Marcus Smart vs Dante Exum... a bit of perspective

[stitches]

No, no Bill, I am not "looking around and and seeing Smart... and thinking why did we take that 18 year old kid who looks like a baby". This is a bit of a perspective on Exum's aggression when compared to Marcus Smart. Yes, Marcus Smart, the physical specimen that bullied everybody in college and was going to the line on a whim... Here's the numbers:

FTA/36
Dante: 1.4
Smart: 2.1

Shot distribution:


Drives stats:


So Dante drives more, has better success on his drives, settles for less 3s, finishes more of his attacks around the rim and has higher success around the rim.

All that after Smart had 2 years in college and is widely considered physical monster at the PG spot. Even though their numbers are comparable, I think with Smart the main problem is lack of skill and lack of quick first step and change of pace to actually go to the rim, while with Dante it's inexperience and timidity. Dante is not even trying and is doing arguably better when it comes to drives and finishing around the rim(arguably a lot of Dante's finishes are from cuts and assisted dunks/layups)...

That still doesn't mean Dante is anywhere near what I wanted to see from him this year, but maybe it's much more understandable than I previously thought. My frustration has been quenched for now and I guess I will have to just wait and be patient with Dante... If the problems persist after the midpoint of next year, we will probably be more justified in our worries. For now, I hope it's just growing pains and getting used to the physicality and pace of the league.

[Jazzfan12]

Neither guy ever drives to the basket, why is this even the main point of comparison?

Smart is already a great defender, but is hugely disappointing on offense so far.

Exum has just been terrible at everything, hopefully he improves a lot.

[Pipp33]

Neither guy ever drives to the basket, why is this even the main point of comparison?

Smart is already a great defender, but is hugely disappointing on offense so far.

Exum has just been terrible at everything, hopefully he improves a lot.

Terrible at everything is a bit rough. What did you expect when you draft a kid out of HS in Australia and who is one of the youngest in the league.
I think Exum has shown some positive things at times on defense and some glimpses of things on offense. Is he where fans want him to be - no, not even close, but I do think he will improve to a minimum of a solid playere over time. I think he will have a good offseason and start to show more of what we were all looking for next season.

[HolyToledo12]

The greatest rookie class of alltime is not so great

[StocktonShorts]

The greatest rookie class of alltime is not so great

More than half of the top prospects have missed a ton of time to injuries.

But Wiggins is started to put together a really impressive season. The kid is going to be VERY good.

[HawaiianJazzFan]

Neither guy ever drives to the basket, why is this even the main point of comparison?

Smart is already a great defender, but is hugely disappointing on offense so far.

Exum has just been terrible at everything, hopefully he improves a lot.

No Burke has been terrible at everything. Exum is actually playing really good defense, especially in comparison to Trey and is pretty comparable to Smart. Exum opponents PER is 17.9 and Burke's is 19.4. The defense is 9 points better per 100 when Dante is on the floor than when he is off (w/ Burke the defense is 9 points worse when he is on the court). Smart's DRPM is -.28 which is pretty decent and Exum is -.35, which is also really good. Exum is raw but he has played above average defense. So if Smart is already a great defender than evidence suggests that Exum isn't far (if at all) behind him.

[russnumber3]

I've missed the last couple of games, but before that I was really liking Burke's game. He was making the whole, "Dante should be starting" argument look VERY silly. So needless to say, I'm a little surprised to still see someone saying Burke is bad at everything.

[Jazzfan12]

I've missed the last couple of games, but before that I was really liking Burke's game. He was making the whole, "Dante should be starting" argument look VERY silly. So needless to say, I'm a little surprised to still see someone saying Burke is bad at everything.

Burke just got benched for Dante literally five minutes after this post

[MHSL82]

What gets me about Exum or maybe it's this offense in general, but our offense doesn't have the PG take the ball up the court, I get that. It's a bunch of short drives and pass - pass out or pass horizontally before the O is set. Exum runs away to the perimeter where two other players handle the ball on top of the key. It's like how I play, I run away from the ball like I'm scared of the ball and then hope to get it to spot up shoot. I'm also inconsistent to whether the ball is close or not to the basket (NBA players are inconsistent to whether the ball makes the basket).

Then, when he shoots, he runs back to defend - which is fine and probably what he's told to do, but when so many of his shots are corner threes, the ball has come back to his area often enough and he's gone. Again, like he's allergic to the ball. People have already noted the drive three feet inside of the perimeter just to pass it back out - this is fine, except it doesn't seem to often be to anyone else besides someone who then swings it to someone else. The drive will be encouraged and defined. He'll grow some guts to keep driving, I know he's said that coaches have told him to trust it.

Then, when the ball is rebounded, he runs down to his corner. I've actually seen two things - a player turning to outlet it to him and he's not looking or where the player actively decides to outlet it to someone who's in a worse position to take the ball up the court (defended or further away from the halfcourt). I realize I don't know the outlet assignments or the plays called, so it's not me vs. Exum. I just haven't noticed these trends as much with Burke - experience or game (or both) or assignments are different for Burke v. Exum?

My point? My dad was talking about how it's like we're playing with no point guard.

[KqWIN]

The greatest rookie class of alltime is not so great

I don't think we'll ever see great rookie classes again unless the age requirement is moved up. There's just so much more talent in the NBA now with all of the international players. Players are coming in younger, but the talent in the NBA is at an all time high.

[Winglish]

My dad was talking about how it's like we're playing with no point guard.

His name is Gordon Hayward. He does everything for the Jazz.

[stitches]

According to some insiders(Locke) the reason Dante started the game was because Quin was not happy with the tempo Burke was establishing - he wants the PG to push right after he gets the ball and if forward pass is possible for the PG to make it. He also wants the PG to attack at the 45 angle. Trey does nothing of those... he uses too much time to initiate the offense, doesn't push it on the break and doesn't pass ahead. If you have the chance to look at the first quarter of the game, just take a mental note of the way Dante played... don't look at the result(he had couple of TOs), but look at the things he did at the very beginning of the game. I know a lot of people don't like Locke, but this time I think he's onto something. Dante made absolutely every pass ahead that was available and in the first 4 minutes of the game attacked 5 times at the 45(turned it over twice, but still)...

If that's been a focus for Quin for for the whole season and Trey doesn't seem to be able or willing to do it, I can understand why he'd choose to make the change at this point...

[JazzMatt13]

Considering Exum is 19, and this season is more like his first year in college, I think he has done enough. It is like Gobert, you knew with his size he had to be something great. Well Gobert is 22, not 19. As for Smart, we will see more of him soon, cause I think he is starting point guard for Celtics now.

[Doc Cherno]

Not breaking any new ground, but as impatient as I've also been to see Exum show off his skills, I really see the first year as a wash in 99% of the cases with young players (those with no college experience). The real test comes in the 2nd year to see what the curve is and project from there. Look at Gobert (or Kanter or Miles or Stevenson). He's still making young mistakes, but he's clearly much more of a player with a much clearer picture of how good he can be now. Once Exum's testes fully descend, the kid is going to be pretty special.

[Montanajazz]

Raoul Neto!!!!!

[MHSL82]

1. The Start of the Dante Exum Era?

With attention on Derrick Favors’ absence from the team for personal reasons, Quin Snyder snuck up on everyone and sprung Dante Exum’s first ever start over young starter incumbent, Trey Burke. His explanation: 1) hope that playing Exum minutes with the starters would free up the struggling rookie clearly lacking confidence in his ability to drive an offense; and 2) hope that a mightily struggling Trey Burke could get his game on from the pine and add some desperately needed scoring off the bench.

Burke contributed from the bench about what he was as a starter: 10 points on 11 shots, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. Nothing to write home about, but also a much more respectable line for a bench player getting 24 minutes rather than a starter getting 30+. Frankly, the 11 shots were possibly the key stat for a player with a painful .459 TS% on the season.

As for Exum, as has become the norm, it’s extremely difficult to know just how to feel after his second performance as a starter. Why?

He scored 15 point on 12 shots, every single one coming on his 5 made threes (on ten attempts). That 50% shooting from range from a prospect with questionable shooting is good.

His only two drives to the basket, both incredibly high percentage shots, he missed. Those misses, but more those attempts, from a physically gifted blur of a guard is not good.

He produced 5 assists, orchestrating the offense more frequently than seen in a long time. That’s good.

He also frequently looked overwhelmed when the Bucks applied their predatory pressure, turning the ball over (3 times) and stalling the offense while demonstrating little ability to escape the pressure. That’s bad.

A few times while switched on to much larger and stronger players, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Exum fronted the post with such determination the Bucks never managed an entry pass. That’s good.

At times when asked to chase speedy Brandon Knight off screens, he looked both unaware of where to go and managed to smack into a screen and stick to it tenaciously. That’s bad.

In short, Exum deepened the impression he believes he’s a 3 and D player in the league, which isn’t the path that leads anywhere near his exciting ceiling. He contributed but with a formula that makes it hard to project just what value he may add to the team going forward.

http://saltcityhoops.com/the-triple-tea ... cks-12215/

[zimpy27]

1. The Start of the Dante Exum Era?

With attention on Derrick Favors’ absence from the team for personal reasons, Quin Snyder snuck up on everyone and sprung Dante Exum’s first ever start over young starter incumbent, Trey Burke. His explanation: 1) hope that playing Exum minutes with the starters would free up the struggling rookie clearly lacking confidence in his ability to drive an offense; and 2) hope that a mightily struggling Trey Burke could get his game on from the pine and add some desperately needed scoring off the bench.

Burke contributed from the bench about what he was as a starter: 10 points on 11 shots, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 turnovers. Nothing to write home about, but also a much more respectable line for a bench player getting 24 minutes rather than a starter getting 30+. Frankly, the 11 shots were possibly the key stat for a player with a painful .459 TS% on the season.

As for Exum, as has become the norm, it’s extremely difficult to know just how to feel after his second performance as a starter. Why?

He scored 15 point on 12 shots, every single one coming on his 5 made threes (on ten attempts). That 50% shooting from range from a prospect with questionable shooting is good.

His only two drives to the basket, both incredibly high percentage shots, he missed. Those misses, but more those attempts, from a physically gifted blur of a guard is not good.

He produced 5 assists, orchestrating the offense more frequently than seen in a long time. That’s good.

He also frequently looked overwhelmed when the Bucks applied their predatory pressure, turning the ball over (3 times) and stalling the offense while demonstrating little ability to escape the pressure. That’s bad.

A few times while switched on to much larger and stronger players, such as Giannis Antetokounmpo, Exum fronted the post with such determination the Bucks never managed an entry pass. That’s good.

At times when asked to chase speedy Brandon Knight off screens, he looked both unaware of where to go and managed to smack into a screen and stick to it tenaciously. That’s bad.

In short, Exum deepened the impression he believes he’s a 3 and D player in the league, which isn’t the path that leads anywhere near his exciting ceiling. He contributed but with a formula that makes it hard to project just what value he may add to the team going forward.

http://saltcityhoops.com/the-triple-tea ... cks-12215/

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_pqnsKWlpc[/youtube]

[TommyPointGawd]

Celtics fan here. I was very impressed with Exum's defense. He is very quick and aggressive. I think he can be a really good player in a few years. To me he has a much further way to go than Smart.

I love advanced stats(green font). But defensively Smart is in his own class. He is asked to guard PGs SGs and SFs. Also Smart just recently got a little of his burst back since his high ankle sprain. Right now I think Smart is the better player. He truly makes the Celtics better when he is on the court. I don't think you can say that about Exum just yet.

[KDBG]

Celtics fan here. I was very impressed with Exum's defense. He is very quick and aggressive. I think he can be a really good player in a few years. To me he has a much further way to go than Smart.

I love advanced stats(green font). But defensively Smart is in his own class. He is asked to guard PGs SGs and SFs. Also Smart just recently got a little of his burst back since his high ankle sprain. Right now I think Smart is the better player. He truly makes the Celtics better when he is on the court. I don't think you can say that about Exum just yet.

I agree with all of this. With Smart, you can kind of gauge where his floor (defensive specialist) and ceiling (top 10 point guard) are. With Exum, he's the epitome of a "boom or bust" pick. He's still so raw, and such a mystery that it's almost impossible to predict what kind of player he's going to end up as 5 to 10 years from now. Both Smart and Exum have the chance to be top tier talents at the point guard position, but Smart is just more polished at this point. He's certainly the better player right now.

[dautjazz]

Celtics fan here. I was very impressed with Exum's defense. He is very quick and aggressive. I think he can be a really good player in a few years. To me he has a much further way to go than Smart.

I love advanced stats(green font). But defensively Smart is in his own class. He is asked to guard PGs SGs and SFs. Also Smart just recently got a little of his burst back since his high ankle sprain. Right now I think Smart is the better player. He truly makes the Celtics better when he is on the court. I don't think you can say that about Exum just yet.

Exum was really a no show offensively last night, but of late he's been far more aggressive and playing better. Either way, both guards are very young, traditionally these kids would be in college further developing their game. They'll both be very good in the future.