Marcus Smart: "Jayson and Jaylen, they don't want to pass the ball"

[Lunartic]

Therein lies the problem. Fans complain about how these guys look too much for their own and it is leading to a poor chemistry and losing...so are they really too good to trade or would a change of personnel be warranted? So which is it? Are Tatum and Brown part of the problem?

Don't overvalued your assets. I'm not a Ben Simmons and I would hate him on the Raptors but for a team like the Celtics who have reliable 2 first scoring options...you can afford to deal one of them in exchange for the defence and playmaking that Simmons provides.

I understand your point - my issue is that trading someone of Brown's caliber should net you more than Simmons. Simmons isn't reliable in the playoffs and the Celtics have playoff dreams.

Trading away a solid defending, efficient scoring two-way player for someone significantly worse than him isn't a recipe for winning. Trading All-stars for non-stars isn't a good move. Talent > Fit

Any team that plays the C's in the playoffs would just ignore Simmons and double Tatum.


Brown is an all-star and should be packaged for a supertstar-tier player along with picks/Smart/whatever.

But Ben Simmons is also an all-star...multiple time all-star.

True - I suppose I don't consider him to be a star player whatsoever. He averages like 14/7/7 in the playoffs when he team needs scoring and he wasn't exactly shutting anyone down either. Trading for him would be a huge downgrade and the Celtics likely miss the playoffs.

[mtcan]

I understand your point - my issue is that trading someone of Brown's caliber should net you more than Simmons. Simmons isn't reliable in the playoffs and the Celtics have playoff dreams.

Trading away a solid defending, efficient scoring two-way player for someone significantly worse than him isn't a recipe for winning. Trading All-stars for non-stars isn't a good move. Talent > Fit

Any team that plays the C's in the playoffs would just ignore Simmons and double Tatum.


Brown is an all-star and should be packaged for a supertstar-tier player along with picks/Smart/whatever.

But Ben Simmons is also an all-star...multiple time all-star.

True - I suppose I don't consider him to be a star player whatsoever. He averages like 14/7/7 in the playoffs when he team needs scoring and he wasn't exactly shutting anyone down either. Trading for him would be a huge downgrade and the Celtics likely miss the playoffs.

I honestly agree as I don't love Simmons game on the offensive end for him being considered a star but people smarter than me seem to covet him regardless...so what do I know? I also didn't expect our rookie Scottie Barnes to be averaging 18 points so far...so what do us fans know?

[XblueworldX]

He finally had a descent shooting game and start talking lol. Keep this talk behind closed door.

Sent from my SM-G998W using RealGM mobile app

[Jadoogar]

he is shooting 25 percent

I thought he was there to help get stops

LOLOLOL he's shooting better from three than Tatum.

[ItsDanger]

You have to play as a team for passing to be effective. Some of the other guys on that team need to seriously look in the mirror. Just my observation from a game on the weekend. Criticism of J&J is easy, stating the other guys are trash seems to be the minority opinion. But that is their current reality. Wasted too many mid-late picks.

[ATLTimekeeper]

He either knows this will work and they'll respect him for it, or he's trying to just kickstart trade talks.

I'll repeat, one of the Jays has to put their jump shot down and get to the basket more. They can each get 30, but it's a Paul George 30. You want a Kawhi 30. It's not about passing or creating for others as much as it is dominating the opponent. They're both soft right now, in love with their footwork and stepbacks.

[Jcity08]

he's right but he also had 0 assists in 33 minutes tonight

Smart thinks he's Kobe Bryant in his prime but better in the worst possible way.

He's just a horrible team mate.

He doesn't give a **** about Tatum or Brown passing the ball, he just wants it so he can jack up more shots at at his blistering 25% on a mere 10 FGA per game.

He needs more in his mind, he's got more bricks setting records to set. (see the lowest 3 point % for anyone who's ever attemped more than a small amount of 3s, ect.).

It has always been one bad sign after another, from him and Tatum being the only players that liked Kyrie to him punching a fan in the stands in college, to him taking cheap shots in games of others players, to him throwing a hissy fit last playoffs and blaming everyone but himself and Jaylen Brown having to take the leadership position to tell him to STFU we need to actual play as a team it's the playoffs and there's not time for this, from him losing his temper and punching glass and injuring himself.

This is just yet another thing from Smart. The most ironically named player in the NBA.

I'll say this though, whenever he plays my team in the past, he always looked like prime Kobe. Like he was saving up his best performance whenever he faced us.

But yeah, it seems like he is just causing unneeded friction to litigate this complaint in the court of public opinion. If he has issues with how often he gets possession of the ball, going to the public to complain about it isnt the solution.

[Harry Garris]

Just like with Embiid, saying it in public is just not helpful to anyone

Well what is helpful, then? Jayson and Jaylen have had the same issue for like 3-4 straight seasons now. It's not a secret, everyone knows about it. If stating the obvious that everyone is thinking hurts feelings then your team chemistry was fragile and weak to begin with.

[Nate505]

He threw them under the bus! He threw them under the bus!!!!

Tatum and Brown should demand trades somewhere else. I mean, like think of their mental health and stuff.

[Mamba Mentality]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think Tatum has barely improved since his rookie season. He just takes more shots and most of them aren't within the flow of the offense. I've been calling him overrated for years now, and would still much rather build around Jaylen Brown.

[Johnny Tomala]

I'd have traded Brown long time ago for Butler. I view Brown as a 3rd option on contender, Tatum as 2nd option. You can't win a title with Tatum as your 1st and Brown as your 2nd option.

[celtics543]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think Tatum has barely improved since his rookie season. He just takes more shots and most of them aren't within the flow of the offense. I've been calling him overrated for years now, and would still much rather build around Jaylen Brown.

It's definitely an unpopular opinion but I actually agree with you. Tatum came in pretty polished and ready to go. He has average NBA athleticism, a decent handle, and his defense and rebounding is average (although it could be better if he tried harder on that end). His favorite shot is a midrange fadeaway jumper, the most inefficient shot in the game. He's a black hole offensively. Other Celtic fans will talk him up as a potential top 10 player but I just don't see it. He's Khris Middleton with better PR.

Jaylen Brown actually improved his game and I think he's a better overall player right now. But truth be told he doesn't play defense either.

[kg01]

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think Tatum has barely improved since his rookie season. He just takes more shots and most of them aren't within the flow of the offense. I've been calling him overrated for years now, and would still much rather build around Jaylen Brown.

I'm actually with you. Tatum is about the same player as he was as a rookie. Chalk it up to getting too much, too fast I guess. It's not easy to have that much team success early on but still come back hungry to improve.

I prefer Brown as well.

[Kobeskillz]

he's right but he also had 0 assists in 33 minutes tonight

I dropped him like a bad habit on my fantasy team sooo yeah he's one to talk.

[kenwood3333]

The Bulls simply defended better last night and Zach Lavine hit a lot of tough shots. If the Bulls lost, it would be the Bull's teamate criticizing Lavine not passing the ball.

[Lockdown504090]

But Ben Simmons is also an all-star...multiple time all-star.

True - I suppose I don't consider him to be a star player whatsoever. He averages like 14/7/7 in the playoffs when he team needs scoring and he wasn't exactly shutting anyone down either. Trading for him would be a huge downgrade and the Celtics likely miss the playoffs.

I honestly agree as I don't love Simmons game on the offensive end for him being considered a star but people smarter than me seem to covet him regardless...so what do I know? I also didn't expect our rookie Scottie Barnes to be averaging 18 points so far...so what do us fans know?

smart
jrich
tatum
ben
williams/Al

is strapping a lot of teams and having a very dangerous transition game. They could space the floor out extremely well for ben and tatums shot selection lends itself to having a guy that doesnt space the floor well since he likes to stop short of the basket a lot.

[BenoUdrihFTL]

This Celtics roster just has holes everywhere. You can't lose as many solid players as they have over recent years and still expect to compete at a high level. The Jays are scorers first and probably ideally suited as finishers rather than creators (similar to AD), but it wouldn't be nearly as big of an issue if Boston still had some combination of Hayward or Rozier or even Kemba to move the ball around

[Celts17Pride]

This Celtics roster just has holes everywhere. You can't lose as many solid players as they have over recent years and still expect to compete at a high level. The Jays are scorers first and probably ideally suited as finishers rather than creators (similar to AD), but it wouldn't be nearly as big of an issue if Boston still had some combination of Hayward or Rozier or even Kemba to move the ball around

Exactly. The Jays are not the issue even though both still need to grow and improve. Celtics have a very poor roster construction. They don't have the right type of players that compliment Tatum and Brown.

[Celts17Pride]

I'd have traded Brown long time ago for Butler. I view Brown as a 3rd option on contender, Tatum as 2nd option. You can't win a title with Tatum as your 1st and Brown as your 2nd option.

Complete nonsense.

[Woodsanity]

Both have been overrated for a long time.