On the Beat: Staying Ready Marshall’s Mission

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Kendall Marshall’s Saturday began on an uplifting note.  The morning after surfacing to assume a pivotal role in the Sixers’ second-half comeback bid against New Orleans, the reserve point guard received a text message from his sister, telling him how proud she was of his performance.  What, specifically, did Marshall do to prompt this sibling praise?Just past the halfway mark of the third quarter, and the Sixers down 11 points, Marshall was summoned off the bench.  Despite being held out of 14 of the Sixers’ previous 20 games as a “coach’s decision,” he need all of four minutes to make a considerable impact.  First, Marshall nailed a three-pointer.  Then, he came up with a steal.  The North Carolina product finished his flurry by burying another triple on the Sixers’ ensuing trip down the floor.  The sequence unfolded in less than 30 seconds. Reflecting on these contributions while texting with his sister, Marshall said,  “I was telling her it’s like a breath of fresh air just to have success in the game, and you haven’t seen that in so long, not just at all this season, in my opinion.  It’s nice to be out there and see the work.”Behind-the-scenes work has been Marshall’s primary focus for the better part of the past month and a half.  Taken 13th overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, Marshall signed with the Sixers as a free agent in September.  At that point, he was still recovering from a right knee ACL tear sustained last January during his one-season stint with the Milwaukee Bucks. The injury ultimately sidelined him for the Sixers’ first 23 games. As Marshall was starting to carve out a regular role in the Sixers’ rotation, the point guard dynamic underwent a sudden change.  Ish Smith was reacquired on December 24th via a trade with the Pelicans, and T.J. McConnell’s performance as a back-up for Smith was warranting minutes.  To stay fresh, Marshall concentrated on “conditioning” and “getting up shots” in non-game settings, such as practices, shootarounds, and warm-ups.  As Marshall explained, “There’s plenty of stuff you have to do, and most of it’s mental.” “It’s being a professional,” said Marshall on Saturday, following the Sixers’ practice at Smoothie King Center.  He’s had a different employer in each season of his NBA career.  “I think it’s something that I’ve learned in my four years.  Realizing that you really can’t control anything in this league other than yourself, and being ready at all times.  That’s going to have to be my thing if I want to stick in this league is being dependable, being a day-to-day, and always being ready when my number’s called, so those are things I have to take pride in.”Marshall’s box line validated the logic behind his approach.  In 11 minutes in Friday’s 121-114 setback, he netted a season-high nine points (3-3 fg), and handed out three assists.  Marshall also did not commit a turnover. “Just stayed ready in his head,” Brett Brown said while giving his impressions of Marshall’s efforts in New Orleans. “He most definitely has stayed ready in his body, but he’s really been ready in his mind, and engaging on the bench, and engaging with me.”Brown continued, “He’s engaged in the game, he thinks the game, and so the physical part of it, he’s put in time to do that.  It’s a good collision when somebody says you’re in the game.  It’s not like he’s not ready in his head, and I thought [Friday] night was just a gut feel.  You just sort of threw Kendall a bone, and tried to keep him alive.  He deserves to be played, given the way he thinks and is prepared, and I think all those things helped him.”In the context of the Sixers’ relatively green roster, the 24-year old Marshall boasts an experienced resume.  That was especially the case at the outset of the season, before Smith and Elton Brand arrived.  Although he is of veteran status on the team, Marshall hasn’t concerned himself with the extent to which he’s been involved.”I’ve done that before and it’s gotten me nowhere,” admitted Marshall.  He said he fell victim to that trap over the course of his rookie season with Phoenix.  That year, the Suns finished 25-57.    “I almost felt like I was entitled to playing time.  Like, nothing else is working, why wouldn’t you play me?  That was definitely the wrong attitude to go about with it, but I learned from it and it hasn’t been a problem since.”Around this time a season ago, Marshall’s perspective changed even more, as he recuperated from his ACL injury.”I learned it last year in Milwaukee, being on my first playoff team, being on a good team, and realizing that sometimes it’s not what’s best for the team for you to be on the court, but you still have to find a way to contribute,” Marshall said.  “Whether that’s being [like San Antonio’s] Patty Mills, whether that’s being [Atlanta’s] Kent Bazemore, being that guy that gets everybody going, gets everybody juiced up, and I kind of took pride in that last year.” Thanks to Friday’s showing, Marshall might now be in position to get going himself down the stretch of the current campaign. “Sometimes it’s people do something, and they get rewarded, and it continues on,” said Brown.  “I think it’s stuff we’ll think through.  I just feel like, as it relates to Kendall, I have a tremendous amount of respect for how he prepares.”Marshall and the Sixers spent Saturday afternoon traveling to Dallas, where they’ll square off with the Mavericks on Sunday at 7:00 PM EST at American Airlines Center.