Marcus Smart

[OFWGKTA]

Where does the 18 shots a game come from? He's 12.5 points on 12.0 shots, that isn't great but certainly isn't 12.5 on 18+.

I am including his 3PA.

?? That does include the 3 point shots. Most stats sites do not separate 2s and 3s other than basketball reference. He takes 6.3 2s and 5.7 3s. Even Thomas doesn't really take 18 shots a game heh.

Makes sense that some Smart haters don't even understand basic NBA box scores.


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[2Mas]

What Smart lacks in shooting and scoring, he more than makes up for with his spirit, defensive ability, passing and intangibles.

He's the glue that holds this team together which is remarkable for such a young player. He's our Iggy to the 2015 Warriors, our Kawhi to the 2014 Spurs. He doesn't have the prettiest game and he doesn't fill the stat sheet, but he contributes to every win in a big way.

If he develops a reliable three-point shot, which I still believe he can, it's not broken, he'll be really great.

I wouldn't consider myself a Smart hater. I think he's a very important piece to team. He's not the stud we were looking for at 6, but h's still good.

But I want Smart to be a 12-15ppg-5rpg-5apg. & I think he's more of a 2 guard. & I don't think it's unreasonable to want that from him.

My ONLYYY issue with Smart is his 3 point attempts. I like the FGA's, but hate the amount of 3FGA's.

Life if he takes 8 shots, he shouldn't be taking 6 3's. Esp when he's 1-6. That's really my only thing.

half your shots shouldn't be 3"s when your shooting 30ish%. Get to the FT line & with the rest of his balance game, he'll be awesome.

[Homerclease]

Smart has shown some improvement from beyond the arc thus far, this last game three of his attempts were shot clock beating Hail Marys. He has a ways to go still but I think the improvement is there thus far in a small sample size

[KumaJG]

Where does the 18 shots a game come from? He's 12.5 points on 12.0 shots, that isn't great but certainly isn't 12.5 on 18+.

I am including his 3PA.

?? That does include the 3 point shots. Most stats sites do not separate 2s and 3s other than basketball reference. He takes 6.3 2s and 5.7 3s. Even Thomas doesn't really take 18 shots a game heh.

Oops misread the stat on basketball reference.

I am including his 3PA.

?? That does include the 3 point shots. Most stats sites do not separate 2s and 3s other than basketball reference. He takes 6.3 2s and 5.7 3s. Even Thomas doesn't really take 18 shots a game heh.

Makes sense that some Smart haters don't even understand basic NBA box scores.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

No one is hating on Smart. Just want CONSISTENCY. Simple

[Dannyboy36]

I'm not a smart lover or hater. I do hate how the Boston media hyped him up as the heir to rondo when there is hardly anything comparable in their games.
Smart dinply doesn't have the quickness, ball handling or bbiq that rondo had in his prime.
Even the announcers bite their tongue when smart takes a bad hero shot of makes a terrible play. Everyone makes bad plays. No biggie, but I missed the end of the game last night and when I heard "they gave the ball away", "the Celtics gave the ball away late" and didn't say who I figured it must have been Smart.
I had to laugh when I saw the horrendous play. We had a timeout too. Ugh.
I just wish people could se him for what he is. Both the smart and Stevens hype trains are out of control. Both good. Both extremely overrated.

[chakdaddy]

I don't think he'll ever be reliable from 3, but those pull up 2s looked good.

[mike d]

I would say Marcus is very similar to Rondo. Even their personalities seem similar. They both only play their a games for nationally televised games. Just like we saw with Golden State a couple days ago and also in the playoffs last year. Their skill sets on the court however , are complete opposites. Rondo was a very gifted offense of player. Occasionally he would make a good defensive play . With smart he always plays good defense if not great. And then sometimes gets hot on offense although rarely. Rajon Rondo was a magician with his crafty passing and Marcus Smart is very clever with his flopping . I would even go as far as to say other players on the team do not like him very much . But that's just the vibe I get.

[ConstableGeneva]

Marcus Smart's words spark Celtics comeback victory

“Smart kind of went at us at the end of the third quarter, and that woke us up — basically saying all the right stuff, that we weren’t playing like we need to be playing,” Isaiah Thomas said. “That kind of turned the switch.”

“They were just playing harder than us the whole game before that fourth quarter, and Smart in the timeout came out and he called the whole team out,” Jerebko said. “We had to come out and just play harder than them. We kept moving the ball, kept playing together, getting stops, just kept going for loose balls, and good stuff happened.”

“Everybody was (ticked) off at how we were playing the whole game,” Smart said. “We were getting, as we like to call it, punked, and everybody had something to say about it, and we had to change it. Everybody agreed with everybody that we weren’t playing to the caliber that we usually play at.”

[sully00]

What Smart lacks in shooting and scoring, he more than makes up for with his spirit, defensive ability, passing and intangibles.

He's the glue that holds this team together which is remarkable for such a young player. He's our Iggy to the 2015 Warriors, our Kawhi to the 2014 Spurs. He doesn't have the prettiest game and he doesn't fill the stat sheet, but he contributes to every win in a big way.

If he develops a reliable three-point shot, which I still believe he can, it's not broken, he'll be really great.

I wouldn't consider myself a Smart hater. I think he's a very important piece to team. He's not the stud we were looking for at 6, but h's still good.

But I want Smart to be a 12-15ppg-5rpg-5apg. & I think he's more of a 2 guard. & I don't think it's unreasonable to want that from him.

My ONLYYY issue with Smart is his 3 point attempts. I like the FGA's, but hate the amount of 3FGA's.

Life if he takes 8 shots, he shouldn't be taking 6 3's. Esp when he's 1-6. That's really my only thing.

half your shots shouldn't be 3"s when your shooting 30ish%. Get to the FT line & with the rest of his balance game, he'll be awesome.

But math says his 3's make sense shooting 33% from 3 is essentially the same as shooting 50% from the field Smart is at 32%. It isn't the 5 3's a game that are the problem I think he needs to shoot more period 10 shots is probably not that far off but way too many games when he doesn't get 10 shots up and way too many of his shots are bail out at the end of the clock and not him being aggressive offensively.

[return2glory]

Both the smart and Stevens hype trains are out of control. Both good. Both extremely overrated.

Stevens overrated? Stevens is a basketball genius. Pop even said last season he watches film of Stevens' coaching to get pointers.

The Celtics had no business winning 48 games last season. That happened mainly because of Stevens.

[Djh7475]

Apparently a lot of people haven't noticed that Smart's FG% and 3 point % this year has been impacted substantially from end of shot clock and end of quarter heaves. It seems like I can count around 2-3 every game, and he makes them on extremely rare occasions. For a guy that takes 10 shots a game, starting most games with 2+ misses (most from 3) is hard to overcome with a small sample size. Maybe I'm going easy on him, but most guys refuse to take those shots because of the statistical implications and he never hesitates.

He is also playing out of position by 2 slots as a "3 and D" SF a ton of the time he is on the floor. He's still miscast as an off-ball spot up shooter (I'm hoping Crowder being back will alleviate that issue since Smart should see fewer minutes next to 2 other guards). I've been extremely happy with how Smart has developed as a shooter, ball handler, and playmaker. The fact that he makes game changing hustle plays often enough for fans to take it for granted while wreaking havoc defensively and causing turnovers in a wide assortment of ways makes him a guy I desperately want around when the Celtics find their final piece of the puzzle.

If you take away the end of quarter/shotclock heaves alone, the kid is shooting the lights out. Its a small sample size, but on regular shots, his shooting splits would be great to the point that most would be talking about how he's blossoming into a star. I wish there was a stat website that kept track of that sort of thing because it has been extremely noticeable to me.

[2Mas]

Apparently a lot of people haven't noticed that Smart's FG% and 3 point % this year has been impacted substantially from end of shot clock and end of quarter heaves. It seems like I can count around 2-3 every game, and he makes them on extremely rare occasions. For a guy that takes 10 shots a game, starting most games with 2+ misses (most from 3) is hard to overcome with a small sample size. Maybe I'm going easy on him, but most guys refuse to take those shots because of the statistical implications and he never hesitates.

He's having a career shooting year.

36-33-65%
35-25-78%
37-33-47%

Stop with the excuses. We know what kind of offensive player is. The 11-5-4 is a fine stat line, esp with great d.

He might up them a bit, but at this point 40-35-75 seems hopeful. & This is after his "hot start".

Look -- I like Smart, so don't think I'm a hater. I want him on the Celtics & does a bunch of stuff the box score don't see. BUT, his offense is doodoo.

[Djh7475]

Apparently a lot of people haven't noticed that Smart's FG% and 3 point % this year has been impacted substantially from end of shot clock and end of quarter heaves. It seems like I can count around 2-3 every game, and he makes them on extremely rare occasions. For a guy that takes 10 shots a game, starting most games with 2+ misses (most from 3) is hard to overcome with a small sample size. Maybe I'm going easy on him, but most guys refuse to take those shots because of the statistical implications and he never hesitates.

He's having a career shooting year.

36-33-65%
35-25-78%
37-33-47%

Stop with the excuses. We know what kind of offensive player is. The 11-5-4 is a fine stat line, esp with great d.

He might up them a bit, but at this point 40-35-75 seems hopeful. & This is after his "hot start".

Look -- I like Smart, so don't think I'm a hater. I want him on the Celtics & does a bunch of stuff the box score don't see. BUT, his offense is doodoo.

He's having a career shooting year despite almost 20-25% of his shot coming in the form of heaves late in the shotclock or at the end of the quarter. That doesn't change the fact that he's inconsistent, but it destroys his percentages (my math puts it around a 10% detriment to his FG% and it's even worse for his 3 point shot). To me, that suggest he's developing extremely well offensively without even considering the fact that he's always played really well when running as the lead PG and yet we use him as an off-ball spot up shooter.

I agree that having to make excuses for him isn't a great sign, but after watching every game, I think he will be one of the great contracts for this team whenever it comes time to resign him. His shooting splits and lack of assists as a PG (even though he doesn't play PG for the Celtics that much bc they have to find ways to get him in the floor) should make his next contract far more affordable than what his play and impact justifies.

[Bad-Thoma]

Smart is a beast. He doesn't need any excuses made for him because he is a valuable player even when he has an off shooting night, and he is starting to show progress on shot selection and his percentages, handle, and passing. It'll come with time, if he can stay healthy I think he'll be similar to Avery in that he will improve each year for a while, he works hard. Either way, what he does is defend multiple positions at a high level and he makes winning plays, be it snowplowing a pf under the rim for a rebound on a missed free throw or flying in for an attempted put back in a close game, etc. He has no fear of the moment whatsoever, because he's a god damned pitbull terrier. He might never make an all-star game because it largely rewards offense but he sure as hell will be a huge cog in the machine when this team reaches contender status.

[Gomes3PC]

He's the same guy he's been throughout his career. 46% TS vs. 47% on career. 12% rebound rate vs. 11% career. 16% assist rate, same as career. 15% turnover rate vs. 13% for career. Per-36 of 12/5/4 with 1.5 steals vs. 11/5/4 with 1.9 steals. He still can't beat his man off the bounce, and he still isn't a PG.

There's been no discernible improvement. That's just the reality. He's a nice player but I'm seeing nothing suggesting he's on the cusp of becoming more than a hustle-and-effort bench guy. Guys who can't attack the rim, shoot, or be a true PG cannot be starters.

[ConstableGeneva]

Watch on YouTube

[mrscruff]

Spoiler:

Watch on YouTube

Nice variety of passes in those clips. Love the pass to Zeller. His court vision is started to show.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

I'm not one to exagerate. Smart had his Magic Johnson on last night. He showed me something last night outside of his hustle n toughness.

[TommyPointGawd]

He's the same guy he's been throughout his career. 46% TS vs. 47% on career. 12% rebound rate vs. 11% career. 16% assist rate, same as career. 15% turnover rate vs. 13% for career. Per-36 of 12/5/4 with 1.5 steals vs. 11/5/4 with 1.9 steals. He still can't beat his man off the bounce, and he still isn't a PG.

There's been no discernible improvement. That's just the reality. He's a nice player but I'm seeing nothing suggesting he's on the cusp of becoming more than a hustle-and-effort bench guy. Guys who can't attack the rim, shoot, or be a true PG cannot be starters.

If you can't see the the impact and improvements with your eyes I question your basketball acumen. He needs to start making some baskets though.

[peachbucket]

He's the same guy he's been throughout his career. 46% TS vs. 47% on career. 12% rebound rate vs. 11% career. 16% assist rate, same as career. 15% turnover rate vs. 13% for career. Per-36 of 12/5/4 with 1.5 steals vs. 11/5/4 with 1.9 steals. He still can't beat his man off the bounce, and he still isn't a PG.

There's been no discernible improvement. That's just the reality. He's a nice player but I'm seeing nothing suggesting he's on the cusp of becoming more than a hustle-and-effort bench guy. Guys who can't attack the rim, shoot, or be a true PG cannot be starters.

If you can't see the the impact and improvements with your eyes I question your basketball acumen. He needs to start making some baskets though.

I agree. He is already a starting caliber player with the intangibles...he is developing into a quality caliber starter with his offensive improvement.