Marcus Landry is best-known among Celtics fans as “the throw-in to the Nate Robinson trade.”  As the throw-ins to the Knicks from the same trade (Bill Walker and J.R. Giddens) have been tossed into action and actually made an impact in the NBA, Landry was assigned to the D-League’s Maine Red Claws.

While his first few games with Maine displayed nothing special (Landry didn’t even reach double figures in any of his first four games), Landry has started to show signs of being an NBA talent.  He has now scored in double figures in each of his last three games, including a 34-point breakout performance (featuring 8-10 shooting behind the arc) in yesterday’s win over the Springfield Armor.

Gino’s Jungle was in Maine to cover the game, and had a few good quotes about Landry.

Red Claws coach Austin Ainge said the following about Landry’s performance following the game, “Marcus was huge. We were sluggish, lethargic, (and played) horrible defense in the first half, all those things. He carried us, kept us in, and made a lot of big plays.”

Ainge later commented on Landry’s style of play, “He’s a very good three point shooter. That’s one of his best attributes, but he plays at a good pace so you don’t always see his athleticism until you see him go dunk on somebody. My favorite aspect of Marcus is his passing. He is one of the best passers we have and that makes him hard to guard.”

With all of this being said, Landry would be the last person to brag about his performance in today’s game. He commented on his performance after the game by stating, “Today’s a good day. Anytime you can get a win, and anytime you can see your work paying off, it’s a good day.”

Landry won’t make anyone forget Bill Walker yet, but he is at least flashing some talent while in Maine.  Of course, for an NBA player playing in the D-League, perhaps scoring explosions like Landry’s yesterday should be expected, rather than coming as a surprise.  Landry is still averaging only 11.9 points in the D-League, well below what you’d hope to see from an NBA assignee.