Stephon Marbury's great opportunity awaits in Boston

ON BASKETBALL

It's not official yet, but anyone who closely follows the NBA knows it will happen.

One of the most league's most despised, selfish, wasted talents on the roster of the league's defending champion — on a team made up of his opposites: "team guys" who would never put themselves before their teammates.

And yet, I have a very good feeling about this. I think it will work (yes, I'm assuming it will happen) — both for the Celtics and Stephon Marbury.

That doesn't mean they'll win the NBA title together or even get past the conference finals, but losses on the court are as bad as things will get.

Marbury, to me, is not a bad person or even a naturally bad teammate. He's not irrevocably damaged. Rather, he is in need of direction. He needs to be a follower before he can become a respected leader.

At each of his NBA stops, he's been asked to run the team, be the starting point guard. Of course, as talented as he is, it made perfect sense. There was no way Mr. Big Time was coming off the bench or following the example of another player.

He was paid too much. His ego was too big.

And he played in a "players league." So as hard as the Don Caseys of the world might have tried to fine-tune Marbury into a winning point guard, he never had to listen, he never had to ride in the backseat.

That will all change in Boston. And that is the reason why this experiment has a great chance of not only landing the Celtics Banner 18, but rejuvenating Marbury's losses-infested career.

As a Celtic, he will ride the bench. It won't matter how well he plays — he's not getting budding starRajon Rondo's spot.

As a Celtic, he will be asked to follow one of the most voluble, intimidating leaders in the league, Kevin Garnett. This will not be like their ill-fated time spent together in Minnesota.

Then, they were both young and unproven. Neither player's career had taken off to the point of making him that much better, that much more proven and trustworthy than the other guy.

So Marbury, immature and full of himself, left Minneapolis as part of a bitter divorce. No one expected he'd ever reunite with K.G.

But now Garnett has all the power over his former teammate. He's the certain Hall-of-Famer. He's the man with the NBA title. He's got the ears of all his teammates.

He'll gain another set of ears as soon as Marbury's plane touches down. Screw up in Garnett's mind, and he'll be done before he can walk the Freedom Trail.

Experiments like this aren't new to New England sports. Not too long ago, the New England Patriots brought in controversial wide receiver Randy Moss. And even before that, they signed much-maligned running back Corey Dillon.

Under the killer eye of Bill Belichick, who doesn't blink when cutting players, Dillon never caused a problem and won a Super Bowl at the end of the 2004 season. Moss, meanwhile, has been nothing short of brilliant — and on his best behavior.

Doc Rivers might not be Belichick, but the makeup of an NBA team is more about the players than the coach. Even Belichick, with his iron fist, couldn't have handled the Knicks of a couple years ago.

The Celtics get it. Everyone, from Garnett to Ray Allen to Finals MVP Paul Pierce to youngsters Rondo and Kendrick Perkins, understands what the team is about and what its ultimate mission is.

There's no way a battered, bruised Stephon Marbury could mess that up even if he tried.

And he won't. Because even if a championship isn't important to him — and I doubt that — he knows that the only way to land a decent contract after the season is by being on his best behavior and doing what the Celtics ask of him.

So whether he plays 30 or 10 minutes a game (and I'm leaning toward the latter), don't expect to see the typical Marbury Pout while he sits on the bench once he moves one big city up the East Coast.

In fact, by learning from some of the game's best — both talent-wise and leadership-wise — he might change. He might become capable of running a winning basketball team next season, of being a winning starter for the first time.

To do something right, you have to see it and observe it first, right?

Marbury just turned 32. Maybe he'll be a late learner. ... Or maybe not.

But the marriage in Boston, even if brief, should be a peaceful one.

Giants play small ball to slay mighty Patriots

ON FOOTBALL

The New York Giants, those guys who took down the heavily favored Patriots Sunday, remind me of a baseball team.

I know it sounds weird — the two sports don't have too many similarities — but when trying to put New York's championship in perspective, the 2005 Chicago White Sox come to mind.

A team no one expected to challenge for the peak of its sport's success prior to the playoffs.

A team that didn't light up the scoreboard, but did enough to win.

A team that didn't make "SportsCenter" plays, necessarily, but the little plays that coaches/managers notice.

A team with recognizable names, but not that one star, that stud with the famous girlfriend.

OK, I'll stop there. Comparing baseball to football isn't easy (and I don't advise you to try it), but the White Sox's bunting, run-producing offense and stellar pitching of three years ago is what I thought of as I watched from my couch Sunday night.

It started with the Giants' opening drive. As they set records for first downs made on the first drive of a Super Bowl and for the time of a possession (almost 10 minutes), I realized how they could pull off the monumental upset.

It wouldn't be easy, but they needed to run the clock as much as possible on offense, keeping Tom Brady on the sideline until his feet fell asleep. They needed to sustain drives and then make New England's offense do likewise. The Patriots were going to score — no one would doubt that — but if the Giants could make them march up and down the field, more time would run off the clock and there'd always be the chance of a turnover happening or a drive-halting penalty or sack.

Just keep the game close, I thought to myself. Shorten the game as much as possible and stay within a score, and the Giants had a chance.

And that's exactly what they did. In fact, they executed so well, they were able to get away with a few mistakes — most notably Eli Manning's interception deep in New England territory in the second quarter.

Just like the White Sox's improbable run to the World Series title began and ended with great pitching, the Giants' victory Sunday was all about defense. During the week, Brady laughed at New York wide receiver Plaxico Burress' suggestion that New York would win 23-17.

"We're only going to score 17 points?" Brady laughed. "OK. Is Plax playing defense?"

Burress wasn't on defense, but Justin Tuck and his fellow linemen were. You've heard the numbers by now, but the bottom line is that the Giants pressured Brady the entire game, never letting him get into the type of rhythm he's accustomed to.

When the Patriots go the ball back with 35 seconds remaining and all three timeouts, I predicted overtime. I certainly didn't forecast Jay Alford — I thought the Alfords were basketball people? — recording his lone sack of the game on second down, which was the play that essentially cemented the 2007-08 Patriots' first loss.

But that's exactly what happened. And when Brady fired deep balls to Randy Moss on the final two plays, both times they were broken up. No spectacular interception was needed. No fumble recovery. Just a big-time sack and a pair of breakups. That's how the Giants won.

Of course, similar to the White Sox's Scott Podsednik — the smallest, scrawniest guy on the team — hitting a walk-off home run in Game 2 of the World Series, the Giants got a big play from an unexpected hero.

My guess is that about 9.6 percent of the large television audience knew who David Tyree was prior to the fourth quarter Sunday, but with his first touchdown of the season — in the Giants' 20th game, for crying out loud — and then the play of the game, Tyree cemented his legacy even if he quits playing football on Thursday.

The Giants faced a 3rd-and-5 at their own 44-yard line with just over a minute to play. Manning dropped back and was immediately under immense pressure from every Patriots player in his vicinity. By someone's grace, however — maybe it was brother Peyton in the luxury suite who gave Eli special power for one play — Manning escaped the pressure and launched a pass about 35 yards in the air.

Watching Manning release the ball, I thought the pigskin was en route to the stomach of a Patriots defender. It seemed like the kind of rushed, off-balance throw down field that is destined for trouble.

But then Tyree made the catch of his life, leaping to not only out-muscle New England safety — and former HGH user — Rodney Harrison for the ball, but to hang onto it in his outstretched hands as he and Harrison hit the ground.

Again, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Initially, I was convinced the ball must have hit the turf. But no challenge was needed. It was a clear catch, just like Podsednik's clear home run, and it gave me the feeling that maybe — just maybe — Sunday night was a Giants night.

You know the story from there. Another unheralded receiver, rookie Steve Smith, keeps his feet in bounds to pick up a first down on 3rd-and-11, and on the very next play, Manning finds a wide-open Burress on the fade route for the go-ahead score.

After the defense finished the job, it was celebration time.

Before the game, I thought the Patriots were the better team, and I still believe that's the case. I would pick them to win seven out of 10 games against the Giants.

But that's the beauty of the playoffs, of the winner-of-one-game-takes-all scenario. On Sunday, the Giants were the best team on the field. The Patriots, as gracious in defeat as I've ever seen them (minus, of course, Bill Belichick), admitted as much. They didn't so much lose the game as the Giants won it.

There's no doubt about it.

You can always point to a play and say, "If only this had happened..." Today, I'm sure, Patriots fans are lamenting Brady's second-to-last throw, when if he could have chucked the ball 5 yards farther, Moss might have separated himself from the defenders and scored a miracle touchdown.

As good as the Manning-to-Tyree connection was — it's already a frontrunner in the "Greatest play in a Super Bowl" debate — the Giants' victory wasn't decided by one play. The game was not a sprint but rather a marathon. What happened between Jordan Sparks' protracted national anthem and Belichick's early departure from the field resulted in 17-14 Giants.

Not a bad guess at all, Plax. Guess your defense backed you up.

Now if only Jermaine Dye had predicted a sweep of the Astros in '05, my argument might be stronger.

Brady's bomb to Moss epitomizes Patriots

ON FOOTBALL

Trailing the New York Football Giants 28-23 with just over 11 minutes to play in the fourth quarter Saturday night, Tom Brady attempted to do what he had done so many times this perfect season.

He launched an airtight spiral toward wide-open Randy Moss, his favorite target who had broken away from his inferior opponents in the Giants secondary. But as God-like as Brady is, his arm is human, and the pass came up short.

Moss nearly made a shoestring catch — he has, after all, caught balls thrown between two defenders and directly at defenders this season — but couldn't hold on. The ball fell to the ground.

What happened next is why New England is a summit above the rest of the NFL. With the Patriots facing 3rd-and-10 from their own 35-yard line, Moss ran the same 9 route to the same spot. After catching his breath, there he was racing by himself down the right sideline. And after refueling his right arm, there was Brady releasing another low-arcing spiral in Moss' direction.

And this time, No. 81 didn't have to break stride. The ball hit him in the chest, and he was gone.

The Patriots regained the lead. You know the story from there. A 16-0 unblemished record. A rather loquacious Bill Belichick at the postgame podium.

But back to the juiciest minute of the night. Actually, the touchdown wasn't even designed for Moss. Brady's main option was diminutive receiver Wes Welker, who was running a short route. But when the defenders bit on Welker's cut, there was Moss, running untouched down the sideline. And Brady had no qualms about finding his tallest target one more time, about throwing one more 65-yard pass.

And Moss didn't complain about running approximately 200 yards in the course of a minute or two. (Yes, he could be a track star if he wasn't so good at catching footballs.)

Seriously, how many teams will run their premier receiver 65 yards down the sideline on consecutive plays? How many teams will trust their quarterback to throw back-to-back deep balls, especially after the first one came up well short?

That's one of many reasons New England stands alone as the lone NFL team to go 16-0. Yes, it helps having the career leaders for touchdown passes and TD catches in a season. But that doesn't take away from the genius behind having Moss run an identical route.

The thing about the Patriots, is they've always made the right calls. It's never mattered if they throw the ball on 27 consecutive plays or run it 10 straight times. They do what Belichick, Brady and Co. think will work at the time.

So forget running a draw to mix up the defense. Or looking for the tight end over the middle. If Moss could beat the secondary once, he could do it again, right?

"I wish I could have made a better throw," Brady said about the first pass, which was designed for Moss.

But, I'm sure, Brady's not fretting over the bad throw a day later.

Because these Patriots, although not perfect every play, are rather quick to correct their mistakes — even in the course of a New York Minute.

And that's just another reason they stand an impeccable 16-0, just three wins away from the ultimate zenith of football success.