittles), your best block-shot guy, rebounder the heart and soul of your defense and your starting two guard, you’re not the same team. I don’t care what anybody says.