Marcus Smart comparisons

[jman3134]

Eric Bledsoe weighed 192 coming out. Smart weighs 227. That's 35 lbs of beef.

Bledsoe also came out a year earlier, and is 3 inches shorter. Their body types are fairly similar.

Piggybacking here: Bledsoe is also an incredibly explosive athlete. Smart struggled to get separation as a slasher in college.

[Tave]

Eric Bledsoe weighed 192 coming out. Smart weighs 227. That's 35 lbs of beef.

Bledsoe also came out a year earlier, and is 3 inches shorter. Their body types are fairly similar.

Piggybacking here: Bledsoe is also an incredibly explosive athlete. Smart struggled to get separation as a slasher in college.

Smart was infinitely more comfortable attacking the basket and beating his man than Bledsoe was (did you watch him at UK?) in college. Hard to tell whether that was due to any athletic advantage on the part of Smart or simply a result of his ball skills being more developed. I have a hunch it's the latter.

Also relevant: Bledsoe peaked as an athlete a couple years into the league. Smart could show a similar jump although he's coming in a little older. FWIW, I think Smart is a freak athlete in his own right, you don't see guys that big and strong with his kind of lateral agility very often. He's fast and springy too.

[NL41]

Yeah, Smart is a ridiculous athlete. Just the fact that he dwarfs Eric Bledsoe speaks volumes about his power.

And teams are generally not going to guard Smart with point guards, because he's too big, so Smart will have enough quickness to get by shooting guards with relative ease. Not to mention pull up quickly for the high release jumper.

[ManualRam]

smart's not fast or quick for a SG either. i think if he were checked by SGs that'd be bad for him since he'd have less of a strength/size advantage. he should hope that he gets checked by 1's.

[Orlwillbeback]

smart is one of the slowest point guards ive ever seen for such a highly touted prospect, but regardless he seems to get it done. He will have a long career but never reach stardom, more like an andre miller type career.

[NL41]

Smart can already get his jumper off just about any time he wants with a high, quick release and ability to fade away. He missed a ton of contested jumpers in college, but if he can improve that % he can definitely be a star, if not a superstar. He hasn't even developed a full array of post moves yet and that might end up being his bread and butter.

[jpengland]

A lot of players come into the league unable to shoot well. Hopefully he can work on that part of his game because if he does, watch out

And the vast majority of poor shooters, stay poor shooters. Especially with a shot as broken as Smart.

[brackdan70]

not really sure why people think Smart is slow? sure not the fastest PG ever for a PG...but fast enough, especially considering his strength.
Marcus Smart's lane agility time of 10.82 is faster than John Wall (10.84), Russell Westbrook (10.98) and Chris Paul (11.09).

also 3.26 3/4 court which is right in the mix for PGs.

Sure it is arguable how effective these numbers translate to in game speed. But calling Smart slow is silly

[ManualRam]

speed and quickness with the ball is what matters. some players can train religiously to prepare for combine tests, yet you dont see them outright beating defenders off the bounce consistently, as is the case with smart. he needs picks. he needs a head of steam, especially with his lack of shooting. he has to beat defenders who are playing off of him and going under.

[Curmudgeon]

If Smart lacks quickness, why is he such an outstanding defender? He destroys opposing guards and can defend three positions.

If he develops a reliable jumper he's Chauncey Billups. If not, he's K.C. Jones. Actually, someone in this thread mentioned Fat Lever and that's a decent comp, although Smart is a better defender.

[Grits n Gravy]

I caught a bit of the Celtics first pre season games and yeah I definitely overrated his speed and quickness offensively, doesn't seem like a great athlete but still think he'll be a good player.

[brackdan70]

If Smart lacks quickness, why is he such an outstanding defender? He destroys opposing guards and can defend three positions.

If he develops a reliable jumper he's Chauncey Billups. If not, he's K.C. Jones. Actually, someone in this thread mentioned Fat Lever and that's a decent comp, although Smart is a better defender.

will see he he does against Lowry tonight.