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Larry Brown knew he was coming home this season to coach the Knicks. He just didn't know Isiah Thomas was bringing him back to coach these Knicks.
"When I got the job, I thought it was going to be (Michael) Sweetney, Timmy Thomas, Jerome James, Quentin Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Steph (Marbury)," Brown said following practice yesterday. "It's changed, and it's much different than I anticipated."
The combinations he's put on the floor have failed to produce the desired results -- the most recent failure occurred Sunday during an 83-81 loss to the Golden State Warriors at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks (0-3) are still in search for that elusive first victory, not to mention a defined role for the players in its new system.
"We don't have a rotation," said Brown, a Long Island native. "I'm still trying to figure out who can play. I don't like playing 12 guys."
With 987 victories, eight 50-win seasons and a Hall of Fame résumé, not even Brown can compare this with anything he's experienced during his previous seven NBA stops.
"I've had teams struggle early, but this is so different because we haven't had a team," Brown said. "Four or five guys are really in exhibition season, unfortunately, the league's not."
One of those players, center Eddy Curry, has seen limited action the last two games, following a 42-minute outing against Boston in the opener. The fifth-year pro sat the final 15 minutes of Sunday's game with four fouls. Brown said he expects Curry to improve his conditioning to the level he saw the 22-year-old showcase last season for the Chicago Bulls.
"I think it's getting better," Brown said. "But it's got to get a whole lot better. He works hard in practice and I see progress."
Also showing maturity beyond their years were rookies David Lee (18 minutes), Channing Frye (23 minutes) and Nate Robinson (16 minutes), each of whom notched career-highs in minutes played against Golden State.
"You look at Trevor (Ariza) and Matt Barnes, Channing, and David Lee and Nate, their energy is so high," Brown said. "It's a lot different than the guys who have been out."
Lee, Frye (12 points) and Robinson (seven points) contributed 27 points, and led a Knicks comeback in the second half. Lee's NBA debut was a success with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
"Our rookies play well, and I think having a mixture of them and veterans, it helps the ballclub," Marbury said. "They're going to make rookie mistakes, but they know how to play basketball."
The Knicks also know they have to find a way to win a game. They'll get that shot tomorrow night in Portland, the start of a six-game West Coast trip.
"It's important to go out West and really get off to a good start," Marbury said.
Notes: After shooting better than 83 percent from the foul line last season, Marbury has missed 13 of 28 free-throw attempts this season. "The first few games have been bad, I've been bad," Marbury said. "All those things are correctable."
A career 79 percent free-throw shooter, Marbury had his worst season from the foul line (72.4 percent) during the 1998-99 season with the Minnesota Timberwolves. "If we made our foul shots, we might be 3-0," Brown said. "Then you guys wouldn't have anything to write about." ...
He's used to seeing more action on the court, but Crawford is not willing to question Brown's methods. "Even when I wasn't starting, not playing that much, I wasn't going to complain," said Crawford, whose point production has slipped from 17.7 last season to just under six in three games. "His vision is to help us."
Brown Trying to Figure Out Who Can Play
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