last year marcus was injured and lost some explosiveness and lift thats not good for a rookie who had to go against nba bigs-i have watched marcus make huge strides going to the basket from floaters ,to pullups to forcing his way-OK there are times he is out of control but this is only his 2nd year and he had his injuries steal alot of time and effect his playing coming back
marcus is such a force defensively -i have been caught up in celtics barrage of last minute wins and the myriad of ways marcus effects a game from offensive boards ,defensive rebounds,drawing charges and the overlooked offensive fouls on screensetters,defensively harrassing his man on and off ball using strength, motor, deceptive wingspan and his inate defensive IQ
this 2nd year 21 year old in my green goggled defensive mood was the steal-like tommy i have never seen such a mature force so young-
there will be offensive players galore but defensive gems are much rarer-jimmy butler,kwani,chrowder show how offence can mature but the will and skill for defence is the magic
and we have been privileged to see this in recent games with crowder ,marcus and avery-it is infectious pulling jerebko,turner,sully with it
it is no wonder ainge wanted winslow but his impact is not nearly what marcus brings
i was groomed in defence,it hurts
often misunderstood unappreciated for its nuances -taking time off clock,pushing players off their spots,altering shots and timing,wearing opponents down and when done inmass overwhelming-4 straight steals to win a game
marcus is learning offence,improving shooting skills,getting to hoop and learning on d but none of us will notice it will be little subtle things but we will notice the effects-and be left going wow
like his pivot to take away a rebound on foul shot-this is no ordinary guard