A little slow posting this one from Wednesday night because I've been really busy this week.
[recap] [box score]
Beating the Nets is no great accomplishment, but it is an important one, as Orlando is still hot on Boston's heels for the second spot in the East as the season's final week approaches.
The good: 31/5/9 from Rajon Rondo; 15 bench points from Eddie House; nine and nine from Mikki Moore; four points and five assists from Stephon Marbury in his best all-around game as a Celtic.
The bad: A 31-point first quarter by the Nets; an inconsistent defensive effort all night; and two poor trips up-and-down in the final minute that gave the Nets a shot to win after having trailed 106-99.
Next game is Friday night, at home against Miami (no national TV).
Showing posts with label Stephon Marbury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stephon Marbury. Show all posts
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
Boston 99, Atlanta 93
This game was broadcast on NBATV, so I can comment only on what I can glean from the box score.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Kevin Garnett sat this one out with soreness in the knee that had kept him out for the past month or so. It's unclear, at this point, if he'll play Sunday against Oklahoma City, but I wouldn't count on it, even though the discomfort was so minor that Garnett reportedly didn't see a doctor. This also probably sets back his timetable for returning to full service. He'd averaged about 16 or 17 minutes in his four games back, and was reportedly set to play another eight per game starting next week. They've been very cautious -- perhaps overly so -- in bringing him back, so I would expect a full night out of Garnett until the playoffs. I'm not yet concerned about him not being full-strength for the playoffs, but it's something to keep an eye on.
With Garnett and Leon Powe out, heavy responsibility -- along with the start -- went to Glen Davis, and he responded in a big way with 19 points, tying a career-high with 12 rebounds. But the man they call Big Baby was just one of a handful of second-team players who came up big Friday night. Eddie House led the way with 12 points off the bench, and Stephon Marbury finally found his shooting stroke, hitting three of four three-pointers on his way to 11 points, his high since joining the Celtics 15 games ago. Hopefully Marbury, who has struggled mightily with his jumper, will get a little rhythm going. Mikki Moore had ten rebounds in 30 minutes, his playing time increased because Kendrick Perkins played just 21 minutes before fouling out.
Boston also put in a solid defensive effort, an encouraging sign for a team that really struggled on that end of the floor without Garnett. The Hawks shot 42% for the game and scored only 60 points through three quarters.
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had 22 and 21 points respectively, but this one's a loss without the play of the second team. Perkins and Rajon Rondo had off-nights, KG and Powe were out, and the second team stepped up and filled their shoes, on the road, against the fourth-place team in the East.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
Kevin Garnett sat this one out with soreness in the knee that had kept him out for the past month or so. It's unclear, at this point, if he'll play Sunday against Oklahoma City, but I wouldn't count on it, even though the discomfort was so minor that Garnett reportedly didn't see a doctor. This also probably sets back his timetable for returning to full service. He'd averaged about 16 or 17 minutes in his four games back, and was reportedly set to play another eight per game starting next week. They've been very cautious -- perhaps overly so -- in bringing him back, so I would expect a full night out of Garnett until the playoffs. I'm not yet concerned about him not being full-strength for the playoffs, but it's something to keep an eye on.
With Garnett and Leon Powe out, heavy responsibility -- along with the start -- went to Glen Davis, and he responded in a big way with 19 points, tying a career-high with 12 rebounds. But the man they call Big Baby was just one of a handful of second-team players who came up big Friday night. Eddie House led the way with 12 points off the bench, and Stephon Marbury finally found his shooting stroke, hitting three of four three-pointers on his way to 11 points, his high since joining the Celtics 15 games ago. Hopefully Marbury, who has struggled mightily with his jumper, will get a little rhythm going. Mikki Moore had ten rebounds in 30 minutes, his playing time increased because Kendrick Perkins played just 21 minutes before fouling out.
Boston also put in a solid defensive effort, an encouraging sign for a team that really struggled on that end of the floor without Garnett. The Hawks shot 42% for the game and scored only 60 points through three quarters.
Ray Allen and Paul Pierce had 22 and 21 points respectively, but this one's a loss without the play of the second team. Perkins and Rajon Rondo had off-nights, KG and Powe were out, and the second team stepped up and filled their shoes, on the road, against the fourth-place team in the East.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Orlando 86, Boston 79
I don't really know how to feel about this one.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
[recap] [box score] [highlights]
It's hard to be too upset at this loss given the injuries we have. Kevin Garnett was out again -- word is that the absolute earliest he'll play is next Sunday -- and Rajon Rondo missed this one with the ankle injury he suffered but was able to play through against Cleveland on Friday. Tony Allen and Brian Scalabrine continue to miss time with various injuries, and Glen Davis went out in the second half of this game with a bad ankle.
At the same time, that shouldn't be an excuse for not showing up until the third quarter, which is basically what happened. Boston got down by as many as 22 before making a late run -- Ray Allen, who was spectacular in the fourth quarter, actually had a decent look from three that would have tied it -- and you just can't do that against a good team like Orlando. The energy that carried the day against the Cavs was completely absent for the first 24 minutes against the Magic. The second half was better, thanks in particular to Leon Powe, who played his second straight inspired game and really did the best he could despite having to guard Dwight Howard and Rashard Lewis -- two different matchup problems for him.
Stephon Marbury got the start in Rondo's stead and was largely ineffective. I like the move of starting him instead of Eddie House, even though House knows the offense better, just to get Marbury more comfortable. We need him to be more assertive on offense, a little more like the Marbury of old. He was too passive today. I think he's clearly worried about fitting in and conscious of disrupting championship chemistry, and he's been too unselfish in his first few games with the team. Boston didn't bring him in to pass up layups.
It's a delicate situation with Steph, because he's proven to be, shall we say, emotionally fragile, and the last thing you want is to send him a bunch of mixed messages. He's been reading and hearing about how he he's going to come in and destroy the Celtics, and for many reasons, he wants to avoid doing that. But the truth is, the Celtics need a little bit of his famously large ego, particularly with so many key players out. Marbury is capable of taking over offensively -- was capable, anyway, and I think still is -- and Doc Rivers needs to figure out a way to get him to do it, selectively.
So, while the loss was understandable, it's still frustrating, and the injury to Rondo comes at the worst possible time. If he misses any more time with KG out, we're in danger of losing games we "shouldn't" lose, which may very well mean that Friday's win, which seemed so important at the time for home court advantage purposes, may end up completely moot. Boston's next game is Wednesday at Miami, and while the Celtics are better than the Heat, it's a lot to ask to beat them on the road missing two starters and a handful of bench guys. But it may very well be that Boston will need to do exactly that, with no excuses.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Boston 104, Indiana 99
The Stephon Marbury era in Boston is off to a good start.
[recap] [box score]
His stat line won't blow you away: 13 minutes, eight points on 4 of 6 shooting, two assists, a rebound, a steal, and a +/- of -7. (For those of you not familiar with the +/- stat, this means that the Pacers outscored the Celtics by seven points when Marbury was on the floor.) But from the moment he entered the game, with 16 seconds left in the first quarter, his impact was noticeable. The home crowd rose to give the newest Celtic a standing ovation, and Steph drank it in, with a grin from ear to ear.
Pressed into playing time without even a practice under his belt thanks to the Tony Allen injury and Gabe Pruitt suspension, and playing in his first NBA game in more than a year, Marbury showed little of the rust that might be expected from someone who has taken so much time off. Marbury's ballhandling will allow Eddie House to move to his preferred position of off-guard with the second team, and Stephon's jumper and ability to get to the basket will provide the second unit with some much needed offense.
Marbury was also on the court during the most important stretch of the game, the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, when Boston extended its 80-75 leads to 92-79. Marbury played a crucial role during that stretch, too, assisting on two Ray Allen jumpers, drilling a 17-footer of his own, sliding over on defense to force Rasho Nesterovic to badly miss a layup, and then hitting a driving layup at the other end. If he plays the way he did tonight for the rest of the season, he will be what the doctor ordered -- exactly what Sam Cassell was supposed to do last year when we signed him.
Of course, the media hate Marbury. This column by Adrian Wojnarowski, for example, calls Marbury a loser, and while most NBA writers prefer to mince their words, there's no doubt that many of them have a similar opinion of Marbury. He's an easy target, the poster child for greedy professional athlets in a time of national economic crisis, a man who was paid $20 million by his former team to stay away -- not just not play, not just not practice, but to completely disassociate himself from the franchise. And now he'll be paid an additional $1.2 million to, as many think, ride the coattails of the defending champions to the ring he craves and one more lucrative contract before his NBA clock strikes midnight.
Marbury will wear Antoine Walker's number 8 as a Celtic, the green-and-white version of his preferred number 3 hanging from the TD Banknorth Boston Garden rafters in honor of the late Dennis Johnson. Whatever digit hangs on his back, however, Marbury will forever be number 3, that number being tattooed on the left side of his head. It's a stylized number 3, the logo of Starbury, his athletic shoe and apparel company. Marbury's detractors can perhaps point to it as a sign of his ego and me-first mentality.
But perhaps it can be something to rally around for these Celtics, a group that, now that it has a target on its back, needs something around which to rally. Those outside the team hope or expect (or both) that Marbury's famous ego will destroy the team's chemistry, a chemistry built by three superstars putting aside their individual accolades for Ubuntu and the good of the team. The challenge this season is to mesh with the unmeshable, to humble he who seems incapable of that feeling. In short, to prove everyone wrong.
So far, so good.
VIEWING ALERT: Next game is Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern on ABC. The opponent is Detroit, which snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 93-85 win in Orlando Friday night. Rip Hamilton, returning to the starting lineup in place of the injured Allen Iverson, keyed the victory with 31 points. Iverson went to Detroit Friday for treatment of his bad back, and his status is uncertain for Sunday.
[recap] [box score]
His stat line won't blow you away: 13 minutes, eight points on 4 of 6 shooting, two assists, a rebound, a steal, and a +/- of -7. (For those of you not familiar with the +/- stat, this means that the Pacers outscored the Celtics by seven points when Marbury was on the floor.) But from the moment he entered the game, with 16 seconds left in the first quarter, his impact was noticeable. The home crowd rose to give the newest Celtic a standing ovation, and Steph drank it in, with a grin from ear to ear.
Pressed into playing time without even a practice under his belt thanks to the Tony Allen injury and Gabe Pruitt suspension, and playing in his first NBA game in more than a year, Marbury showed little of the rust that might be expected from someone who has taken so much time off. Marbury's ballhandling will allow Eddie House to move to his preferred position of off-guard with the second team, and Stephon's jumper and ability to get to the basket will provide the second unit with some much needed offense.
Marbury was also on the court during the most important stretch of the game, the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, when Boston extended its 80-75 leads to 92-79. Marbury played a crucial role during that stretch, too, assisting on two Ray Allen jumpers, drilling a 17-footer of his own, sliding over on defense to force Rasho Nesterovic to badly miss a layup, and then hitting a driving layup at the other end. If he plays the way he did tonight for the rest of the season, he will be what the doctor ordered -- exactly what Sam Cassell was supposed to do last year when we signed him.
Of course, the media hate Marbury. This column by Adrian Wojnarowski, for example, calls Marbury a loser, and while most NBA writers prefer to mince their words, there's no doubt that many of them have a similar opinion of Marbury. He's an easy target, the poster child for greedy professional athlets in a time of national economic crisis, a man who was paid $20 million by his former team to stay away -- not just not play, not just not practice, but to completely disassociate himself from the franchise. And now he'll be paid an additional $1.2 million to, as many think, ride the coattails of the defending champions to the ring he craves and one more lucrative contract before his NBA clock strikes midnight.
Marbury will wear Antoine Walker's number 8 as a Celtic, the green-and-white version of his preferred number 3 hanging from the TD Banknorth Boston Garden rafters in honor of the late Dennis Johnson. Whatever digit hangs on his back, however, Marbury will forever be number 3, that number being tattooed on the left side of his head. It's a stylized number 3, the logo of Starbury, his athletic shoe and apparel company. Marbury's detractors can perhaps point to it as a sign of his ego and me-first mentality.
But perhaps it can be something to rally around for these Celtics, a group that, now that it has a target on its back, needs something around which to rally. Those outside the team hope or expect (or both) that Marbury's famous ego will destroy the team's chemistry, a chemistry built by three superstars putting aside their individual accolades for Ubuntu and the good of the team. The challenge this season is to mesh with the unmeshable, to humble he who seems incapable of that feeling. In short, to prove everyone wrong.
So far, so good.
VIEWING ALERT: Next game is Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern on ABC. The opponent is Detroit, which snapped an eight-game losing streak with a 93-85 win in Orlando Friday night. Rip Hamilton, returning to the starting lineup in place of the injured Allen Iverson, keyed the victory with 31 points. Iverson went to Detroit Friday for treatment of his bad back, and his status is uncertain for Sunday.
Monday, January 5, 2009
New York 100, Boston 88
I only caught bits and pieces of this one, but I didn't like too much of what I saw.
[recap] [box score]
I didn't like to see Kevin Garnett tweak his calf (although the pass he threw on that play was gorgeous, and I challenge anyone to name another 7-footer in history who throws that pass).
I didn't like to see Ray Allen going 0-for-9 from deep.
I didn't like to see Rajon Rondo playing only 26 minutes. Eddie House came in for Rondo with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter and the Celtics down 70-62; Rondo didn't re-enter the game until 2:54 was left in the game, with Boston down 93-86. I know Rondo wasn't very effective last night, but along with Paul Pierce (who played well), he's the only guy we have who can get the offense going when jumpers aren't falling. Eddie wasn't really hitting last night. It was clear we needed an offensive spark, and when we need an offensive spark, Rondo shouldn't be on the bench. (This is an argument, by the way, for why Stephon Marbury wouldn't be such a bad fit for us. His ability to create for himself and others is unmatched on our second team, with the possible exception of Tony Allen, who I'm trusting less and less these days.)
It wasn't all bad. I thought Scalabrine played as well as he's played this year, though we could have used a couple of the open jumpers he missed (he certainly wasn't alone in missing open jumpers last night, though). He was quite effective defensively.
Really, this one wasn't as bad as it looked. I don't want to make excuses and I'm sick of doing so, but if we hit a couple of jumpers -- open jumpers -- it's a different ballgame. The Knicks didn't play that well defensively -- they played well, for them, but that doesn't mean a whole lot, given that they allow a league-worst 48 percent shooting from opponents. We had open looks, but with the exception of Pierce, simply couldn't get anything to go down. And the Knicks caught a couple of breaks in the fourth quarter, getting easy buckets on possession where we played good D only to have the loose ball fall directly to them.
Cleveland lost to Washington on Sunday, so we're still percentage points ahead of them in the early stages of the race for homecourt advantage (although the five-loss Lakers now have the best record in the NBA). The next couple of weeks are going to be a good test for us, as we have a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back at Charlotte and home vs. Houston ahead of the big matchup in Cleveland on Friday. We have road games at playoff contenders Toronto, New Jersey, Miami, Orlando, and Detroit later this month. I think we'll know the true state of our team much better then.
[recap] [box score]
I didn't like to see Kevin Garnett tweak his calf (although the pass he threw on that play was gorgeous, and I challenge anyone to name another 7-footer in history who throws that pass).
I didn't like to see Ray Allen going 0-for-9 from deep.
I didn't like to see Rajon Rondo playing only 26 minutes. Eddie House came in for Rondo with 3:26 remaining in the third quarter and the Celtics down 70-62; Rondo didn't re-enter the game until 2:54 was left in the game, with Boston down 93-86. I know Rondo wasn't very effective last night, but along with Paul Pierce (who played well), he's the only guy we have who can get the offense going when jumpers aren't falling. Eddie wasn't really hitting last night. It was clear we needed an offensive spark, and when we need an offensive spark, Rondo shouldn't be on the bench. (This is an argument, by the way, for why Stephon Marbury wouldn't be such a bad fit for us. His ability to create for himself and others is unmatched on our second team, with the possible exception of Tony Allen, who I'm trusting less and less these days.)
It wasn't all bad. I thought Scalabrine played as well as he's played this year, though we could have used a couple of the open jumpers he missed (he certainly wasn't alone in missing open jumpers last night, though). He was quite effective defensively.
Really, this one wasn't as bad as it looked. I don't want to make excuses and I'm sick of doing so, but if we hit a couple of jumpers -- open jumpers -- it's a different ballgame. The Knicks didn't play that well defensively -- they played well, for them, but that doesn't mean a whole lot, given that they allow a league-worst 48 percent shooting from opponents. We had open looks, but with the exception of Pierce, simply couldn't get anything to go down. And the Knicks caught a couple of breaks in the fourth quarter, getting easy buckets on possession where we played good D only to have the loose ball fall directly to them.
Cleveland lost to Washington on Sunday, so we're still percentage points ahead of them in the early stages of the race for homecourt advantage (although the five-loss Lakers now have the best record in the NBA). The next couple of weeks are going to be a good test for us, as we have a Tuesday-Wednesday back-to-back at Charlotte and home vs. Houston ahead of the big matchup in Cleveland on Friday. We have road games at playoff contenders Toronto, New Jersey, Miami, Orlando, and Detroit later this month. I think we'll know the true state of our team much better then.
Friday, January 2, 2009
The Starchild in Boston?
Stepped off the plane from Atlanta today to a report that if embattled New York Knicks guard Stephon Marbury can negotiate his release, Boston may be his next team.
Boston's apparent interest in Marbury is not a surprise to me -- I've been thinking for a while now that it makes a lot of sense. Marbury would bring to the table what Sam Cassell was supposed to bring to the table -- a veteran point guard who can provide some scoring off the bench. If the front office felt that we needed someone to play that role when we signed Cassell last year at mid-season (or re-signed him this offseason, for that matter), then Marbury is a clear upgrade.
I think a lot of people think that we need a backup big man more than we need someone in the backcourt. That's probably true, but there isn't, to my knowledge, a backup big man that we can be relatively sure will be available, the way P.J. Brown was available last year. Brown insists he's retired -- and I'm of the opinion that despite a few strong performances last year, we were better off without him. Dikembe Mutombo just re-signed with the Hawks. Antonio McDyess is back with the Pistons. Passing on Marbury in the hopes that a big man, such as Oklahoma City's Joe Smith, becomes available, would be a gamble.
I'm not worried about Marbury's effect on team chemistry, and not just because of the veteran leadership in the locker room. If we sign Steph and he becomes a cancer, we can easily cut him with minimal repercussions - he'll be making the minimum salary.
The only way the potential signing of Marbury would be negative, in my mind, is if he takes minutes away from someone who would be more effective on the floor, the way Cassell too minutes from Eddie House last offseason. Eddie has played better this year and Tony Allen is theoretically fully healthy, but it's undeniable that the second team could use a shot in the arm offensively every once in a while. Marbury isn't exactly known for his defense, but in my mind, this is a gamble worth taking.
More on this if it actually happens, of course.
Boston's apparent interest in Marbury is not a surprise to me -- I've been thinking for a while now that it makes a lot of sense. Marbury would bring to the table what Sam Cassell was supposed to bring to the table -- a veteran point guard who can provide some scoring off the bench. If the front office felt that we needed someone to play that role when we signed Cassell last year at mid-season (or re-signed him this offseason, for that matter), then Marbury is a clear upgrade.
I think a lot of people think that we need a backup big man more than we need someone in the backcourt. That's probably true, but there isn't, to my knowledge, a backup big man that we can be relatively sure will be available, the way P.J. Brown was available last year. Brown insists he's retired -- and I'm of the opinion that despite a few strong performances last year, we were better off without him. Dikembe Mutombo just re-signed with the Hawks. Antonio McDyess is back with the Pistons. Passing on Marbury in the hopes that a big man, such as Oklahoma City's Joe Smith, becomes available, would be a gamble.
I'm not worried about Marbury's effect on team chemistry, and not just because of the veteran leadership in the locker room. If we sign Steph and he becomes a cancer, we can easily cut him with minimal repercussions - he'll be making the minimum salary.
The only way the potential signing of Marbury would be negative, in my mind, is if he takes minutes away from someone who would be more effective on the floor, the way Cassell too minutes from Eddie House last offseason. Eddie has played better this year and Tony Allen is theoretically fully healthy, but it's undeniable that the second team could use a shot in the arm offensively every once in a while. Marbury isn't exactly known for his defense, but in my mind, this is a gamble worth taking.
More on this if it actually happens, of course.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Stephon Marbury
I write once a week for a blog called iVoryTowerz. It's a blog that tackles politics, music, media, and occasionally sports, and it was started by a great journalism professor I had while at American University. It's definitely worth bookmarking and seeing if you like what it has to offer.
Every so often, I write about the NBA over there, and when I do, I'll mention it here. This week, I wrote about Stephon Marbury's situation in New York. Bear in mind that the audience there isn't necessarily full of NBA die-hards, so we explain in a little greater detail things like the salary cap.
Every so often, I write about the NBA over there, and when I do, I'll mention it here. This week, I wrote about Stephon Marbury's situation in New York. Bear in mind that the audience there isn't necessarily full of NBA die-hards, so we explain in a little greater detail things like the salary cap.
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