dhsilv2 wrote:cupcakesnake wrote:Holiday is better at the point of attack. He's got quicker feet and gets more vertical. But Smart makes more plays off the ball, and is a little more disruptive. He's also bigger with slightly longers arms and a lot more weight. He can guard up even better than Jrue.
I don't know, Smart wasn't quite at his best last year as Boston focused more on offense. We'll see if he bounces back. He's younger than Jrue.
Great post! I was trying to really remember where I stood on Smart as frankly...I don't really enjoy the current celtics that much and don't watch them. My first thoughts were that Jrue had quicker feet to stop a first step, but could be bodied some if left in iso. With the opposite for Smart. Off ball was where I was drawing a blank. Jrue is always seemingly where he should be but lacked size. But with Smart I couldn't tell if I was remembering just a few highlights where he came off ball or if he was consistent.
The DPOY year version of Smart (not that I agreed with him winning), was an off-ball monster who could drop into the paint and be the most annoying obstacle stopping guys getting into their jump on drives. I think my favorite part of his defense was his uncanny ability to rush into the paint and stop things from happening. Whether is was switching onto a big, or drawing a charge, or simpy beating guys to spots and being immovable, him sprinting into the paint to be annoying is what I would picture. Boston played a way less aggressive scheme last year though, and Smart was deployed a little more generically as a switchy point of attack defender. He really good at switching but not the quickest point of attack defender. He still found ways to be an elite turnover forcer, mostly in help situations. Smart looks stubby because he's so thick, but he has a 6'9.5" wingspan so he's kind of a legit small wing.
Jrue has always been such a point of attack specialist, it's hard to compare. He's basically always been his teams' go-to-guy for guarding the toughest perimeter matchup (with the exception of the PJ Tucker year in Milwaukee), whether that's guarding Dame or Durant or Jimmy. He's got good timing on traps, digs, and help at the nail. He's also got a decent 2-footed jump which makes him strong on contests and a wee little bit of rim protection. While both players are all about horizontal defense, Jrue gets off the ground much more easily than Smart.
I think the "whose better" thing is truly about team context here. If I have a monster defensive back line, I probably prize Jrue's POA skills. If I'm a funkier defensive team that needs scheme versatility and the abilitiy to bring extra help, I think Smart is much more valuable than Jrue.
Both are going to be in fantastic defensive situations next year btw!
