KG Goes To Bat For Marbury
Stephon Marbury hasn’t really done that much since coming to Boston. He’s averaging 2.7 points, 2.8 assists and 0.9 boards in fourteen games. His last six have actually been even more anemic, as he’s shooting 4-20 from the floor for 1.8 points per game. But before Steph’s critics get on him for failing to live up to expectations in Boston, Kevin Garnett is coming to his defense.
“Steph’s leadership I think has been sort of questioned and damaged, if you will,” Garnett said. “But once a leader, always a leader. I’ve been telling some of the young guys who haven’t seen a lot of Steph that I thought we got a steal in grabbing him.
“Obviously, for whatever reasons, his different relationships with different ballclubs was a thing of the past. If you look at some of the guys on this team, they haven’t always had the best reps before coming. But we deal with each other how we deal with each other, and he fits right in.”
Even though the C’s haven’t been at full strength for Marbury’s first 14 games with the team, KG still says that he’s meshing well with the club. That means that Steph isn’t just doing a solid job coming off the bench, but also that he’s fitting in in the locker room. Obviously Garnett and the world champs are the only ones who can really attest to the environment in that clubhouse, but I’d imagine that it really helps Steph if he feels like he’s wanted.
“Not only is he versatile, but people forget that Steph was one of the premier guards in this league for a while. And other than him not playing for a year, we all expect big things out of him. But I think he expects a lot of big things out of himself. He works extremely hard. You just don’t, excuse my French, be the (expletive) from a point guard standpoint, all them years of being who you are. Obviously, the facts are there, but you just don’t become that. You get that through hard work, watching film. I know what kind of drive he has inside, and I think he’s going to help us in the long run.”
If KG says that someone is a leader, it carries some serious weight. He’s the consummate leader.
Source: Real GM
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March 27th, 2009 at 10:57 am
hagoth says:
I hope he sucks until next season. yeah im a laker fan.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:05 am
d says:
good to see KG step up like that. everyone needs to have someone have their back, and it’s good to see KG be that for Starburry.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:24 am
srb says:
Steph hasn’t disappointed me. I was expecting him to be garbage for a while. Maybe hit some big shots in the playoffs. All he needs to do is come up big in one single game and he’s worth it.
March 27th, 2009 at 11:29 am
S-SiN says:
He obviously needs more time, cuz rite now he’s a leader in bricks. i think it’ll get better next year, not in this run so much. u don’t just miss a year and a half of nba or any organized basketball for that matter and step right back in being the old you, doesn’t matter who you are. remember Michael Jordan’s #45?
March 27th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Mark says:
Good for KG for supporting Starbury. Almost makes me forget the ridiculous antics he had earlier on in the season. Almost.
March 27th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
LakeShow84 says:
I give it to the Big Ticket.. hes a hell of a teammate..
Sucks that he is trying to pat Marbury on the back through the media because he has been garbage lately.. He wont have a big game in the playoffs because he wont get that much tick.. He is shooting horribly and you dont let players get there “legs” back in the playoffs unless they are starters.. hes a bench player.. But i hope he gels.. and i hope their teams gels..
Cuz i would love to stomp those pompous pricks in the Finals.. but no homecourt is going to hurt them..
March 27th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
D.H. says:
The fact that we have not heard anything about him since he left the Knicks is a good thing.
I wonder if steph can out his ego in his back pocket and teach Rondo a thing or two?
Here’s to Starbury gettin a chip . . .
March 27th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
doc says:
KG is doing the right thing.And Marbury rusty so of course he playing bad right now.In the playoffs in some random game 5 he gonna nail a game winner for the critics.
March 27th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
Celts Fan says:
love hearing Laker fans call the Celtics “pompous pricks.” Have you been watching Kobe for the last 10 years?!?!
March 27th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
MOVEZ says:
lets go steph stay focus…….BROOKLYN!
March 27th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
George W Kush Sr says:
See? No negative Marbury talk at all, nothing bad in the locker room, nothing selfish on the court. Dude is rusty and he’s taking a lil longer than I thought he would to get back in form but then again he hasnt really played in a year either. But his preseason looked good. If they can get Steph to get up to 9-10ppg and 4-5apg then he’s officially back and will be too much to handle for second units come playoff time.
Everybody was talking about him being poison, why haven’t we heard anything bad so far? Starbury is focused, he knows how important it is for him to perform well during his tenure in Boston. He’s not as big an idiot or ass hole as the media made him out to be, if he gets a ring he’ll deserve his last laugh.
March 27th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
dagwaller says:
Wow. After a half season of not liking KG, he comes back and COMPLETELY REDEEMS HIMSELF…
March 27th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
LakeShow84 says:
Pierce is pompous, Ray Allen looks pompous, KG acts pompous (at times), Eddie House is pompous, Kendrick Perkins is pompous.. Only peeps i like on the Celtics is Powe and Rondo cuz they real wid it..
So CeltsFan.. ur 5 to 1.. and i know Kobe is pompous.. he backs it up though.. like checking Rondo’s ass in Boston.. getting in Pierce and KG’s face.. House hits ONE three and runs down court cussing out half the teams who cut him..
gimme a break..
March 27th, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Promoman says:
I’m not surprised that Steph’s struggling right now. He hasn’t playing outside of preseason. It going to take time for him to get back on track. Any team that picked him up had to have known that he’s going to have a lot of rust and with him coming off the bench, even more so.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
POPPI GEE says:
doc said it right. Dude is rusty but come playoff time he will show up in 1 or 2 games where he is really needed.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
Gnasche says:
He should have waited until next year to let his game speak for itself. For now, let KG speak for it.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
Dave says:
Steph is running out of time to make that backup guard slot his. He can’t keep that spot in the playoffs if his performances do not improve.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:46 pm
LA says:
starbury isnt gonna get even half his game back b4 the NBA offseason. U R Screwed Boston.
March 27th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
y says:
@Lake Show – my two cents: Ray Allen has never been pompous, and is the only one on that team to even deserve a championship. without Mr. Allen all in beantown is lost.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
hhhhhhh says:
Who really gives a shit…
Paul P = Biggest flopper waste of time in the NBA…who gets hauled off in a wheel chair..cant walk…and then…wow..makes a huge miracle comeback…as if God touched his leg and healed him…brutal..
Ray Allen = Tons of respect…great shooter…great attitude..
KG = Speaks for itself…
Steph = haha…greatest point guard to ever play the game…just ask him..he’ll tell yah!!
Enough said..
Go Cavs!!!!
March 27th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
foolio_iglesias says:
I’ve never seen the word ‘pompous’ so many times in a blog post.Not even in one about Western Kenya(zing)…
March 30th, 2009 at 5:12 pm
dball says:
@y – couldn’t agree more. I am 100% a Laker fan, but I can’t not respect a guy like Allen. The guy has always been all class.
Even though I don’t like Star, props to KG for doing something like this.