MarShon Brooks sent to D-League

MarShon Brooks was sent down to the D-League on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of David Sherman/NBA.

Guard MarShon Brooks was assigned to the Maine Red Claws by the Boston Celtics early Wednesday morning. In his past 10 games, Brooks has played an average of 6.7 minutes per game, although he's been effective in that short amount of play, averaging 5.3 PPG, along with 2.3 RPG. Brooks was originally drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 2011 NBA Draft, but was immediately traded to Brooklyn. He later came back to Boston in the Nets-Celtics blockbuster trade in the summer.

Coach Brad Stevens later went on to explain why this move occurred, “They play a couple of games in a short amount of time; it’s a good opportunity to do that, and he’s going to get to play a lot, and a lot of minutes,” Stevens said Wednesday after practice at the team’s Waltham facility. “Sometimes as you get into this, the opportunities to condition become less and less. So it will be good for him to kind of get that feel back. And he’ll be back soon, I’m sure. It’s just a matter of utilizing that NBA D-League opportunity that we have as well as we can.”

The main reason he was sent down was to play more minutes and to keep conditioning. Brooks played a total amount of 20 minutes in December. Earning playing time has been hard for Brooks this season, as there are several other guards on the roster playing well. This list includes Jordan Crawford, Avery Bradley, Courtney Lee, and Phil Pressey. Plus, Rajon Rondo will be returning soon. 

Stevens also mentioned that Brooks will be back soon, “Sometimes as you get into [the season], the opportunities to condition become less and less,” Stevens said after the team’s practice before the Celtics flew to Chicago, where they’ll face the Bulls Thursday. “So it will be good for him to kind of get that feel back. And he’ll be back soon, I’m sure.”

During an interview in November, Brooks had something to say about his current role after having not played in 6 straight games, “I’m trying not to get frustrated, because I know my time’s going to come, and if  I’m frustrated, then I’m playing against myself, so all I can do is just stay in shape and be ready. Right now, I’m not playing at all. I don’t have a role. I’m just cheering right now, trying to cheer my teammates on and let them know what I see. That’s about it. What goes through my head? I just want to go in. And then from there, I’ll just take care of my business, man. When my opportunity comes, I’m going to try to go out there, just be solid, not do too much and just play ball. I’ll run into points. I’m just going to play hard on defense. The scoring will come. I’ll have my  opportunity to play. It’s a long season.”

It's obvious Brooks is frustrated about his current playing time, but he is trying to stay patient. Brooks should automatically be in the Red Claws starting line-up, so he will have that playing time he craves, although it will not be at the NBA level.