Marbury wasn't on the bench...you silly boy...
To start the season he was. {But I know what you mean}
Chris Duhon owned the first-half MVP for the Knicks this season. He quickly grasped
D'Antoni's system, thrived in the floor general roll and was one of the league's most efficient and effective point guards through the holiday season.
But his game has noticably, and quickly, deteriorated in the second half to the point where Mike D'Antoni didn't even use his starting point guard for most of the second half and none of the final 10 minutes of Saturday's game.
Duhon, who used to regularly log 40-to-48 minutes a game for D'Antoni earlier in the season, played just 25:44 and had five points and three assists with three turnovers. He now has 30 turnovers in his past seven games, which is a concerning average of 4.2 per game.
The former Dukie is also struggling with his shooting -- 22 for 56 (39.2 percent) from the floor over the past seven games -- which, along with the turnovers, points to fatigue. And that doesn't bode well for the Knicks, with seven back-to-backs (including this weekend's, which ends tonight against the Nets).
D'Antoni, who earlier in the season said Coach K told him Duhon never gets tired, pointed to Duhon's lack of "pop" and "pep" in his game on Saturday. So is it a result of Duhon, a former backup in Chicago, breaking down from the heavy workload in the first half of the season? Or is it the effects of opposing defenses focusing on stopping him and the pick-and-roll with David Lee, which had been so effective through the middle part of the season?
"You'll have to ask him about that, I don't know," D'Antoni said of his usually-reliable (and hand-picked) point guard.
Duhon spoke in general, though pointed, terms when he said, "We, for whatever reason, didn't have the energy . . . It was tough to win when you don't play with a lot of energy."
Duhon has played with a sore back for most of the entire season. You often see him trying to stretch it before games and it's impossible not to notice his lack of explosiveness on drives to the basket (as a result, he almost always will look to pass on the pick-and-roll play, which opponents have picked up on).
But this lack of durability has to be an issue to discuss during the offseason, when Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni talk about what to do with the roster going forward. If you're looking for desperately-needed leadership, Jason Kidd will be a free agent this summer and likely could be had for the mid-level and there's also a decision the capped-out 76ers need to make on free agent Andre Miller.
And, of course, the Phoenix Suns have a decision to make on Steve Nash, for whom the team has a $13M option for next season. Will they try to extend him or will they decide to part ways with the former two-time MVP?
As for an under-the-radar name to consider, keep an eye on Milwaukee's Ramon Sessions. He's done an outstanding job for Scott Skiles and the Bucks and his athleticism, defense, shooting and playmaking ability make him a potential target with the MLE.
[Please, Fixers, no one mention free agent Allen Iverson as an option. Not even a consideration.]
Nate obviously benefits from Duhon's struggles because he reaps the minutes, but is anyone else getting the sense that less is more with N8 the Gr8? As his popularity and role have increased simultaneously this season, so have his extra-curricular activities. The chest-thumping and the primal screams are one thing, but Robinson is starting to wear out veteran officials with his constant chatter. Joe Forte, one of the best referees the NBA has, T'd him up in the second quarter against Charlotte for making a hand gesture to show how he was fouled and continued to verbally make his case while running back on defense. Forte didn't like the visual and slapped him with his ninth technical of the season. It was also Nate's third in the past two weeks.
http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/blog/