Starbury Bides His Time Until the Playoffs

Stephon Marbury has not played well this season. The analysts on T.V. and (let's be honest) the fans in Boston have given him a pass because, well, he hasn't played real live NBA basketball in more than a year. Fair enough. He's rusty, he's learning a new offense and defense, he's (for the most part) coming off the bench, something he has rarely done in his career. I buy it: Starbury has stunk, but there are some mitigating explanations.

But the excuses stop holding water in four weeks when the playoffs start. If at that point Starbury still cannot play, Doc Rivers and friends will have to make a decision whether to feature him in the rotation or to bury him in Sam Cassell's old sweatsuit. According to a quizzical Starbury quote dug up by Reds Army, it's clear which result the guard himself expects.

Reds Army attempts to translate this quote published by the Boston Globe:

"I know I'm capable of having games where I can score 30 or 40 points," he said. "It's just tough to get a lot of time on a team like this. But it will be a different rotation in the playoffs, and I'm just continuing to build on what I'm learning."

RA takes it as confusing, not troubling. That's the right way to look at it. Starbury isn't complaining about minutes -- he's noting that the team is really solid in the backcourt, and that he needs court time to get his shot going. Fair enough.

The problematic part of it in my estimation is that Starbury might actually believe he'll be called upon to score 30 or 40 points eventually. Hopefully this is compulsive swag, not honest self-assessment. At Marbury's current shooting clip, it would take him 53 to 71 field goal attempts to score 30 to 40 points. Even Kobe can't get 53 to 71 field goal attempts in a game!

The rotation will change in the playoffs. It will (should?) get tighter. Players not performing will get ushered to the nearest seat on the bench, and they will stay there. Marbury played six minutes against Orlando. He had three chances to start this month, three real opportunities to show his stuff. He shot a combined 3-for-14, and had six turnovers.

It will be a huge surprise if Starbury gives Boston anything more than five or six minutes a game in the postseason. Based on what Marbury's currently offered, it will be a huge surprise if those five or six minutes a game aren't a complete disaster.