I wrote this in the next day thread, but I wanted to share my thoughts as well as get some of yours.
I think it was apparent that very early on Marcus started off looking very solid on offense making nice jump shots in the paint. His 3 ball wasn't there but at least he was generating his own offense. It looks like he's reverted back to his old habits of chucking 3s and avoiding going into the paint, though. As a result, we're starting to see more the Marcus from last season, but with some improved passing skills.
As the #6 pick in the draft, if 3 seasons in we could see into a crystal ball at the time that this is the type of player he'd become, I think a lot of us would have been disappointed. Celtic fans were set to build around Marcus as the replacement for Rondo, but as of right now, I don't think he's a starter. He's a pitbull on defense, but a liability on offense, and immature. He's earned a bad rep with officials as a flopper and someone who loses his temper. I love his defensive play but he still has to grow up a bit. I notice a lot of ppl want to criticize ITs defense and talk about making him a 6th man because of it. They say it's a liability, but those same people want Marcus to start, yet ignore how absolutely atrocious he is on offense. He's not just bad; he's historically bad. Now that is a real liability.
Now that's not to say there's no upside. His defensive work is well-known, and he's a gamer. He'll hit a big 3 or make a tough steal. He makes star-level plays in big moments for someone who isn't a star.
Overall though, I wouldn't be opposed to trading him or if we do re-sign him, at a deal that is akin to a solid bench player. Offense is too important in this league for him to get paid very much. I'm not down on him, I like him as a player, but I'm underwhelmed with him right now and coincidentally, the team as a whole. There's a lot of basketball to be played, and I hope we see some of that tough Celtic ball we saw last year.
Submitted December 02, 2016 at 05:38AM by dd2811