Although Stephon Marbury is in good shape, he admitted last night to feeling out of sorts following a scoreless, off-the-bench outing in the Knicks’ 116-109 loss to the 76ers in their Garden preseason opener.
Marbury as the sixth man will take time getting used to and he didn’t sound too pleased. “I’m trying to get a feel,” he said. “Eventually, I’ll figure it out. I always want to start.
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“I’m a starter, period. It’s not my choice to be coming off the bench. It’s the coach’s choice.”
Mike D’Antoni let it slip after Monday’s practice when he was asked if he had any reason to change the starting lineup against the Sixers. Not at all, D’Antoni said.
“When I get stuck, I get stuck,” he said. “We go with roles, you fit into it.”
Oh yes, D’Antoni is stuck on Chris Duhon as the starting point guard, for better or worse. Barring a miracle, he will supplant Marbury, and it has become clear Eddy Curry also is on the outside looking in.
Duhon last night was nothing special, with six points, six assists and four turnovers in 30 minutes. He was stripped of the ball by Andre Miller with 55 seconds left and the Knicks down six, sealing the loss. The Sixers shredded D’Antoni’s defense on 50.6 percent shooting and 56 points in the paint.
Marbury was nothing special either in his new role as fourth guard. He didn’t score, missing all three of his shots, and committed four fouls. He had six assists, but seemed more passive than he was in the first two games.
Marbury last week went out of his way to say he’s fine with his backup role. Last night, he seemed a little less convinced. Asked if he’s still OK with it, Marbury said: “I have no choice. That’s my role now. I just want to win. I just want to win a championship in New York.”
At least Marbury has a rotational spot if he wants it. Curry’s spot is not as secure. Zach Randolph and David Lee have locked up the starting front-court spots, each scoring 17 points last night. And Wilson Chandler continued his excellent preseason with 20 points and 10 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Curry, in his preseason debut, played just 6:21 in the first half and had more fouls than points. He scored just one point and committed three fouls.
Curry did not return to the bench for the second half after becoming sick in the locker room. It has been that sort of preseason for Curry, who missed all of training camp at Saratoga Springs with a bacterial infection.
One day after he busted an exercise ball in practice by sitting on it, Curry’s lowlight last night was getting blocked on a driving dunk by Theo Ratliff.
D’Antoni has yet to guarantee Curry a role.
“It’s going to take him a while,” D’Antoni said. “We have to have patience with him.”
Asked if Curry can fit into the up-tempo system, D’Antoni said: “I hope so. I don’t know that.”
Curry remained confident. “It will take a lot of work but it’s still basketball,” he said. “I’m not trying to learn the triangle offense in two days.”