KNICK NOTES
Former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley was on hand, rooting for the Knicks, still smarting over new Nets owner Bruce Ratner’s push to move the team to Brooklyn.
“If the Nets had stayed in New Jersey, it would’ve been an easier issue of who I root for,” said Bradley, who’s become involved in an NBA Legends Tour. “But they’re leaving New Jersey. And once you’re a Knick, you’re always a Knick.
“It’s bad for New Jersey. I’d rather have the team stay in New Jersey, absolutely.”
Bradley, still a New Jersey resident, said it’s difficult to compare Jason Kidd to Stephon Marbury, though he said he believed Marbury is closing in.
“Kidd is one of the best passers I’ve ever seen, and Stephon is rising to a leadership role and he has unbelievable skills,” said Bradley, whose No. 24 hangs from the Garden rafters.
“You can’t compare them in an isolated way. You have to see them in context with the team, and Kidd has a number of years with his team and has an interesting complementary cast.”
*
Marbury and Lenny Wilkens both agreed a quick first-round KO loss to the Nets will not render the season a failure. They both said making the playoffs was an achievement because they battled an evolving roster.
They view next season with higher expectations, believing a training camp and more stability will make them a legit Eastern Conference title contender.
“People who know anything about basketball can cite that right away,” Marbury said. “There’s a lot of people who don’t know about basketball and write what they see. We have a team just put together. We have a group of guys who’ve never played with each other and are playing quite well with each other.
“We’re pretty much learning on the fly. We haven’t had the opportunity as other teams have as far as camaraderie, playing together, knowing each other. We don’t have any of those and we’re still playing on a high level.”
Said Wilkens, “What we’ve done is remarkable. There are small successes. You set goals. We met a small goal, but it’s not where we want to get to.”