Is how successful their strategy of sagging off of Rondo was for such a long time. Rondo needs to make play. Either shoot the ball on the catch, cut relentlessly through the lane, get involved in the off-the-ball action, something. Right now, if he’s handling the point of attack and things are going well, it’s great; if things aren’t going his way and we go for other guys to create shots, he makes the entry pass to the wing and disappears.

Marbury was instrumental yesterday, but he’s been slightly better than pedestrian so far. PJ Brown contributed with more than a “moment”. I hope this is not “Marbury’s moment”, just a start; otherwise, his stay here will be labelled as quite unimpressive.

He has got to be one of the most overrated elements of last year. He made one shot, other than that he was pretty much terrible.

Marbury not only made multiple shots, but he single handedly prevented the loss yesterday, its not even debateable. Marbury has played overall fairly poorly, but his game last night was 100 times more impressive than any of PJ’s games. Look at the unit when Marbury was out there, unfortunately, before all of the injuries, thats basically a white flag roll over and die lineup. Marbury single handedly saved the series. Give the man his due and please, lets stop making PJ a bigger deal than he was. No doubt a huge shot, but seriously, other than that he sucked miserably.

We are experienced and “know” how to win close games….last year PJ may have brought the “soft” intangibles to a team “learning how to win”…This year…those aren’t needed…What was/is needed is consistent contribution off the bench. We already have the right mindset in place

How many smart and able people on this board continue to ignore the personal psychology of the players involved and just judge everyone off their on-court histories…

Marbury has certainly not been all that he is capable of, but if you spend a few minutes reviewing where he has come from and what he’s gone through mentally it makes a lot of sense.

Jeff’s statement about the “jury being out” on him being a “loser” is exactly the type of thing that makes it so hard for Steph to play on instinct and not constantly battle with confidence issues when trying to make decisions.

Every player or insider that has discussed Steph has said exactly the same thing – he is trying so hard to erase an image that he is just completely lost in his own head trying to re-invent himself.

Now all that may mean little when it comes to the bottom line, but if you are thinking in terms of when he may get their and what he can give you, I think he’s shown that he is capable of adjusting and that, given time, he can be a valuable contributor.

I hope Boston makes a quality offer and Steph accepts it. I have little doubt that a full off-season and training camp to work himself into the mix will pay huge dividends and Steph will get the true “redemption song” he is looking for.

Step out of your own shoes and try for a minute to think about how you would react if it was you in a similar circumstance for the past 5 years coming into this situation – 20 thousand screaming fans and tens of thousands more with media scrutiny and expectation hanging in the balance….have you ever felt that type of pressure?

Think about it…

Why is it so hard to cut this guy (Steph) some slack. Bill Russell has. If Bill Russell can, we sure can.

I’m a not a fan of the fould because we are ahead plan. I’m just glad it worked out. I am interested know how many others did not like the fouls for fouls used at the end of the game.

To be honest, I remember that shot PJ hit, but when I think of the best PJ Play it would have to be his block on LeBron at the end of Game 7 (I believe). LeBron was in the post and had been getting to the line whenever he got a big man on him. But maybe I’m alone there…

Also, I don’t understand how people can be complaining about Marbury. (“PJ IS and WAS a more well rounded humble individual contributing more than salary and tattoos”). I haven’t seen one ounce of hubris since Marbury came here. After coming out in the 4th quarter last night he didn’t sulk or sit quietly on the bench, upset that he was taken out. He was cheering for the starters and went nuts when Ray hit that go-ahead 3.

Rather than loathe a stranger for mistakes he made, isn’t it nicer to just enjoy seeing someone play well?

Marbury is an old Sebastian Telfair.

Guys, when the C’s picked up Marbury, it was a low-cost gamble. I believe that it has paid off handsomely. While he has shown a tendancy to pass instead of shoot, that is because he was trying desperately to fit into everyone’s perception of his role. Remember, he was brought in to spell Rondo, feed KG the ball and hold the fort for a few minutes at a time.

It’s a totally different situation now. When went Kevin out, our title hopes and expectations also took a dive. Anyone who thinks that the current roster, minus Steph, can take out either the Cavs or the Lakers is smoking some good stuff while wearing their green glasses. BUT if Steph can come in and contribute, say, 8-10 pts a game and some inspired playmaking, like he did last night, we DO have a decent chance for another title. Steph has never been scared of going up against anyone or of taking his shots; if he can do so now while maintaining his teamwork the Cavs will be forced to change their defencive sceme to account for him.

What I would be curious to see is how he and Rondo would work together on the court. It likely won’t ever happen but if Doc wanted to go both small and fearless, we might just see it.