The Celtics will meet the rest of their season with a new backup point guard. As expected, they signed Stephon Marbury once he cleared waivers Friday morning.
Doc Rivers was immediately asked if he was concerned about Marbury's shady history. "No," the coach said. "That was New York and wherever else. That has nothing to do with today and tomorrow. I've always had an open mind with everyone who's come in, and you know we've done pretty well. Our locker room is very strong, and we just have good people. And so, no, I'm not that concerned about that at all."
Marbury said the Celtics were his first choice.
"I pretty much had my mind set," he said. "I spoke to other teams, but this is where I wanted to be because they wanted me. My mother always says there's a difference when somebody wants you opposed if you just want to go there. So for me, they wanted me to come here to play basketball and I wanted to be here.
"I was lit up for myself," Marbury said of signing with the Celtics. "I was lit up because the tradition of the Celtics. You think about the championships. You think about all the guys who have played here. The history speaks for itself."
He added that he is not trying to answer his critics.
"I don't look at it as something to prove," he said. "I think it's just another opportunity for me to go out and play at a high level -- to play with a championship team. (It's) something that I wanted to do, so for myself I'm just looking at this as another great opportunity for me."
Marbury also has no problem with those who doubt things will work out for him this time, either.
"You've just got to watch and wait and see," he said. "I'm human. I make mistakes and I've learned from my mistakes. Just got to keep on pushing on. People have their own opinions about me. And like I said, if you know me, it's one thing. If you don't know me, you're speaking about me from what someone else tells you."
CELTICS 104, PACERS 99: Ray Allen had 30 points and Rajon Rondo tied his career-high with 17 assists as the Celtics returned from the road with a victory over Indiana Friday. Stephon Marbury had eight points and two assists in his debut, scoring six of those points in a 9-0 fourth-quarter run that solidified the Celtics' hold on the game.
Marbury went 13 minutes in the game, suiting up just hours after signing with the club. He went through a one-hour pregame session with the coaches, the first half hour of which came before the rest of the team joined him.
