Cut Marbury, bring back Cassell

[D Dub]

At least Sam can bring the ball across half court and hit a few shots.
 

I know we are all trying to give Stef the benefit of the doubt and give him time to 'shake off the rust'.  But lets be real here, he has been really bad.  Like D-leauge/YMCA bad.  At least when he was losing with the Knicks he was still a NBA caliber player.  I don't think anyone expected him to be this far removed from his former self. 

He has lost his shooting touch, is too slow to penetrate and is getting the ball stolen from him by backup pg's regularly.  His whole game was predicated on quickness, and he just no longer possesses that trait and can't be effective without it.

Its only a low risk move if you can identify when it isn't working and are willing to rip the band aid off.   
 

[BrickJames]

I love Celticsblog.

[crownsy]

At least Sam can bring the ball across half court and hit a few shots.
 

I know we are all trying to give Stef the benefit of the doubt and give him time to 'shake off the rust'.  But lets be real here, he has been really bad.  Like D-leauge/YMCA bad.  At least when he was losing with the Knicks he was still a NBA caliber player.  I don't think anyone expected him to be this far removed from his former self. 

He has lost his shooting touch, is too slow to penetrate and is getting the ball stolen from him by backup pg's regularly.  His whole game was predicated on quickness, and he just no longer possesses that trait and can't be effective without it.

Its only a low risk move if you can identify when it isn't working and are willing to rip the band aid off.   
 

****

even if i climibed out on the ledge with you after 4 whole games after a year off, we've played the entire season without a backup PG besides house that doc trusts. Why would you bring back a guy that they cut because he wasen't good enough?

wouldn't you just role with house at this point?

We cant sign anyone who would be eligable for the playoffs at this point who was cut after march 1st, so if we jumped off the ledge, why cut steph when he's being a good solider (for now)? you cant "bring in a guy" who will be any better at this point, and by your logic we don't need anyone anyway, we could just use house.

[crownsy]

I love Celticsblog.

on this we agree at least, TP for beating me to the "GUY SUCKS!!! HE's PLAYED 4 GAMES, RUN HIM OUT OF TOWN FOR NO REASON!!!" ledge post.

Seriously, to the OP, why cut him? if he turns out to suck, i think he just wont make the playoff rotation, I.E TA last year. no need to cut him 4 games in, whats the rush?

Trust me, sam aint going anywhere, even if you do want him back. teams aren't beating down his door.

[Cman]

No thanks.
I prefer to give Marbury the PT now, to see if he develops in time for the playoffs.  Similarly, I would LOVE to give the two rookies a little more PT at the expense of winning games.  Oh wait, we haven't been winning games.  Nevermind.

[Reggie's Ghost]

Hahaha, well it seems that the OP is speaking out of frustration.  And who could blame him?  Steph has been surprisingly bad thus far w/ the C's, and his reputation preceeds him. 

Still, to pull a swap (that isn't even possible btw) of 1 over the hill and rusty pg for another doesn't jive for obvious reasons.  Sam PLATEAUED last year at about what Steph is giving us now, cutting him 5 games in is throwing the baby out with the bathwater...

[the TRUTH]

Please tell me this is a joke. Cassell was HORRIBLE last year. At least Marbury passes the ball and has shown an ability to penetrate. Sam never passed the ball, and never penetrated. His "patented" move was to back down his defender, then jack up a 20 foot fadeaway that barely hit the rim. He almost singlehandedly cost us games, and we didn't really hit our stride until Doc gave House the backup PG role over Sam.

Give Marbury time. He's shown the physical abilities - quickness and athleticism - to get it done. The other stuff - skill, touch and timing - will come soon.

[Chief]

I'm hoping it's rust but IMO it looks like he has lost most of his explosiveness. He is 32 years old and has been out of the game for over a year. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for the next few weeks. Hopefully he'll start looking better when KG comes back.

[the TRUTH]

Another point about Marbury - before we signed him, the primary concern was his character, both on and off the court. Off the court, he's said all the right things, and it was a pleasant surprise to see how accountable both he and Mikki Moore were after last night's game.

On the court, Marbury is clearly doing everything he can to fit in with the team concept. He isn't nearly as aggressive scoring-wise as he usually is, as he's trying to fit in. He's almost passing TOO MUCH at this point. He's too talented to not "get it" in the very near future. I'm still keeping the faith that this will turn out to be a great signing.

[MattG12]

These threads are so annoying. I was 100% against the idea of bringing Marbury in when news of us being linked to him was first leaked. At least I can give the guy a chance. He hasn't played basketball in so long, you people need to get off the guy's back and stop starting these ridiculous "Cut Marbury" and "Pick a Date" threads. Threads like these represent everything I do not like about CelticsBlog and Boston sports fans overall... and I'm from Massachusetts. Seriously, just give the guy a chance to get up to game speed. We'll see what he does in the playoffs, PJ Brown was no gem last year until half way through the Cavs series, and I don't remember ET being good ever last year, if I can recall correctly everyone disliked Sam last year because all he did was look for his own shots (His BS reasoning: He didn't know our plays). At least Stephon trys to get other people involved rather than only taking shots.

[crownsy]

These threads are so annoying. I was 100% against the idea of bringing Marbury in when news of us being linked to him was first leaked. At least I can give the guy a chance. He hasn't played basketball in so long, you people need to get off the guy's back and stop starting these ridiculous "Cut Marbury" and "Pick a Date" threads. Threads like these represent everything I do not like about CelticsBlog and Boston sports fans overall... and I'm from Massachusetts. Seriously, just give the guy a chance to get up to game speed. We'll see what he does in the playoffs, PJ Brown was no gem last year until half way through the Cavs series, and I don't remember ET being good ever last year, if I can recall correctly everyone disliked Sam last year because all he did was look for his own shots (His BS reasoning: He didn't know our plays). At least Stephon trys to get other people involved rather than only taking shots.

TP, totaly agreement and couldn't have said it better

[illestmcsgt]

Sam Cassell will not provide us the backup role for Rondo as last year. Even then House was given the playing time over Cassell towards the playoffs. How will that change with a guy we cut to make room for Marbury?

If Doc didn't play him all season I highly doubt he will do it now. Marbury is starting to learn the plays and get comfortable. It's not just rust that he has to shake off it's coming into a whole new environment. When he was in New York he was the star player and wasn't around the Big Three. Give him a couple more weeks he should fit into his role under Doc. I have confidence he will start to play more better when KG, Rondo, and Big Baby are back. This added pressure on him won't help at all.

[xmuscularghandix]

this is a stupid thread.

[D Dub]

mmmmmK, well wake me up when Marbury has a good game then.  Because I don't see it happening.  

He looks washed up to me. Not rusty like PJ or Sam last year, but washed up like Antoine Walker looked this year.


I appreciate that he has had such a good attitude and is working hard, but he just isn't getting it done on the court.  Sam Cassell, who btw was released prior to 3/1 and is eligible for the playoffs, can handle the ball better and shoot it better than Steff right now, no question.  

Steph became an All Star on account of his quickness.  That is now gone.

Contrasted by Sam's offense, which is not lost with age (post up turn-around J).  In fact, he can be quite effective against a team with a short backcourt - like Cleveland.  Sam can score at will in the post agaisnt Mo Williams/Boobie Gibson to this day.  Marbury on the otherhand, is completely outmatched against that team.

[crownsy]

mmmmmK, well wake me up when Marbury has a good game then.  Because I don't see it happening.  

He looks washed up to me. Not rusty like PJ or Sam last year, but washed up like Antoine Walker looked this year.


I appreciate that he has had such a good attitude and is working hard, but he just isn't getting it done on the court.  Sam Cassell, who btw was released prior to 3/1 and is eligible for the playoffs, can handle the ball better and shoot it better than Steff right now, no question.  

Steph became an All Star on account of his quickness.  That is now gone.

Contrasted by Sam's offense, which is not lost with age (post up turn-around J).  In fact, he can be quite effective against a team with a short backcourt - like Cleveland.  Sam can score at will in the post agaisnt Mo Williams/Boobie Gibson to this day.  Marbury on the otherhand, is completely outmatched against that team.

already happened, his debut. sparked the bench unit in a brilliant rally against the pacers, setting it up for the starters to seal it.

you must have been napping.

also, sam;s post up offense not lost with age? did he forget it last year when he shot an abysmal percentage?

sam was gawd awful last year. he didn't pass, he had one good game, total, against the spurs.

he was an epic failure on the court, its why he got benched in favor of the man he was brought in to replace. and you know what? if steph doesn't step it up over the next 18, im perfectly happy to have eddie do it again.

lastly, you mention we need him for Cleavland's back court? funny then that he was awful the first two games of that series and got benched for eddie for good against them then.