Who is the better defender: Marcus Smart or Jrue Holiday?

[jbk1234]

You have to watch Smart night in and out to realize that a lot of his insane defensive highlight plays come at the heels of him doing something stupid on the other side of the floor.

Don't get me wrong. I love the guy and don't want to dismiss the power of being a junkyard dog to make up for natural size and talent. But Holiday is much more well rounded.

I do believe Smart will be a perfect fit in Memphis with that being said.

I think Smart is the better defender when he's giving up size, but he's a little top heavy against smaller, quicker guards. Also, it's harder for him to be as physical with those players because they move when bumps them. Jrue is better against smaller, quicker guards, but I saw some slippage there last season as well.

[Ben-N1ce]

No idea. Smart is probably more versatile but 100% baits and flops more.

[robbie84]

This isn’t even a debate to me. Jrue can actually contain multiple positions not to mention he is strong and doesn’t have to trick refs.

With all that said, I thought the Celtics losing Smart was big from a leadership standpoint as well as slightly on defense.

They just got a defender who is going to be way more effective. Stifling perimeter defense.

I love Jrue, but Marcus Smart guards forwards regularly, and guards them well. Both guys can effectively guard 1 through 4.

[GoldenAntlers]

Jrue. Pretty easily. Smart is a defensive cheeser.

[mariller]

Changing opinion in a player debate based on who plays on your team at the moment is hardly definition of "the truth" lol.

Except its sarcasm from him, but it actually is the truth for most of this board.

I thought the poster "mariller" meant that in response to "Profound" saying Celtics fans will "finally see the truth" and saying, are they finally seeing the truth or is it just now going to be them being biased to the guy on their team.

That I did, and maybe my detector is broken, but I did not dedect sarcasm in the original post.

[Theocy]

Smart is better defender Jrue is better player. Smart would be better in a team that doesnt need him to orchestrate probably. Or shoot a lot. Still he is capable of a 5 in Offence he might give u the occasional 8.

Jrue is older, won one, shoots better and probably orchestrates better. He wont go 1 on 1 with Giannis. Smart could do it sometimes and hold his own. Jrue is a 7 in offence but has had some putrid performances in playoffs before.

Both are good players, they can shine given the right team that put them in the right system.

[cl2117]

I think there are arguments to be made in favor of both guys, but I'd vote Smart.

Jrue is quicker, probably better on ball. Smart is bigger and can hold his own 1 through 5 better. Overall Smart is more disruptive and creates more havoc than Jrue, which ultimately gives him the edge on that end of the court. I think it somewhat comes down to him being more of a one-trick pony and having to hang his hat on that because he can't do what Jrue does on the other end.

Last year Smart's defense took a step back, which I attribute partly to him taking on the lead PG role and not being purely a defensive specialist. Now that he's in Memphis I think he bounces back because there won't be a need for him to split his focus as much.

[robbie84]

Jrue is the better player overall by a large margin, but Marcus Smart is the better defender- even if it isnt by too much. It's pretty close, but Marcus is the better defender by a bit. Jrue is the better overall player because his offense is light years above Marcus' offense.

[dans1230]

Smart takes alot of chances and when they work he looks like a defenisive machine, which shows up on highlight reels. The part most people dont see is the 75% of the time the risky move doesnt work and results in an easy bucket for the offensive player. For every charge he takes, 2 to 3 times he flops and doesnt get the whistle resulting in the team playing 4 on 5. Ive always felt Smart was better suited as a 6th man coming off the bench injecting the team with energy and hustle.
Jrue is the better overall defender and it isnt particularly close, but if theres a loose ball Smart will beat him to it every time.

[jasonxxx102]

Holiday by a country mile

[jasonxxx102]

Jrue is the better player overall by a large margin, but Marcus Smart is the better defender- even if it isnt by too much. It's pretty close, but Marcus is the better defender by a bit. Jrue is the better overall player because his offense is light years above Marcus' offense.

Half the league has said Jrue is the best defender in the league and I've never seen a single player say that about Smart.

[La Flame]

Smart can guard bigs - he shut down Millsap, Porzingis, Embiid, Cousins have had trouble scoring against him in postups.

Jrue is better at guarding fast pointguards.

Imo they're pretty much the same level of a defender, with different strengths

[Lalouie]

"help defender"??,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just helps
QED
that's why it's called HELP defender

[robbie84]

Jrue is the better player overall by a large margin, but Marcus Smart is the better defender- even if it isnt by too much. It's pretty close, but Marcus is the better defender by a bit. Jrue is the better overall player because his offense is light years above Marcus' offense.

Half the league has said Jrue is the best defender in the league and I've never seen a single player say that about Smart.

I've never, ever heard anyone say Jrue is the best defender in the league.

[jasonxxx102]

Jrue is the better player overall by a large margin, but Marcus Smart is the better defender- even if it isnt by too much. It's pretty close, but Marcus is the better defender by a bit. Jrue is the better overall player because his offense is light years above Marcus' offense.

Half the league has said Jrue is the best defender in the league and I've never seen a single player say that about Smart.

I've never, ever heard anyone say Jrue is the best defender in the league.

You could have literally taken 30 seconds on google before making this post

[chrisab123]

In full disclosure I had to remember which one of them is currently on my team before voting.

I appreciate the honesty. I have been debating with Celtics fans for years that Jrue is the better defender, now they will finally see the truth.

Some of our fanbase won't. The problem is that a lot of our fanbase is pissed about Porzingis because he cost "The Heart and Soul" of the team and Jrue will be looked at as the "Marcus replacement or Marcus 2.0". There are legitimately fans who believe that Marcus is a better player than Jaylen Brown. So I don't know what to tell you there. I'm not going to miss the 2 for 12 shooting nights from 3 point range and then having to work double time on defense to get the ball back that he just shot up from center court.

Anyways give me the borderline all star over the role player everyday of the week.

[Wooderson]

In full disclosure I had to remember which one of them is currently on my team before voting.

I appreciate the honesty. I have been debating with Celtics fans for years that Jrue is the better defender, now they will finally see the truth.

Some of our fanbase won't. The problem is that a lot of our fanbase is pissed about Porzingis because he cost "The Heart and Soul" of the team and Jrue will be looked at as the "Marcus replacement or Marcus 2.0". There are legitimately fans who believe that Marcus is a better player than Jaylen Brown. So I don't know what to tell you there. I'm not going to miss the 2 for 12 shooting nights from 3 point range and then having to work double time on defense to get the ball back that he just shot up from center court.

Anyways give me the borderline all star over the role player everyday of the week.

Don't look too closely at Jrue's shooting splits in the playoffs over the last 3 seasons....

Spoiler:

40% FG, 30% from 3 with some horrific shooting lines on big volume

[nate33]

Jrue is a better on ball defender and is better at fighting through screens. Smart is better in switches against bigs because he can't get backed down. Overall, I'd say Jrue is the better defender, but if you are running a switch-heavy scheme, I could see the argument for Smart.

With the Celtics acquiring Porzingis, they're going to have to play a lot more drop coverage, which means they'll want their guards to fight through screens on the pick and roll quickly. With that the case, I think Jrue is the better fit.

[robbie84]

Half the league has said Jrue is the best defender in the league and I've never seen a single player say that about Smart.

I've never, ever heard anyone say Jrue is the best defender in the league.

You could have literally taken 30 seconds on google before making this post

You probably meant best perimeter defender in the league (as what NBA players have said). Your original post said best defender in the league.

[BAMAFREAK]

Jrue is the better player overall by a large margin, but Marcus Smart is the better defender- even if it isnt by too much. It's pretty close, but Marcus is the better defender by a bit. Jrue is the better overall player because his offense is light years above Marcus' offense.

Half the league has said Jrue is the best defender in the league and I've never seen a single player say that about Smart.

Smart was DPOY just two years ago.