Marcus Smart

[ConstableGeneva]

VERY small sample size, but with neither IT nor Rozier on the floor (43 minutes), Marcus Smart's true shooting % is 73.5%! (per nbawowy)

[jmr07019]

It's funny that regarding smart some think he needs GAME reps but it's not the same for Jaylen Brown for some of the same people. Instead they support Stevens benching of him. That doesn't jive to me.

Smart is a 3rd year guy who knows the offense and the defense, and most importantly can get it done on the defensive end of the floor. Jaylen, as much as I love him, is a rookie who has been getting some minutes but still looks lost on defensive rotations at times. I imagine his role will grow as the season progresses as his ability to take it to the rack fills a need in our offense and his one on one d has been alright, but it takes patience. Most of the other rookies that people were high on aren't playing big minutes other than Ingram out of necessity in LA but even playing big minutes he isn't producing all that much. For the 1st quarter of his rookie year for a guy Jalen's age the process is going just fine and he looks damned good, he just needs to know where to be and when before he starts racking up the minutes.

Agree with all of this and I'll add an offense like Brad's requires every guys to make reads and cut/move accordingly. This will take a little more time for a guy to get down than an offense heavy on isolation or basic PnR that does have off ball action or lots of player movement before the main PnR.

[Lester Freamon]

Marcus Smart... (Sigh) It's getting to be like ring toss at the carnival territory here with his shooting percentage. My issue is, he's got precedent for this percentage already and I can't delude myself into thinking this is a slump. This is Marcus. 27% 3pt percentage or something like that with 35% FG%. I'm really trying to hold onto hope here. I love him. But Jeeeeesus...

I don't think his percentages will ever increase very much: he has an awful jumper, he's to slow to beat ANYONE off the drible and the only ways he can efficiently score are through a mismatch, a backdoor cut or (maybe) a floater. I know he's a tough defender and all, but other than that he's just bad. Terry Rozier will be will be recognized as a better PG than Smart by the end of the season, mark my words.

[SmartWentCrazy]

You're right, I looked at his per 36 numbers. Sure if you think he has the potential to become a decent shooter and this is part of his development he should continue. Perhaps he's 217th in the league for field goal attempts, but he's in the top 50(!) in the league with 3PA per game. For players with at least 2 3PA per game he's 184 out of the 203 results in terms of percentage. Personally I do think it's ridiculous, especially since he's been doing it for 2 years now without any signs of improvement

He's also 22 years old, so I'm not all that worried about signs of improvement yet. With Marcus you've already got a guy that brings a lot to the table defensively, and as much as I hate the term "intangibly". He's shown improvement as a distributor. At 22, if you want him to be able to bring those tools to the table on a large minute load when we are actually in the conversation for a banner then you need to develop his offensive game to a respectable level as well. Not a star level, but enough that he is a net positive on that end of the floor, and he's not that far from at least being a wash offensively with his improved passing and solid screens, etc.

Really what this does is follow the typical pattern for Boston rookies perception on the board, before they get minutes people are clamoring for them to be on the floor and claiming they are the next big thing and making outlandish comparisons, i.e. Jalen and Mickey of recent memory, and even James Young as a rookie to a degree, but the guys that come in and can play right away like the Tony Allens, Avery Bradleys, and Marcus get thrown under the bus, and the reason they tend to get on the floor early is because they can play D at a serviceable level right off the bat. I don't mean you in particular Kolkmania, just in general. Marcus could very well end up on a similar trajectory as an Avery Bradley, but it hasn't been a short process and it wasn't always pretty. To make a long story short I think Brad is developing the youth on this team the right way while remaining pretty damned competitive, people need to be patient and think long term while enjoying the fact that we don't suck.

Well shooting 29.4% on nearly 600 attempts without any significant improvement is somewhat alarming to me. He had some issues with his finger which could explain his decrease in percentage from his rookie season, but he's not doing any better this year.

Not sure how the rest of your post is related to my response. I'm a big fan of Marcus Smart and his demeanor, I hope he stays on this team a long time. Just saying that someone has to stop Smart from shooting 5 three pointers per game. Avery Bradley was hard to watch offensively during his first years, but he was always a decent three point shooter and even then shot it at a much lower rate than Smart does.

It's that same % on damn near 1,000 attempts if you include college.

He's a terrible shooter. He needs to stop shooting. If it doesn't change, Stevens needs to sit him.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

It's funny that regarding smart some think he needs GAME reps but it's not the same for Jaylen Brown for some of the same people. Instead they support Stevens benching of him. That doesn't jive to me.

If your gonna bust out with the word 'jive' you best put in the word 'don't' prior to it.

[ConstableGeneva]

Watch on YouTube

Great floor game last night. Got to the paint at will to either dish to shooters or lay it in himself. Apart from a careless stretch, made the right plays in transition. Best "we don't need no Evan Turner" game this season except we didn't get the win. 11-9-6 and a team-high +11. I also didn't mind him taking the last shot to tie even though he could've probably shoveled it to Bradley to his left. Next step: Do it consistently even when coming off the bench.

[DoubleHappiness]

Nice highlights. Game is really slowing down for Marcus.

[Wes-J]

Nice highlights. Game is really slowing down for Marcus.

This. No sense overanalyzing..

People gonna hate, be impatient, come out the woodwork with their advanced metrics on his career shooting. smh

[TheOGJabroni]

It's pretty clear he just plays better when he's the actual PG

IT should start when he comes back but we need to mess with the rotation to allow IT and Marcus to play together but with IT off the ball like he did for those games in the playoffs with Turner starting.

Thomas (16) / Smart (32)
Bradley (32) / Thomas (16)
Crowder (16) / Brown/Rozier (32)
Horford (16) / Jerebko (16) / Crowder (16)
Johnson (16) / Olynyk (16) / Horford (16)

I know Rozier isn't actually a SF. Smart would defend the position but I want him running the offense WITH IT playing as well.

[Dannyboy36]

He's running point and not standing in the corner with the coach telling him to jack threes. Stevens is never upset with this, never yanks a historically bad shooter shooting 8 threes in a game.
He's finally forced to give Smart the ball with IT out. I'm done blaming smart. It's on Stevens. He's put him in the worst positions since coming into the league. I'm hoping this is a sign he's changing but I don't really believe it.
It's crystal clear smart is better as point than off ball especially in this offense.

[mdemers938]

I'm thrilled with how he is progressing. He's only 22. He has more playoff and veteran experience than most his class/age. Seems to have a "clutch gene" and has made visible improvements every year to his game.

His defense for his age is about as good as I've ever seen; individual and team. This dude will be a stud when hes 25-26.

[London2Boston]

I love the Marcus that is aggressive and drives regularly and relies on bully ball. The 3 point shooter...not so much. I put a lot of that on Stevens though as that is obviously what he's requiring from him.

[Asian Celtic]

If we're going with a young roster, i'd start with a core of Brown > Smart > Zizic > Rozier

[Bad-Thoma]

My other pet peeve with Smart haters is the term "historically bad shooter" that has become a catch phrase for them. He is 22, he hasn't had time to be historically anything yet.

[Stadium5]

My other pet peeve with Smart haters is the term "historically bad shooter" that has become a catch phrase for them. He is 22, he hasn't had time to be historically anything yet.

Yea Im holding out hope that he's just going to develop very slowly but effectively like Chauncey. He has intangibles worth keeping around, and definitely the physical stature that'll be useful in the backcourt. What kind of salary do you guys think he'll be offered when his contract is up by us and the rest of the league?

[2Mas]

Nice highlights. Game is really slowing down for Marcus.

This. No sense overanalyzing..

People gonna hate, be impatient, come out the woodwork with their advanced metrics on his career shooting. smh

Advanced metrics? Lol As in what?

Year 1 - 4 3fga's 34%
Year 2 - 4 3fga's 25%
Year 3- 5 3fga's 29%

Those aren't "advanced metrics". That's basic terms for some we call a non-shooter. Even other non shooters that are clearly above him.

Mo Harkless - 36%
Dennis Schroder - 36%
Jabari Parker - 35%
Dwayne Wade - 34%

& They all shoot 3 3's a game. THISSSS is the issue. I love what he brings on defense, good iq. Makes a ton of winnings plays. Seems like a great dude. I LIKE SMART. I'm not a hater. But, he NEEEEDS to stop chucking 5 3's a game if he's shooting 29%. Snake into the paint with a dude on your hip if you can't blow by the guy. He makes a ton of good passes. But the wasted possessions on chucked 3's kill me.

We've had guards who can't shoot before. Rondo. Tony Allen. So what'd they do. 1 passed cause he's a helluva passer. 1 defended cause he's a helluva defender.

Smart needs to take it down to 2 3's a game. if you hit your first or second, then go ahead for more, but when you're shooting the amount of JJ Reddick & making them at Emannuel Mudiay clip? There's an issue.

[Green89]

Even DWade for years didn't shoot the 3 much, even though this season and the state of the league has him taking them now. His game thrived without the 3 ball, and Smart's can to. More bull nosing to the basket and less 3s will tremendously push forward his advancement as a player. I think when he hits one or two in a game, he feels he can keep taking them, but he's got to take the higher percentage shot if it's also available. A lot of times he doesn't. Hot shooters keep shooting and he has to realize that when he drops 1 or 2, be thankful and call it a good shooting game before you go chucking more and dig the team into a hole at the wrong time.

It's not just Smart, but I swear this team loses leads and lets other teams go on big runs so many times off missed threes.

[Dannyboy36]

It's all on Stevens how many threes Smart shoots. If the coach has a problem with him taking 8 threes he has to discipline the player. If he doesn't get that direction than it's no fault of smart. It's just a terrible coaching strategy.

[VeryMuchWoke]

VERY small sample size, but with neither IT nor Rozier on the floor (43 minutes), Marcus Smart's true shooting % is 73.5%! (per nbawowy)

Up to 86 minutes, and still at 73.1% TS.

[Dannyboy36]

One thing I definitely disagree with is Marcus getting to the rim at will. I don't believe this has ever been the case during a game. I find it pleasantly very surprising when smart beats his man. I DO think he's way better at this than previous years and was stunted playing out of position, and into a role that had him using his worst skill- the 3.