I have been so impressed with Steph's

celticsnut · Post #1 » by **celticsnut** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:32 pm

defensive intensity. He fights throw screen, keeps his man in front of him and works to get low on larger players (Durant). I wish rondo would watch what its like to fight through screens. Westbrook along with every other guard for the last month has owned Rondo on high screens.

DieselCeltic · Post #2 » by **DieselCeltic** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:34 pm

Yeah Marbury is just getting his feet back and his quickness and explosiveness to the basket. I would love if he took more open shots. I guess Marbury is proving the entire NBA wrong except us. He is now a pass first, shoot later type of PG. He is great on defense and his BBIQ is through the roof. The way he finds people on the court amazes me.

BRUNiNHO91 · Post #3 » by **BRUNiNHO91** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 2:54 pm

That pass to House was ridiculous....Marbury is really coming back...and he is actually playing like a PG and not a SG...great stuff the last 2-3 games...

DorfonCeltics · Post #4 » by **DorfonCeltics** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:08 pm

Yeah I've been really impressed with Steph's D as well. I was at the game last night and at one point he was guarding Durant. He stayed in front of him, funneled him towards the D and forced him to make a bad pass. I think a good percentage of defense in the NBA is a desire to play hard. I have really seen that from Stephon. He's definitely coming into game shape.

LenBiasBaller · Post #5 » by **LenBiasBaller** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:30 pm

yeah its funny to me how people were calling for his head after a little while. People overreact to individual games and can't pick up on stuff that wasn't showing up in the box scores. He had 7 assists last night in like 20 minutes! The way he passes to House and others right as they come off screens is HUGE to me alone. Last year house couldnt get us into our sets fast enough with pressure on him. Marbury does it with his eyes closed and hits people right on the numbers.

The guy has not played in over a year. Can you imagine? This is the NBA not your local YMCA league. TA better not take any of Marbury's minutes because I want him to have a steady dose of 20+ minute games here on out. And to be honest Marbury is nowhere near where he will be going into the playoffs. He will keep getting better and better as time goes. What a great signing.

MyInsatiableOne · Post #6 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:40 pm

As long as Marbury keeps his head in check, this could turn out to be a VERY very good pickup for the C's...

vct33 · Post #7 » by **vct33** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:45 pm

DorfonCeltics wrote:I think a good percentage of defense in the NBA is a desire to play hard.

Absolutely. I've always said that any good athlete can play D if they commit to it. I was never considered a strong defender because I used all my energy on offense. However, one time I was asked to play a Box & 1 on a very good point guard and I just decided that day that I was gonna shut him down. I held him to 4 points because I made the decision to commit to D that day.

Kefa461 · Post #8 » by **Kefa461** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 3:47 pm

We have yet begun to scratch the surface of player we have in Marbury..... 8-)

LongTimeFan · Post #9 » by **LongTimeFan** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:14 pm

I don't think people, fans and other NBA players, understand the Celtics' defense on a personal level. Mikki Moore was asked about the adjustment and he said the hardest thing is trusting the other players on defense.

I don't think either Marbury or Moore have been on a team where the entire team wants them to do well and where the level of trust is so high.

15th overall · Post #10 » by **15th overall** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:16 pm

Also, his pregame intro to Mike and Tommy was easily the most impressive of ANY Celtic this season.

"...HEEEEERRREEE'S MIKE AND TOMMY!!" That's how you make a segway.

klemen4 · Post #11 » by **klemen4** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 4:17 pm

He is slowly showing what he can do...he and Eddie are great back up duo...I hope Tony doesnt destroy rotation when he come back as it happened 2 times this season..he should play strictly back up sf...and sg only if Ray plays sf...all other combinations are out of the question

GreenDreamer · Post #12 » by **GreenDreamer** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:12 pm

celticsnut wrote:defensive intensity. He fights throw screen, keeps his man in front of him and works to get low on larger players (Durant). I wish rondo would watch what its like to fight through screens. Westbrook along with every other guard for the last month has owned Rondo on high screens.

Rondo is now playing on two sprained ankles instead of just the one, which has been an issue for a while now. That has been a hinderance. It really showed in iso situations vs Westbrook last night where Rondo looked like extremely slow. He needs some rest.

The thing is that what has plagued this team, more than anything, has been been the poor play of the defender of the man setting the pick. A perfect example of this was, in fact, supplied by the Thunder last night on Rondo's dunk. Durant was SUPPOSED to step up and cut Rondo off. Instead he just stood there and watched Rondo fly by him on the way to the hoop. I'm sure there are highlight reels out there which clearly show this. Westbrook is actually a pretty good defender with a big body, but he has zero chance of staying with Rondo when something like that happens. A lot of that stuff has been going on lately, with Moore and Big Baby being the prime offenders. Here's an interesting stat. Player pairs. Now, who is not keeping up with the others?

http://www.82games.com/0809/0809BOSP.HTM

I'm happy to see BBD actually playing well now, but that is a VERY recent occurence. He has been a drag on the team for most of the season. A big reason behind this has been his performance in this area.

I like what Marbury has been showing out there. Rondo learning from him? I don't think that there's a ton that Rondo could learn from that guy, personally. Hollinger picked Rondo for his All-Defensive Second Team as a rookie. Where were Thibodeau and Garnett then? It isn't as if Rondo became a good defender because of who he has around him now. He was a stud when he had no one around him on that awful team. What was Marbuy's excuse?

The Durant situation was interesting as Tom must have figured him out a bit and threw a wrinkle at him that I'm sure other teams will copy. Marbury is quicker than him AND is a strong guy, with a much lower center of gravity. Durant is the kind of guy who lacks strength at this point of his career, and needs a couple of dribbles to really pick up speed. He can get away with that against most small forwards, where he has a quickness advantage, but against a guy like Marbury that isn't happening. When Durant got going, it was like Marbury wasn't even there, but Stephon did a good job of not letting him do that. I've actually done the same thing to taller, athletic guys who couldn't overpower me. It is a hole in his game which will eventually close as he gains strength, but for now it works.

I'm interested to see what Marbury does when we actually play the good point guards and the best teams. How will he look out there if Rondo has to sit out a few games to get right, which is something I'd actually like to see. With other teams game planning for him. Having to defend that pick and roll 50 -60 times as Rondo often does. At any rate, having a two point guards is certainly better than one. At least we are able to play a more consistent brand of offensive basketball.

meatball sub · Post #13 » by **meatball sub** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:13 pm

We might not have Posey this year during the playoffs, but we'll have a guy still capable of playing like one of the top PGs in the league coming off of our bench.

I still think we'll miss Posey at times, but the big difference between the two is Marbury is a playmaker so I think the bench will perform better with him running the show instead of Eddie.

GuyClinch · Post #14 » by **GuyClinch** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:17 pm

Well I don't know that he is 'proving everyone wrong.' Id say NBA GMs and scouts are a tad more informed then the normal hater. I along with many others believed that Marbury would be very good. He has always been good - the problem was he was asked to carry an entire organization for far too long. Now he is a backup PG. Talk about an easier job...

MyInsatiableOne · Post #15 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 7:48 pm

I do think it was a folly to *ever* have expected Marbury to carry a team...how many score-first PGs have ever single-handedly carried a team to success?

He seems to be taking to his role on the C's with relish, though!

GuyClinch · Post #16 » by **GuyClinch** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:10 pm

Marbury is kind of a sad case. It's the problem with being the hometown guy. Expectations are so out of control. It got to the point where hardly any New Yorker I knew liked the guy. Sure maybe he still had some fans but the big money spending types they were down on him for ages.

They had turned on Marbury a long time ago. He should have gotten out years ago, IMHO. Now his career is winding down and I really think he could have done alot more. I really hope the same thing doesn't happen with Rose in Chicago. But once again Rose seems to be the most talented player on that team.

How long before Chicago fans turn on D. Rose? So much of NBA success is in fact situational. PP would have been known as a me first scorer had it not been for Danny Ainge..

Youth4Glory · Post #17 » by **Youth4Glory** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:11 pm

rondo and marb last night- 19 assists (12rr 7 steph) 3 tos. thats awesome distribution, only eight points combined but 38+ points created. Sick work buy these guys, stephs finally getting his legs back, getting pumped up aka playing d and next as we've started to see his shots starting to fall. I love his passion on the court, you can tell how dedicated and emotional the game is for him. If the team can harness that much like KG does we are rock solid!!!! Was at the game with dorfonceltics last night, great time!

GuyClinch · Post #18 » by **GuyClinch** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:13 pm

^^^ KGs little stick up for Steph speech likely helped things. KG never struck me as a really smart guy but that seemed pretty intelligent..

MyInsatiableOne · Post #19 » by **MyInsatiableOne** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:36 pm

GuyClinch wrote:^^^ KGs little stick up for Steph speech likely helped things. KG never struck me as a really smart guy but that seemed pretty intelligent..

^^Really?

Rocky5000 · Post #20 » by **Rocky5000** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 10:00 pm

GuyClinch is exactly right about Marbury. He signed in Phoenix for too much money, and therefore too much was expected of him. It's hard to blame a player for taking the money, but with the expectations that come with it, it can make it almost impossible for that player to succeed. Since every team thinks they need to have a 'franchise' player or a max contract guy, there are many valuable players in the league that are overpaid and unfairly expected to carry teams. When these borderline star players get the opportunity to play as a second or third option, there talent really shines through. I think we've seen similar things with the Big 3. Although they were all individually better players than Marbury, they were expected to lead teams on their own surrounded by weak/incompatible casts. Steph shouldn't have ever been called on to be 'Starbury', just a teammate.

By the way, does anybody think we should schedule a Stephon Marbury night at the Gahden?