D’Antoni Praises Robinson as Knicks Break Camp

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y., Oct. 4 (AP) -- Even though Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni isn't ready to determine his rotation, he liked what he saw from Nate Robinson during New York's first week of practice.

"I'm really surprised with him and how good he is,'' D'Antoni said of the 5-foot-9 guard after the team broke training camp at Skidmore College on Saturday. "He can play a lot of systems, but I do think that the way we want to play an open court, that will benefit him as much or more than anybody.

"He's just - he is athletic as can be. He's scary athletic, and fast.''

The Knicks spent five days getting used to their new coach's fast-paced system and trained for the first time at the Saratoga Springs college.

"We still got a lot of work to do. We don't have to be ready tomorrow,'' D'Antoni said. "We've got to be ready on Oct. 29.''

That's when New York opens its season at home against the Miami Heat. Their first preseason game is Wednesday at Toronto.

D'Antoni was also impressed by Mardy Collins, another guard.

"I really didn't think of him, because we had so many guys, but he played really well,'' the coach said.

He will determine his core eight or nine players after a few weeks when "everybody will be in shape and we'll be able to assess a little bit better.''

For his part, Robinson liked what he saw from his teammates.

"Guys are closer, playing harder, playing together, learning coach's style of play,'' he said. "Every guy came in ready to play and ready to learn, and I think that goes a long way.''

New York left Saratoga Springs with Jared Jeefries sidelined up to two months with a left leg fracture he injured during practice Thursday. Also, Eddy Curry didn't practice all week because of a bacterial infection that initially landed him in Saratoga Hospital.

"It's always tough when you're missing some of your key guys,'' Quentin Richardson said. "But I think with them missing, it gave other guys a chance to play a little bit more and to practice a little more.''

Jerome James suffered a slight strain in his left quadriceps Saturday, and sat the final 15 minutes of the team's last scrimmage.

"We've got a lot of things to still do, a lot of things to go, and then we'll see on the 29th that I'm sure there will still be a lot of learning to do,'' D'Antoni said. "But the first three or four months it's going to be, we're going to have to grind it out and learn how to play and just make sure we're making progress.

D'Antoni praised the facilities at Skidmore and would welcome a return next year, though no decision has yet been made.

Knicks’ Jeffries fractures fibula in scrimmage

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP)— New York Knicks forward Jared Jeffries fractured his left fibula at practice Thursday and is expected to miss six-to-eight weeks.

The 6-foot-11 seventh-year pro pulled up in the backcourt during a scrimmage and was immediately waved off the court by coach Mike D’Antoni. Jeffries’ lower leg was wrapped in an ice pack as he sat out the rest of practice until some light shooting at the end.

Jeffries said he jumped and when he landed felt his muscle tighten up, describing it as “more than a cramp.”

Jeffries contributed little during his first two seasons in New York, but was expected to have a larger role under D’Antoni because of his ability to play all three positions in the frontcourt.

Meanwhile, center Eddy Curry didn’t practice again while recovering from a bacterial infection. He hasn’t since the team arrived at camp and D’Antoni didn’t know when he’d be available.

“I think he’s just sick. There’d be no other reason because it’s not like you want to hang out at the hotel all day,” D’Antoni said, adding that it’s unlikely Curry will practice before the team leaves town Saturday.

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Marbury ready to play, and he doesn’t care where

GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP)— Stephon Marbury doesn’t care. He says the New York Knicks can get rid of him.

In remarks filled with contradictions and accusations Monday, the point guard stressed that the team’s problems last year went well beyond him.

“I was being blamed for losses and I wasn’t even playing,” Marbury said.

The Knicks didn’t win with him, and they couldn’t win without him. As they prepare to open their first training camp under Mike D’Antoni on Tuesday in Saratoga Springs, it’s still not clear which way they’ll try to do it this season.

And that’s fine with Marbury, who is entering the final year of a contract that will pay him more than $21 million.

“It doesn’t matter whatever they do, because basketballwise, I’m ready,” he said. “So it doesn’t matter to me. As long as I’m playing basketball, that’s the most important thing.

“I have no feelings of what they’re doing, it doesn’t matter to me. Because once I get on the basketball court, I’ll show what I can do and that’ll be that. And if they feel like they have plans to do something differently, that’s OK. I understand that it’s a business and I’m not taking it personally at all.”

Marbury was limited to 24 games last season, the worst of his career. He missed games for a variety of reasons, from a dispute with former coach Isiah Thomas to his father’s death, before shutting it down for the season in January following ankle surgery.

He’s fully recovered now and has slimmed down, honoring new president Donnie Walsh’s mandate to get in the best shape possible. That still might not be good enough to earn him another season in New York.

Though Walsh has never publicly said so, it’s been speculated since his arrival in April that he would waive or trade Marbury before the season. He doesn’t have a better option at point guard, but with Marbury having alienated teammates and his hometown fans with his behavior over the last few seasons, the popular belief was that the Knicks would be better off without him.

Marbury couldn’t point to anything he would change about last season and didn’t even acknowledge a fallout with Thomas—though he blew off an early-season game after a disagreement over his role. But Marbury seems to recognize the damage he’s done to his reputation.

“I’m every disease that you could possibly think of,” Marbury said. “So for me, I just want to approach it with playing basketball at a high level and I want to be able to change the way people think.”

Walsh signed Chris Duhon over the summer, and he’s the favorite to start at point guard if Marbury is moved. Duhon said he’s prepared to fight for his spot, even if many think it’s going to be handed to him.

“I came here to compete for a starting job, the opportunity to change an organization around back to where it should be as far as winning, and that’s all my main focus is,” Duhon said. “I’ve never been the guy that wanted things given to me, so I always wanted to go out and prove my worth and that I should be a guy that plays significant minutes. So that’s what I’m going to do.”

Marbury has the same plan. After repeatedly saying he didn’t care if he left, he later said he wanted to win a championship in New York—even if it was after this year. Walsh and D’Antoni have both said he’ll be given a chance in camp, not wanting to judge any players without seeing them in D’Antoni’s system.

Still confident at 31 that he can play at the level that earned him two All-Star berths, Marbury expects to quiet his critics—in New York or elsewhere.

“I’m going to play basketball and I’m going to play at a high level,” Marbury said. “So it doesn’t matter to me. As long as I get on the court and once I get my opportunity, that’s it. Watch me play this year.”