I need a shrink. Someone please tell me why I love Stephon Marbury on this team. Why I am willing to overlook all his negatives? I'm not alone that's for sure. Did you see the standing ovation the Garden crowd gave him last night?
When Steph (we're buddies now) took the floor, my eyes were focused on him. I wanted to follow his every move, to see if he would play defense, fight through picks, help teammates, etc. Like I stated last night, he played a damn good game for a guy who hadn't played regular season basketball in 13 months. He had a great sequence in the 4th quarter.
Allen and Marbury combined to stretch the lead to 13 points after Marbury replaced Paul Pierce 15 seconds into the quarter. Marbury found Allen for a 20-footer with 11:06 to go, then hit a 16-footer, found Allen for a 3-pointer, scored on a lefthanded layup, and banked in a shot off a Moore rebound for a 92-79 lead with 8:23 remaining.
But my favorite play came in the 1st 2nd quarter - the no look bounce pass to a slashing Leon Powe. That's what Marbury can do for this second unit. Create a ton of easy shots. And when all else fails, he can create his own shot.
But what about the bad? Here are some excerpts from Marbury's Wikipedia profile (it's the best my research team could do on short notice):
Towards the end of the 2005-2006 season, the Knicks' poor performance combined with Marbury's public spats with his coach led to a severe decline in Marbury's popularity, with Frank Isola and Michael O'Keefe of the New York Daily News stating that Marbury is "the most reviled athlete in New York."The start of the 2007-08 season found the Knicks again floundering and Marbury again involved in a public feud, this time with Knicks coach and president Isiah Thomas. The pivotal incident involved Marbury leaving the team after learning that Thomas planned to remove him from the starting lineup. There were reports that Marbury and Thomas actually came to blows on the team plane, and that Marbury threatened to blackmail Thomas for taking him out of the starting lineup—both in the presence of Knick teammates.
And let's not forget that during Isiah's sexual harassment trial, the married Marbury testified about having sex with an intern in the back of his truck.
For some reason (maybe it's the short window this team has to win more titles), I'm willing to overlook all that crap. Apparently so is Danny, Doc and Wyc. Are we going to see the "bad" Stephon? I really doubt it because he's only going to be here a few months. Or is he?
Asked about if he wanted to play in Boston next season, Marbury said, "If they want me, I'll be here."
Today's Links: Globe - Star Power | Bob Ryan - He Fit Right In | Marbury Learns the Celtics Pregame Ritual | Updates on Pierce's Thumb, KG's Knee, Tony Allen and Scal | Herald - Celtics Keep Winning Pace | Marbury Punches In | NY Post - Marbury's Talking Delayed Buyout| Cavs Slam Spurs | Nuggets Beat Lakers |