<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury no longer plays like the self-proclaimed "Starbury" who butted heads with and ultimately outlasted coach Larry Brown in New York. Instead, the onetime Timberwolf, trying to heed current coach Isiah Thomas' playmaker call, makes a conscious effort not to shoot, passes the ball and defends his position. He regularly gets booed at his beloved Madison Square Garden, too. Wolves guard Mike James doesn't want to end up in the same spot at Target Center. "I've been cheating the fans," James said after practice Tuesday. "I seriously have. I've been cheating the fans and the organization since I've been here." James is fed up with his performance through the team's first nine games, so he assumes other folks are as well. Averaging only 11 points on 36 percent shooting in his past five appearances, the 31-year-old summer acquisition -- who signed a four-year contract worth an estimated $25 million -- figures he might have been ripped a couple of times by now on the back pages of the Manhattan tabloids. Despite James' three-pointer that nearly forced overtime against New Orleans on Saturday, the Wolves are 1-4 in those five games and his shot total has gone down in each one (14, 13, 11, eight and only four against the Hornets). What's going on? Apparently, the same thing that has Marbury and Knicks teammate Steve Francis in funks so far this season. Both have been searching for a distributor's touch, a self-conscious way to play for guys who made All-Star teams primarily because of their scoring. Marbury, 29, is averaging career lows not only in scoring (10.9 points per gamer) but in assists (4.8) and field-goal percentage (40.0), and has taken nine shots or fewer in half of the Knicks' 12 games. Francis, 29, is averaging career lows in scoring (9.8) and assists (4.0). The capper came Monday night at Houston, when the two barely played six minutes, combined, in the second half of a 97-90 home loss to Houston. James wants to get his game over a personal hump, too. Starting now. "I'm going to play with a clear mind, a clear head," James said. "I'm an emotional player. I'm screaming, I'm yelling, I'm talking ... and I haven't been doing none of that."</div> Source
Bahahahhahahaha......but i'd still take him over Fred Jones......but not for Mike James Money......ahhahahahah
