Marbury: ‘I felt rejuvenated’
TD BANKNORTH GARDEN — His legs were heavy. And he may have forgotten the assistant coach’s name. But all in all it was a pretty successful Celtics debut for Stephon Marbury tonight.
“I was just happy,” said Marbury, who had 8 points and 2 assists in just under 13 minutes of action against the Pacers. “I was so happy to be out there playing. I was tired, but in the fourth quarter I found some energy. My legs pretty much forgot about what was going on.”
In contrast to his pregame meeting with the media, Marbury was left to fend for himself in the locker room after the game. But the man with a reputation for surliness handled every question with aplomb, smiling and laughing his way through a four-minute media session.
“It’s been a long two days for me,” said Marbury. “I haven’t slept in the last three days. I got here at [5 a.m.] I got up at 8:30 a.m., took physicals, and did a bunch of different things. It’s been a long day for me.”
Marbury’s day took a turn for the positive when he made his first shot as a Celtic at the 10:21 mark in the second quarter. Combined with the standing ovation he received when he entered the game minutes earlier, the reception for Marbury could not have been more positive.
“I wanted to cry,” said Marbury on his treatment from the fans. “I was so happy. I didn’t know how they were going to respond. But they really showed me a lot of love. I felt that.
“I felt wanted.”
So the whole forgetting-the-coach’s-name thing. It was an honest mistake for a player moving to another state, gaining 11 new teammates, and trying to learn the playbook of last year’s NBA champions all in the same day. It even came off as a little endearing.
“Being that this was the first night,” Marbury started out. “And how fast it all happened. I was just trying to pick both coach and Eddie…what’s coach’s name again?”
Marbury was told he had been talking to assistant coach Kevin Eastman on the Celtics bench.
“Yeah, I was trying to pick coach Eastman’s mind in learning the plays and asking questions, especially the defensive scheme,” Marbury recovered.
He did not have a great game, to be sure, but head coach Doc Rivers said he was surprised how well Marbury fit into the flow of the offense. Rivers said Marbury even handcuffed a few of the Celtics big men with great passes off the pick and roll.
“He still had timing, which you usually don’t have,” said Rivers. “I was really surprised, you sit out that long and your timing is that good.”
While the Celtics were learning about Marbury, Marbury was learning about the Celtics. The No. 1 thing he learned about his new team?
“Defense,” he said. “They play defense. That’s the only thing that they talk about. Defense. Offense takes care of itself.”
Marbury also had an insightful comment on what it feels like to go from a cellar-dwelling team to last year’s NBA champs.
“The best part about it is, when you’re sitting on the bench, I never felt like we were going to lose,” he said. “And I was looking down at the [other] bench, and I remember seeing myself down there, and feeling like they felt.”
Rajon Rondo (17 assists) was the engine that drove the Celtics tonight, and Ray Allen (30 points) put the finishing touches on the win. But Rivers said expects Marbury to get better.
By the time the playoffs come around, he may even learn everyone’s name.
“I felt rejuvenated,” said Marbury. “I was happy. It’s a new beginning for me… It’s a new beginning.”
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