Official Celtics 2022 Off-Season Thread

[Feed Your Head]

Good thing that he’s taking the least amount of shots per 36 of his career, then.

The people saying Marcus shoots the ball like he’s a great shooter are just making things up. Him taking wide open shots isn’t a problem, and eventually they’ll start falling more. He doesn’t turn the ball over much, he’s been a monster defender, and he’s gotten much better at playing like a real PG over the last 5ish games. Of course there was going to be an adjustment period with that, expecting otherwise isn’t being realistic.

[Fierce1]

Good thing that he’s taking the least amount of shots per 36 of his career, then.

The people saying Marcus shoots the ball like he’s a great shooter are just making things up. Him taking wide open shots isn’t a problem, and eventually they’ll start falling more. He doesn’t turn the ball over much, he’s been a monster defender, and he’s gotten much better at playing like a real PG over the last 5ish games. Of course there was going to be an adjustment period with that, expecting otherwise isn’t being realistic.

Yes, it's good he's taking the least amount of shots.

But it's the timing of the shots he takes.

Like in the Cleveland game, why did he take that step back jumper when it was an ill-advised shot?

Against the Mavs, he attacked Porzingis then just threw the ball up, hoping the refs would bail him out.

It's not like Smart has only been doing this kind of stuff this season.

Smart has been doing it for years!

[Fierce1]

I'm not making stuff up.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2020/12/21/celtics-marcus-smart-great-shooter-great-shots/

Shortly after Stevens spoke, Smart was asked why he sees shot selection as an important focus. Smart didn’t seem to entirely appreciate the question.

“Because when I take great shots, I’m a great shooter,” he said shortly.

[Feed Your Head]

I'm not making stuff up.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2020/12/21/celtics-marcus-smart-great-shooter-great-shots/

Shortly after Stevens spoke, Smart was asked why he sees shot selection as an important focus. Smart didn’t seem to entirely appreciate the question.

“Because when I take great shots, I’m a great shooter,” he said shortly.

Every guy in the nba thinks that way. But as far as on the court, he doesn’t play that way…at all.

[Fierce1]

For the record, THERE IS NO PROBLEM SMART TAKING OPEN SHOTS!

But that step back jumper against the Cavs with less than 3 minutes remaining in the 4th and the Celts only up by 1 point is an ill-advised shot.

#1 Smart was not open.

#2 It was not a good shot.

So it's not making stuff up.

There are things that Marcus Smart does that helps the Celts win.

But there are also things that Smart does that make the Celts lose.

It's a different story if the Celts one of the top teams in the east and the Celtic fans are still complaining about Marcus Smart.

Right now the Celts are just a .500 and just a play-in team.

Smart is not helping when he takes ill-advised shots and making dumb plays in crucial stages of a game.

[Fierce1]

I'm not making stuff up.
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2020/12/21/celtics-marcus-smart-great-shooter-great-shots/

Shortly after Stevens spoke, Smart was asked why he sees shot selection as an important focus. Smart didn’t seem to entirely appreciate the question.

“Because when I take great shots, I’m a great shooter,” he said shortly.

Every guy in the nba thinks that way. But as far as on the court, he doesn’t play that way…at all.

Every guy in the NBA thinks that way but they don't say it out loud in public.

You don't hear Draymond Green or PJ Tucker saying they're a great shooter.

Marcus Smart has made bad decisions and said things that are inappropriate for years.

Remember that game at Staples when he punched the wall and was out for weeks because he broke his hand?

The main problem with Marcus Smart is he thinks he's a great player like Tatum or Brown.

For Smart to be great, he needs to accept the fact that he's a great role player and not a star player.

[GoGreen]

This might be one of those years where trading Horf and Schro at the deadline just to pick up some assets would be the best thing to do. Team really has no way to improve, no direction. I really wanted to keep Dennis, but this might make more sense if .500 ball is all we're gonna see the rest of the yr.

[BK_2020]

Smart's problem is less his inability to shoot like Klay (or even an average guard) from the three but how crappy he is at driving and finishing. He can't get by anyone and when he does he can't make layups. To make matters worse he believes he has mismatches when a smaller guy is on him which always ends up with an ugly turnaround after 10 seconds backing in. Smart extension was Brad's worst move this off-season, although his hand may have been forced with how little value Smart has as a sign and trade candidate.

[Fierce1]

Smart's problem is less his inability to shoot like Klay (or even an average guard) from the three but how crappy he is at driving and finishing. He can't get by anyone and when he does he can't make layups. To make matters worse he believes he has mismatches when a smaller guy is on him which always ends up with an ugly turnaround after 10 seconds backing in. Smart extension was Brad's worst move this off-season, although his hand may have been forced with how little value Smart has as a sign and trade candidate.

Have to agree with you on Smart thinking he has mismatches.

So far this season it hasn't really worked out for Smart.

I mean Smart hasn't really gotten much success when he's asking for the ball because he thinks it's a mismatch.

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

Seth Curry currently only player shooting 50/40/90. Keep hating on Grant.

[Hal14]

Clearly you don't know how to interpret the stats presented to you.

The stat you're responding to is saying that so far this season, Smart has contributed the most on the team to winning basketball. Our record is .500, but it's not Smart's fault.

You seem to be making the mistake of picking 2 games out of the 14 games we've played. And you're saying that in those 2 games, he's made 1 bad play in each. Um, so what?

The stats don't make dumb mistakes like that. The stats look at ALL of the plays in EVERY game. Both offense and defense. During all 4 quarters. How many plays are awesome, how many are good, how many are neutral, how many are bad and how many are terrible. It factors all of that in.

You say that "If the Celts start to win more games and go over .500, I'm sure the Smart hate will be less." when in reality, what the stats tell us is Smart is the last one we should blame - regardless of the team's record.

Like shooting 27% from 3pt land is helping the team win a lot of games.

The stats don't tell the whole story.

Smart can play great for 46 minutes then cost the Celts the game in the last 2 minutes and the stats will not show that.

There are Celtic fans here who will tell you that they can easily remember 3 games, last season, off the top of their heads where Smart lost the game for the Celts.

You don't have to be a genius to figure out Marcus Smart's issues.

When you're shooting 27% from 3pt land and you still keep shooting because you truly believe that you're a great shooter then that's a big problem.

The stats don't show that.

Marcus Smart's issues is beyond stats.

you're a casual fan who only looks at 3 point %.

Advanced stats like on/off rating factor in the player's value to the team and measure how well the team performs with him on the court compared to how well the team performs with him off the court.

in other words - it factors the shooting in, but there's A LOT more to basketball than just shooting 3's. If there's 100 possessions in a game and Smart takes 5 three-point attempts. That's 95 other possessions. On/off rating is looking at all 100 possessions. You're only looking at the 5 possessions where he took a 3, lol.

"Smart can play great for 46 minutes then cost the Celts the game in the last 2 minutes and the stats will not show that." is another statement of a casual fan. Let's break it down, shall we?

Player A = only shoots 1/5 from 3, and makes a really dumb foul at the end of the game which costs us a chance to MAYBE get a last second shot that may or may not go in, but that's only 6 possessions in a game. over the course of ALL 100 possessions that game, his play overall had a on/off rating of +15

Player B = shoots 2/5 from 3, doesn't make any dumb fouls but over the course of ALL 100 possessions that game, his play overall had a on/off rating of -1

Guessing you would pick Player B as the better player, but a more informed fan would pick Player A (Smart) every time..

[Hal14]

Good thing that he’s taking the least amount of shots per 36 of his career, then.

The people saying Marcus shoots the ball like he’s a great shooter are just making things up. Him taking wide open shots isn’t a problem, and eventually they’ll start falling more. He doesn’t turn the ball over much, he’s been a monster defender, and he’s gotten much better at playing like a real PG over the last 5ish games. Of course there was going to be an adjustment period with that, expecting otherwise isn’t being realistic.

Yes, it's good he's taking the least amount of shots.

But it's the timing of the shots he takes.

Like in the Cleveland game, why did he take that step back jumper when it was an ill-advised shot?

Against the Mavs, he attacked Porzingis then just threw the ball up, hoping the refs would bail him out.

It's not like Smart has only been doing this kind of stuff this season.

Smart has been doing it for years!

The refs released a statement saying that Smart was actually fouled by Porzingis on that play - nice try.

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/11/07/marcus-smart-fouled-celtics-mavericks/#:~:text=Smart%20made%20a%20bad%20decision%20to%20foul%20as%20well%20down%20the%20stretch.&text=Celtics%20guard%20Marcus%20Smart%20was,of%20the%20107%2D104%20loss.

[Hal14]

Read on Twitter

[CelticFaninLBC]

Read on Twitter

Yep, a 7-8 record, with Brown missing 7 games, 10 of the first 15 on the road, and Tatum off to a really slow start, isn't that bad.

The defense has been much better, and Brown's return should help with 3 point shooting. This team's still missing a 3rd impact player though... I don't think they can rely on Robert Williams staying healthy all year...

[zoyathedestroya]

Haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere but the Celtics went from being the #1 most efficient team scoring off turnovers last season (1.42 points per possession) to 28th this season (1.08 PPP).

That seems like a big deal esp for a team already struggling with its half-court offense. Even when adjusted to decrease in efficiency league-wide, that's about 4 to 5 points being left on the table.

Getting our best transition scorer (Jaylen) back will help with this apart from him being our top high-volume 3-pt shooter atm.

[Larry_Russell]

we need a shooting guard starter who can hit at 40%, and we need nesmith getting minutes off the bench, and we need Horf off the bench.

Smart/Schroder
???/Nesmith
Brown/Richardson
Tatum/GrantW
Timelord/Horford

Offense would instantly become top 10.


Schroder is expendable as well. but not opposed to keeping him.

Key is, who the heck could be had for TPE to fit that role we need
Malik BEasley
Will Barton
McDermott
Kennard



Still also feel Colby White can be had too.
Might need to be a three team deal, but I feel he is available and would fit brilliantly into our starting lineup

[Hal14]

we need a shooting guard starter who can hit at 40%, and we need nesmith getting minutes off the bench, and we need Horf off the bench.

Smart/Schroder
???/Nesmith
Brown/Richardson
Tatum/GrantW
Timelord/Horford

Offense would instantly become top 10.


Schroder is expendable as well. but not opposed to keeping him.

Key is, who the heck could be had for TPE to fit that role we need
Malik BEasley
Will Barton
McDermott
Kennard



Still also feel Colby White can be had too.
Might need to be a three team deal, but I feel he is available and would fit brilliantly into our starting lineup

sure, take the exact team we have now and magically add a player who shoots 40% from 3 who is also good enough to start for a contending team without giving anything up - of course that makes us a top 10 offense.

[Larry_Russell]

we need a shooting guard starter who can hit at 40%, and we need nesmith getting minutes off the bench, and we need Horf off the bench.

Smart/Schroder
???/Nesmith
Brown/Richardson
Tatum/GrantW
Timelord/Horford

Offense would instantly become top 10.


Schroder is expendable as well. but not opposed to keeping him.

Key is, who the heck could be had for TPE to fit that role we need
Malik BEasley
Will Barton
McDermott
Kennard



Still also feel Colby White can be had too.
Might need to be a three team deal, but I feel he is available and would fit brilliantly into our starting lineup

sure, take the exact team we have now and magically add a player who shoots 40% from 3 who is also good enough to start for a contending team without giving anything up - of course that makes us a top 10 offense.

Well, TPE and a couple of seconds gets someone Boucher. Who would fill in lovely in Chicago. Add to him Romeo and you have a fair deal for White, IMO.

So TPE and Seconds to Toronto
Boucher and Romeo/BRuno/Kanter whatever they prefer to Chicago
White and one of their small contract wings to Boston.

Still have the Fournier TPE left.

Smart.Schroder/Pritchard
White/Nesmith/Trade from Chicago
Brown/Richardson/Hauser
Tatum/Grant/Parker
Williams/Horford/Kanter or Bruno

[zoyathedestroya]

Some top 3-guard lineups in the league, minimum 60 mins together:

1. Schroder-Smart-Richardson: +23.8, 69 minutes
2. Lowry-Herro-Strus: +17.1, 66 minutes
3. Curry-Wiggins-Poole: +14.0, 218 minutes
4. Maxey-Curry-Green: +8.9, 211 minutes
5. CP3-Booker-Bridges: +8.8, 317 minutes
6. Harden-Mills-Harris: +8.4, 107 minutes
7. Ball-Caruso-LaVine: +6.1, 198 minutes

That trio who can't shoot isn't the reason we're losing. Not yet at least. They're literally outscoring opponents in their little time on the floor together. Much more than other 3-guard lineups from good teams.

[zoyathedestroya]

More receipts... Here are the invidual games where DS-MS-JR shared the floor:

TOR +14
HOU +7
WAS +7
ORL +7
MIL +13
ATL +1

TOR 0

CHI -5 in a 14-pt loss
DAL -2 in a 3-pt loss
CLE -2 in a win

They've been a net positive more times than not.