Marcus Smart

[bucknersrevenge]

I was in Brooklyn at the draft when we took him so I think I'll always root for this kid but really enjoying the groove he's starting to get into right now. His next step for me isn't even improving his shot (though I know he will). I want to see him spent all offseason working on his post and paint game. spin moves, floaters, short fadeaways, etc. I want to see him get as close to automatic down there as he can. Become more effective using his size and strength and finishing consistently in the paint. If he simply does that next, I could care less about the shooting.

[peachbucket]

Marcus has arrived. I was saying at beginning of season that Ainge made a mistake by picking him ahead of Randle...boy was I wrong.

[ConstableGeneva]

The Boston Celtics are 11-1 since Marcus Smart punched a hole through a wall of the locker room in Washington. True story.

[Drax]

I also said it a lot last year, one of the biggest flaws for the Celtics team was having Evan Turner. The dude just need the ball too damn much.

Smart may not be the most impactful on the offensive end. But his playmaking has always been there, it's just this year they are finally letting him do it consistently. There is no doubt in my mind that if we took the ball out of Turner's hands last year and let Smart do some play making the team would have beat the Hawks in round 1. Instead we relegated Smart to standing in the corner each possession on offense and making us play 4 on 5.

I hate to bandwagon, but this why i created the (in-)famous 'get Evan Turner out of town' thread two and a half years ago. People called me out, said ET was a 6th man of the year candidate and what not, but in reality our secondary playmaker was drafted before we signed Turner. Smart should have been handling the ball a long time ago, he could be far more advanced in his development if not for the irrational love fest for Turner.

The Cobra is on the rise, he's the heart and soul of this ball club.

[Asian Celtic]

I remember last season a lot of ppl in the board hated smart and would ship him in any deal because he "is a historically bad shooter". Now look what we got, his "bad" shooting can't even out the great defensive and hustle plays he does every game. Now he's starting to get branded as "untouchable". What a great year for the c's.

[FlatearthZorro]

I remember last season a lot of ppl in the board hated smart and would ship him in any deal because he "is a historically bad shooter". Now look what we got, his "bad" shooting can't even out the great defensive and hustle plays he does every game. Now he's starting to get branded as "untouchable". What a great year for the c's.

Ever since he became a starter even his shooting is much much better. He's shooting around .400(under but around) for the season as a starter it's much better. Maybe he can be a SG. I actually like him a lot as SG. There aren't many SGs who can outmuscle him and he can pass and defend 3 positions basically. @ the Bulls not wanting Smart, 3rd overall and Jae for Butler. I'm fine with where we're at. Don't want Butler, want a better big man rotation, which can happen as soon as next season.

[ParticleMan]

he's actually a really nice complement to IT since with smart you can hide IT a bit more defensively, and also smart can run the point and take some ballhandling pressure off IT which avery can't do so well.

[sam_I_am]

I also said it a lot last year, one of the biggest flaws for the Celtics team was having Evan Turner. The dude just need the ball too damn much.

Smart may not be the most impactful on the offensive end. But his playmaking has always been there, it's just this year they are finally letting him do it consistently. There is no doubt in my mind that if we took the ball out of Turner's hands last year and let Smart do some play making the team would have beat the Hawks in round 1. Instead we relegated Smart to standing in the corner each possession on offense and making us play 4 on 5.

I hate to bandwagon, but this why i created the (in-)famous 'get Evan Turner out of town' thread two and a half years ago. People called me out, said ET was a 6th man of the year candidate and what not, but in reality our secondary playmaker was drafted before we signed Turner. Smart should have been handling the ball a long time ago, he could be far more advanced in his development if not for the irrational love fest for Turner.

The Cobra is on the rise, he's the heart and soul of this ball club.

I disagree (not about Cobra line) for one reason. All the time Smart spent chucking 3s has made him a better player. He has developed his shot and that is still the most important thing he needs to do to keep pushing his game to higher levels.

Smart and KO are really playing well together. A great reason for KO's emergence has been Smart looking for him so much.

[TheOGJabroni]

he's actually a really nice complement to IT since with smart you can hide IT a bit more defensively, and also smart can run the point and take some ballhandling pressure off IT which avery can't do so well.

Yup, he's making Bradley more and more expendable. I'd love to keep all 3 but if push comes to shove, it's clear who needs to be moved in a deal for a star player.

[ConstableGeneva]

Read on Twitter

[Writebloc]

Anyone tracking data on Smart faux hawk vs Smart flat top? I know there was data on him braid vs non braids, but I think the flat top has really helped him shine. I think I've read on twitter somewhere he's been getting more calls even since he's gone with the more traditional flat top. Now we have two current Celtics whose performance is linked with hairstyles. Got to be a trend.

[liveod]

Make sure he keeps this haircut and never goes back to that floppy crap he had earlier this year.

[OBisHalJordan]

I started the season as a big Smart doubter. You can find some of my comments if you dig deep in this thread. His play has turned me around. I'm still not as high on him as some of his biggest supporters who think he is the next DJ, Billups, or Lowry but I think he's proven a lot this year.

That said, I still think one of him or Bradley needs to go out in trade to rebalance the roster. It doesn't necessary have to happen before the deadline but I think something needs to give before next seasons, especially if the BK pick ends up Top 2 or 3 and the team adds another guard. At the start of the season, I thought DA should trade him for Noel straight up and keep Bradley for the long term. Now, I'm starting to wonder whether Bradley should be the one to trade, since he require a bigger payday in his next contract.

In any case, I'm making this post to say I was wrong about Smart.

[Fidel Sarcasmo]

I've been very critical of his shooting. Still loved him. More like love/hate peppered with impatience. I'm cautiously optimistic about his shooting getting slightly better. I've been in the camp with lots of people who wish him to just get to 35% from 3 and he'll be a monster. But it's been going the other way for 2 years straight and this year was starting to look the same, but he's pulled together a nice stretch of offensive performances. Early on I was of the opinion he could grow into a Chauncey Billups type of roll, n then I soured on him with the Chauncey comparison cause his shooting was just going from bad to worse and so now, he's giving me reason to hope that he could become a Chauncey Billups type of player once again. Impatience is my enemy.

[24istheLAW]

I've been very critical of his shooting. Still loved him. More like love/hate peppered with impatience. I'm cautiously optimistic about his shooting getting slightly better. I've been in the camp with lots of people who wish him to just get to 35% from 3 and he'll be a monster. But it's been going the other way for 2 years straight and this year was starting to look the same, but he's pulled together a nice stretch of offensive performances. Early on I was of the opinion he could grow into a Chauncey Billups type of roll, n then I soured on him with the Chauncey comparison cause his shooting was just going from bad to worse and so now, he's giving me reason to hope that he could become a Chauncey Billups type of player once again. Impatience is my enemy.

Yeah, the trend was more discouraging than the numbers in isolation. Glad to see he's seemingly turned that around.

Ainge was complimentary of his shot selection on Toucher & Rich this morning. Emphasized that he's taking shots in rhythm and taking better shots.

[sam_I_am]

The Cobra is on the rise, he's the heart and soul of this ball club.

Where did this nickname come from? Seems like the Python makes more sense given his suffocating defense.

[soxfan2003]

I would trade Bradley before Smart. This is no knock against Bradley's historical contributions to the Celtics during regular season but Smart has stepped up in the playoffs and is significantly younger. Smart should be getting a little better on his next contract or staying the same while Bradley like most players his age will decline. And Bradley may cost more and be less willing to give a discount since he has been underpaid for a few years.

While I suspect league perception is changing, I also trade Bradley first since I believe he is closer to fair market value. In the ESPN rankings of players under 25, I thought Smart's ranking was the the most inappropriate of all. He deserved to be ranked above a lot of players and he wasn't. Even if you believe defense for a guard/wing is only 40-45% of the game, Smart does it so well that he deserves to be ranked higher.

[Drax]

The Cobra is on the rise, he's the heart and soul of this ball club.

Where did this nickname come from? Seems like the Python makes more sense given his suffocating defense.

[Wes-J]

I also said it a lot last year, one of the biggest flaws for the Celtics team was having Evan Turner. The dude just need the ball too damn much.

Smart may not be the most impactful on the offensive end. But his playmaking has always been there, it's just this year they are finally letting him do it consistently. There is no doubt in my mind that if we took the ball out of Turner's hands last year and let Smart do some play making the team would have beat the Hawks in round 1. Instead we relegated Smart to standing in the corner each possession on offense and making us play 4 on 5.

I hate to bandwagon, but this why i created the (in-)famous 'get Evan Turner out of town' thread two and a half years ago. People called me out, said ET was a 6th man of the year candidate and what not, but in reality our secondary playmaker was drafted before we signed Turner. Smart should have been handling the ball a long time ago, he could be far more advanced in his development if not for the irrational love fest for Turner.

The Cobra is on the rise, he's the heart and soul of this ball club.

SMH

Justifiably called out. ET proved time and again why he was valuable if WINNING is what's important, not appeasing the masses like you that want to see the RJ Hunters and James Youngs of the world not earn their time. Good thing you ain't running stuff.

No one here i remember advocated signing him long term for any significant chunk of change, you were just hating cause it was egg on your face for that lame ass thread of yours.

I find it quite ironic how you praise the likes of Smart and diminish the value of ET in the same breath.

[Drax]

Spoiler:

I also said it a lot last year, one of the biggest flaws for the Celtics team was having Evan Turner. The dude just need the ball too damn much.

Smart may not be the most impactful on the offensive end. But his playmaking has always been there, it's just this year they are finally letting him do it consistently. There is no doubt in my mind that if we took the ball out of Turner's hands last year and let Smart do some play making the team would have beat the Hawks in round 1. Instead we relegated Smart to standing in the corner each possession on offense and making us play 4 on 5.

I hate to bandwagon, but this why i created the (in-)famous 'get Evan Turner out of town' thread two and a half years ago. People called me out, said ET was a 6th man of the year candidate and what not, but in reality our secondary playmaker was drafted before we signed Turner. Smart should have been handling the ball a long time ago, he could be far more advanced in his development if not for the irrational love fest for Turner.

The Cobra is on the rise, he's the heart and soul of this ball club.

SMH

Justifiably called out. ET proved time and again why he was valuable if WINNING is what's important, not appeasing the masses like you that want to see the RJ Hunters and James Youngs of the world not earn their time. Good thing you ain't running stuff.

No one here i remember advocated signing him long term for any significant chunk of change, you were just hating cause it was egg on your face for that lame ass thread of yours.

I find it quite ironic how you praise the likes of Smart and diminish the value of ET in the same breath.

If you didn't have that Ohio state symbol under your name i'd argue for pages, weeks and months with you about this topic, but then again you have your opinion, i've got mine. Feel free to praise ET but i still wonder why Portland is worse this year despite keeping the core players and adding that 'winning' player in Turner.