So the Stephon Marbury era in Boston has officially begun. We now have a two game sample and although his first game on
Friday against the Pacers (8 Pts., 2 Assts) was a little bit more successful than Sunday against the Pistons (0 for 3, 2 turnovers), I still think he looks pretty good overall.
I'm not sure about his choice to resurrect Antoine Walker's Employee #8 jersey, though. I would have preferred another number but at least I can break out that Walker jersey one more time! I knew I kept that for a reason. I just need some masking tape to put over the name.
You have to remember that this guy hasn't played a full speed NBA game in over a year. He needs some time to get his legs and his timing back. I think he will be fine. The fact that he was able to nail his first jumper on Friday was huge for his confidence and then he made a few nice plays and passes to get himself going. He wasn't perfect but there is plenty of room to grow. Sunday was a different story though. He looked very slow and out of sync and Will Bynum of the Pistons picked his pocket at half court TWICE with little effort. That was ugly but it's going to happen. He just needs to play through it and stay confident.
He should be fine in a few weeks when he knows the team's offensive and defensive schemes. He already looks decent and I expected much worse since he hadn't even practiced with the team on Friday. You know a guy can ball when he can just jump into any game he's playing in and make an impact and score a few buckets. His passing has been the most impressive to me and I think a lot of people will be surprised with his play making abilities. He is still great off the dribble and teams need to be concerned with him getting to the hoop so it will open up a lot of easy baskets for Powe, BBD, Moore and whoever else is playing with the second squad.
As long as Marbury's attitude stays positive, the game will come back to him soon enough. There is no way he can't stay motivated with KG, Allen and Pierce on his his ass every practice and game. I like where this is going and I think Celtics fans are going to be very happy with Ainge's decision to take a risk on Marbury.
