Why Marcus Smart should start at SG

[humblebum]

Rondo was an elite shot maker as a rookie of course. Came in scoring buckets in bunches in preseason and never looked back.

[BfB]

He's playing like he's Derek Fisher - a defensive specialist who moves the ball and shoots 3's and only drives when the lane is wide open. Only he's not shooting anywhere near as well as Fish.

And you know, it's extremely disappointing that Marcus has not been shooting the trey well, because he has been in the league for many years now and is coming up on what 20 years old and you would think he would have become the next Ray Allen by now.

I always liked Derek Fisher's game and if Marcus were to develop into a rich man's Derek Fisher, it wouldn't bother me.

I hate to break it to you, but Marcus is never going to be a great shooter - just like vastly more talented players like Westbrook and Derek Rose will never be either. Ray Allen was an awesome shooter at age 16. Marcus could be adequate in 5 years - but he'll never be a guy that a defender sticks to like glue running over picks out of fear he gets 1 extra inch to get a shot off like 2008 Ray. And that is why it is so depressing that he has none of the elite basket making ability of other non-shooting PGs like Westbrook and Rose or Rondo.

You don't have remotely enough data to make that assertion and your adamacy is digging a hole that will completely discredit your capacity for critical analysis in future arguments. You want to be lumped with the yahoos on this board?

You are better than this man. Don't deal in absolutes 5 games into a players career when all player development models indicate a 3 to 5 year sample before a player reaches his peak developmentally.

[RondoToKG]

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[ConstableGeneva]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/scott_souza/status/525106446971965440[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/scott_souza/status/525106972300156929[/tweet]
Good news for some people on here. 16 points on 8 shots in a half with the right mix of drives and jumpers. Add in 4 assists, 2 steals, and his typical aggressive defense. Not bad, rook.

[LarryBirdsFingr]

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Poison pill of our theoretical locker room.

[sully00]

He's playing like he's Derek Fisher - a defensive specialist who moves the ball and shoots 3's and only drives when the lane is wide open. Only he's not shooting anywhere near as well as Fish.

And you know, it's extremely disappointing that Marcus has not been shooting the trey well, because he has been in the league for many years now and is coming up on what 20 years old and you would think he would have become the next Ray Allen by now.

I always liked Derek Fisher's game and if Marcus were to develop into a rich man's Derek Fisher, it wouldn't bother me.

I hate to break it to you, but Marcus is never going to be a great shooter - just like vastly more talented players like Westbrook and Derek Rose will never be either. Ray Allen was an awesome shooter at age 16. Marcus could be adequate in 5 years - but he'll never be a guy that a defender sticks to like glue running over picks out of fear he gets 1 extra inch to get a shot off like 2008 Ray. And that is why it is so depressing that he has none of the elite basket making ability of other non-shooting PGs like Westbrook and Rose or Rondo.

I get the concern that he won't be Westbrook or Rose but he will score twice as many points as Rondo did his rookie year. He is so much more talented than you seem to want to admit that your going to be like a kid on Xmass when it happens.

[ConstableGeneva]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JwKFoBMMRo[/youtube]

[soxfan2003]

I actually agree with at least a little of what sam_I_am is saying but just don't agree with the conclusions. Smart will probably never be a great/near great shooter that hits a bunch of contested shots with hand in his face like a Ray Allen or even Paul Pierce but I thought and still think he was worthy of the 6th pick in the draft when his upside is probably more like a "good to very good" shooter on wide open 3 point shots.

At least one person has made the Fisher comparison. And Fisher may be Smart's absolute upside as a perimeter shooter. But add in the ability to dribble/attack the rim better and play even better defense than Fisher and you actually have a real top notch PG. Granted he was never a key cog but Fisher does have a lot of championships!

This whole notion that Smart has to be a flashy 20 PPG scorer to be very effective is misguided. A significantly better version of Fisher would be fine by me.

I'm perfectly happy if in a few years Smart scores and efficient 16/17 PPG as a PG, can hit 3's and play great defense. And doesn't force stupid turnovers.

I've been pleased with Smart's demeanor so far. I was scared that he may try to do too much and while he will obviously have rookie growing pains he has somewhat alleviated my concerns about him shooting too much like an Antoine Walker.

[bbd24]

I actually agree with at least a little of what sam_I_am is saying but just don't agree with the conclusions. Smart will probably never be a great/near great shooter that hits a bunch of contested shots with hand in his face like a Ray Allen or even Paul Pierce but I thought and still think he was worthy of the 6th pick in the draft when his upside is probably more like a "good to very good" shooter on wide open 3 point shots.

At least one person has made the Fisher comparison. And Fisher may be Smart's absolute upside as a perimeter shooter. But add in the ability to dribble/attack the rim better and play even better defense than Fisher and you actually have a real top notch PG. Granted he was never a key cog but Fisher does have a lot of championships!

This whole notion that Smart has to be a flashy 20 PPG scorer to be very effective is misguided. A significantly better version of Fisher would be fine by me.

I'm perfectly happy if in a few years Smart scores and efficient 16/17 PPG as a PG, can hit 3's and play great defense. And doesn't force stupid turnovers.

I've been pleased with Smart's demeanor so far. I was scared that he may try to do too much and while he will obviously have rookie growing pains he has somewhat alleviated my concerns about him shooting too much like an Antoine Walker.

I think I'm on board with this as well. The main problem with the SamIAm posts are when he's already putting a ceiling on Smart. Telling a 20 year old he'll never be this or will never do that, is pretty outlandish at this point in his career.

He's going to work on his shot, no doubt. I'd rather him key in on shot selection though. That's more important right now. For him and the team.

One thing is for certain, no opposing PG is going to look forward to having #36 in their grills night in and night out. This is going to loom large for him and the team whether he shoots well from the outside or not.

I've never seen a rookie bullying through screens, jumping passing lanes, and locking up like Smart has done so far in the preseason. Tony Allen was close, but not this good this early. Smart can be a steals machine and All Defensive 1st team as a 20 year old. A lot will depend on the time he gets on the floor, but still, the talent is there.

[realfung]

Well done and I hope Smart can be the SG you mentioned.
Smart will be a stud in this league for years.

[ConstableGeneva]

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

[bbd24]

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

That's a 20 yr old ! Who looks like he's been in the league already for 4-5 years. Both in his play & his nba ready body.

Going to be fun watching this kid develop. Can't imagine his game when he hits 25.

[ConstableGeneva]

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

That's a 20 yr old ! Who looks like he's been in the league already for 4-5 years. Both in his play & his nba ready body.

Going to be fun watching this kid develop. Can't imagine his game when he hits 25.

If he keeps healthy, he'll be in this league (hopefully on this team) for a very long time for his defense alone. When he figures out how to maximize his strengths on offense and if he works on his shooting/handling, he could turn into an all-star and a key cog on a contender.

He has that competitive fire and desire to be great. You can just see it in his demeanor and body language. And he seems grounded and humble enough to acknowledge he has ways to go to improve his game. Having a very positive-oriented coach in Brad, an all-star PG as a mentor, and the support of the organization would also help a lot in his development.

[GuyClinch]

Smart has earned the backup PG slot I think..especially with that final performance. he has to stay strong because Turner is a good guy to put in that slot as well.. We have a pretty big minute crunch in the backcourt with Rondo, Bradley, Turner and Thorton..

[Fencer reregistered]

NL41 got banned?

A glorious day for the Celtics RealGM forum.

Good riddance. NL41 had the sort of shrill anger that hijacks many threads, and does so with quite nasty overtones.

It is possible -- or even easy -- to be pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli, yet not antisemitic. (Indeed -- which is a bit awkward -- that characterizes the people closest to me.) But NL41 didn't pull it off. He may not even have tried.

[Fencer reregistered]

As for the thread title:

I think Smart gets the backup PG role handed to him because of draft position, because he more or less deserves it on merit, and perhaps also because Stevens will want to create a culture of consistently aggressive defensive guard play.

For SG time, however, there will be a many-way dogfight. Bradley will get a big chunk of it; contenders for the rest include Smart, Thornton, Young (eventually), Turner, and Green.

[ballup]

NL41 got banned?

A glorious day for the Celtics RealGM forum.

Poison pill of our theoretical locker room.

Nah, he was a rook with unguarenteed years in his contract. Hr never got that extension or at least a qualifying offer

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

NL41 got banned?

A glorious day for the Celtics RealGM forum.

Poison pill of our theoretical locker room.

Nah, he was a rook with unguarenteed years in his contract. Hr never got that extension or at least a qualifying offer

I actually liked some of his posts. He showed conviction with some of his beliefs but I always found it bizarre how he would quote himself and just run off like 3-4 posts in a row without retort. I don't really take offense to many people on real gm ever. The only time someone ever got under my skin was a butt hurt ass hole from the Knicks board and the lakers board

[sam_I_am]

And you know, it's extremely disappointing that Marcus has not been shooting the trey well, because he has been in the league for many years now and is coming up on what 20 years old and you would think he would have become the next Ray Allen by now.

I always liked Derek Fisher's game and if Marcus were to develop into a rich man's Derek Fisher, it wouldn't bother me.

I hate to break it to you, but Marcus is never going to be a great shooter - just like vastly more talented players like Westbrook and Derek Rose will never be either. Ray Allen was an awesome shooter at age 16. Marcus could be adequate in 5 years - but he'll never be a guy that a defender sticks to like glue running over picks out of fear he gets 1 extra inch to get a shot off like 2008 Ray. And that is why it is so depressing that he has none of the elite basket making ability of other non-shooting PGs like Westbrook and Rose or Rondo.

I get the concern that he won't be Westbrook or Rose but he will score twice as many points as Rondo did his rookie year. He is so much more talented than you seem to want to admit that your going to be like a kid on Xmass when it happens.

I agree he is talented and I love his defense - best I've ever seen a rookie play and better than Avery in his second year. As far as his ability to score, it will all come down to post play and drawing fouls which he is very good at. In terms of BFBs point about absolutes, I agree with the sentiment but I feel 100% confident that Smart will never be the kind of outside shooter that instills fear into opposition that Ray Allen and Eddie House were for the Celtics. And therefore, seeing him depend entirely on the outside shot for 12 games is a big red flag. Last 5 preseason games he is 36% from field and 28% from 3 - and that is throwing out his 6-24 shooting in first 3 preseason games. I see a jump shot that is well coached and solid but off target and that of a clanger. Just watch Young's 2-8 to see the difference with a natural shooter and scorer. Last Nets game was better but the competition was heavily watered down. Still, I have eyes and I have not seen the talent to beat NBA defenders off the dribble or the lift to finish at the rim. If the refs don't call a foul, I don't see him scoring very much off drives.

As far as your point about Rondo (throwing out rookie year when they didn't play him), I will be shocked if Smart scores more points than Rondo without taking a lot more shots. Rondo played with 3 hall of Famers and had the ability to get all 3 plenty of looks and to make layups when everybody knew he didn't want to shoot. Lots of people complain about his 13 ppg on 10 shots but that could be 20 ppg if he took 18 shots like his peers ( Westbrook, Rose, DWill etc.) do. I personally think it is better for team and for his longevity to continue to pass first and save the heroics for playoffs because he is too skinny to last an 82 game season (unlike Smart) carrying the load as a scorer.

Anyway, Smart is a basketball player and he contributes in a positive way even if he is ugly offensively. I can root for that. I just think a #6 pick in a deep draft has a lot to live up to to make me dance like a kid on Xmas. Pierce, Al Jefferson and Rondo come to mind as guys drafted lower that got me a lot more excited when I saw them play in preseason. You could add Kelly O and Sully to that list too even if their rookie seasons didn't live up to the expectations.

[Slartibartfast]

And you know, it's extremely disappointing that Marcus has not been shooting the trey well, because he has been in the league for many years now and is coming up on what 20 years old and you would think he would have become the next Ray Allen by now.

I always liked Derek Fisher's game and if Marcus were to develop into a rich man's Derek Fisher, it wouldn't bother me.

I hate to break it to you, but Marcus is never going to be a great shooter - just like vastly more talented players like Westbrook and Derek Rose will never be either. Ray Allen was an awesome shooter at age 16. Marcus could be adequate in 5 years - but he'll never be a guy that a defender sticks to like glue running over picks out of fear he gets 1 extra inch to get a shot off like 2008 Ray. And that is why it is so depressing that he has none of the elite basket making ability of other non-shooting PGs like Westbrook and Rose or Rondo.

I get the concern that he won't be Westbrook or Rose but he will score twice as many points as Rondo did his rookie year. He is so much more talented than you seem to want to admit that your going to be like a kid on Xmass when it happens.

I think sam is too bearish on Smart, but you really think Smart's going to put up 12ppg this season? He didn't even get there on a per 36 basis in preseason against some of the weakest defenses in the league.