Doc admits that he’s gotten calls from coaches who think the Celts are crazy to bring the guard on board. Rivers also has received some positive messages, but that didn’t stop the media from asking him why the defending champs would want to add a player with such a troubled past. “Because,” Rivers said, “we want to be defending champs again next year.”
“It’s about our locker room,” Rivers said. “It always has been and it always will be. If I don’t think our locker room’s right, it’ll get right. “I think we have a great group. We have a high-character team. I think this team can absorb it, and if we can’t, then we’ll find that out as well. . . . Every player who comes here has to commit to winning.”
It should be an interesting experiment. After reading and watching the pundits yesterday, what sticks in my mind is as follows:
Flip Saunders: He compared Steph to JR Rider with Lakers. Everyone told JR that if he didn't shape up for the Lakers, he'd be out of basketball. He didn't, and he was. Saunders said that Steph likes his paychecks too much to let that happen.
New York Writers: A couple of New York writers actually defended Marbury, which astounded me. One writer talked about various coaches abandoning Steph, while another compared him to Randy Moss. Somehow, I don't think Steph will perform for the Celtics like Randy performed for the Patriots.
Health: If the green doesn't start having better luck with the injury bug, no amount of great play from Starbury will matter.
Home Court: We haven't defeated the Cavs in Cleveland once during the KG Era. I like our chances of beating LA in LA better than beating Cleveland in Cleveland. Still, if healthy, it can be done.
Doc: The success or failure of the Starbury experiment may come down to Doc. Undoubtedly the Big Three will play a role, too. But Doc has proven to be a great leader of this squad, and getting the most out of Starbury while keeping everyone else happy will be his biggest challenge to date.
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