Pride or Success?

Larry Brown is considered by many to be one of the greatest coaches of the modern Era. People see him as a man who has come into poor circumstances and taken over teams destined for no where and turned them into perennial contenders. Brown has yet to work any of this magic with these Knicks.Although Brown was not a major part of assembling this team, due to the timing of his arrival Isiah Thomas did provide him with the pieces to win. Brown is noted for having a “my way or the highway” approach, and is using it again this season. Brown is seen by many as egotistical and one can see why. He continues to leave teams, in order to portray himself in a better spotlight, but there are flaws in his resume.
        Look no further than the past Olympic team. A team consisted of many high caliber player’s who have proven themselves to basketball people time and time again felt they were superior than Brown and refused to adapt to his style entirely, the result a Bronze Medal in a US dominated sport. This time around he has guards Stephon Marbury a player he deems more suitable for the two guard rather than the point, Jamal Crawford a player he sees as coming off the bench or running the point, and Quentin Richardson a proven three man who Brown believes should be a two. Brown has contradicting feelings right there with 3 different two men, how is that a formula for success? Last night Brown gave it and started all three at their respective positions, Stephon ran the point, Crawford ran the two and Quentin was the three man. Brown believes Richardson is too small to handle some of the premier three men, yet Richardson was one of the top three men in the game last year, leading the league in three pointers.
    Stephon Marbury is attempting to put aside the thought that he is a shoot first pass second point guard and is attempting to adapt to Brown’s style of play which is making Marbury less valuable. In the Knick’s loss against Portland Marbury, the Knicks leading scorer last year took just 8 shots. Rather than forcing a team to adapt to his style of play, the team as a whole would be much better off if he would structure an offense around their strengths. The Knicks have continually lost games in the fourth quarter as the players looked uncomfortable in their given niches. Eventually the player’s will adapt and all critics will be silenced as Brown again will work his, “magic”, and his enormous ego will be brushed away once again.