Marbury = Manny Ramirez

[Brooklyn Zoo]

As a Brooklynite I can say that Steph is both totally bomkers and still capable. It will be HARD for him to reign in the "Starbury" attitude, but I think even he understands that this is a huge chance for him. The story is there (Pheonix from the ashes, KG and Steph, etc) the motivation is there, it's just a matter of commiting to play n the style asked of him. He'll have a hell of a team backing him up and if he can't get it done I'm sure they will just cut him and no one will blame the C's for trying.

This could be a huge win-win for everyone, and the risk is minimal as long as the C's are willing to cut him loose if he acts up. The only way this goes bad is if Steph hurts them in a playoff game.

[kevin_405]

So much for all the conditioning crap that Stephan used for not playing for the Knicks.. I hate this guys attitude right from the Twovles days.. Never seen someone who can so easily destroy the team singlehandedly..Cancerous reactions aside..

I still think he is a great pickup for Boston.. He still has a lot of game inspite of his attitude..

Adding Mikey Moore and Stephan has sure made u guys in to team with the best chance..

I wish the Lakers had made a run for Stephan.. with Dribble penetration being a serious weakness for the Lakers..

[livintoolive]

Starbury's not batting cleanup.

He will have neither the impact in the clubhouse nor the responsibility on the field of play that Manny had with the Sox.

I wouldn't want to sign him long-term but I suspect in the short-term he'll be thrilled to wear the green and white and when Doc says "jump" he'll say "how high?"

The problem with that analogy is that Marbury is too stupid to know how to jump. There is no question that Marbury will be motivated, but he lacks the intelligence to play good basketball. The NBA is too good to let a player like Marbury dominate and win important games, but that's the only way he knows how to play.

[NO-KG-AI]

No one player can destroy a team, it's insulting to pro sports player to think that they are so fragile that one **** can bring them all down.

If it were even true, you would have to be a relevant star, not a backup PG who's not even almost looked at as a leader or go to guy.

[sunshinekids99]

If Marbury wants to play in the NBA past this season, he needs to show something. That's why I think it's a very good risk for the Celtics. I however would not tough him for next season.

[Mahoney_jr]

You guys will be chanting for more Eddie House once you start watching Marbury play on a regular basis.

Eddie will play a lot besides Marbury. I don't think it's planned that Eddie loses minutes to him.

[cisco]

Talk about Manny all you want, but his attitude has never stopped his teams from winning and from him being a big part of the winning. Every team Manny has been a part of has been a winning team. Manny's presence on the team has always made them better (even with his antics), that's how good Manny is. He's always made teams better.

Marbury has a chance to make the Celtics a bit better. Not Mannyesque, but enough to put us over the top.

[avi623]

Well, he is on a minimum contract so if it doesn't pan out, you can always just bench him. At this stage in his career he doesn't have the talent/sway to be a locker room cancer.

[aboubata]

To the guys who think he will be cancer.
It is possible, but it really could go either way, look at stephen jackson (to add another name). The guy was brought in to NY and handed the key from Isiah (remember him) and things didn't work out with the team around him. I bet you Isiah turned on him, for the love of god the guy handed his daughter to the police. Everyone wanted to get out of the Knicks team the last couple years.

To the guys that are talking talent.
Well, I think it depends on Doc and how he uses him. he just has to be like bobby jackson was for the kings. Go in there and score for the second unit. the guy just needs to play 20 min top. He will have Eddie to dish to and Leon to clean up the glass for him.

The big questions are:
1. Can he still take the scoring load of a team?
2. Is he gonna figure out where eddie/Allen is?

[humblebum]

As I've said from day one, Marbury is going to make all the second unit guys better players. Eddie goes off the ball, Leon gets to focus on P&R and his under the basket game, (when he comes back) Tony won't have to be the sole playmaker, and Davis/Moore won't be forced to take a lot of end of the shotclock type shots offensively. Secondly, Marbury is going to help Ray and Paul get the rest they need.

For the record I think the whole "Starbury" attitude thing is a non-factor, it's passe. Even the on-the-court ball hog stuff is overblown. The reality is that he won't be anymore of an ineffective ballstopper and chucker than Sam was last season, and Marbury is probably going to be asked to play a very similar role. My guess is that Marbury will be much more effective and if you put him out there with combinations of Ray, Pierce, Scal, KG, Davis and Moore he will have the type of court spacing that will make him impossible to stop off the dribble.

Marbury ultimately becomes our second most capable ball handler, our second or third best slasher (with Rondo and Paul probably ahead of him), and our third or fourth best all-around scorer. To add a player like that in-season is crazy. The fact that there is a lot of practice time built into our remaining schedule seems too perfect to be a coincident. There is a lot of work to be done on the team's part to make this really work but it's hard to imagine another move with the positive team-altering possibilities of this one.