I know we have some around here that have doubts about Marcus Smart. They want a star, we get it.
And I understand it, sometimes Marcus looks incomplete on offense.
But here's a player that wants to be team leader. And backs it up with rock hard defense, and a never back down attitude. In a few years the attitude of the team will be what Marcus Smart says it will be. I have a feeling we're going to like it.
If he gets it together on the O side of the ball, we're looking at a very valuable player.
I think anyone who can plausibly defend the 1 and 2, in addition to the 3 on a switch is a seriously valuable player to have in today's NBA anyway, even if he remains the third or fourth option on offense.
The marcus smart hate has always mystified me a little bit.
I would understand it a bit more if he were just a terrible three point shooter, as that would make him much more of a liability offensively, despite his great defense. But he was a perfectly acceptable outside shooter in his rookie season, with plenty of room to improve.
A superstar he wasn't, and he doesn't have a killer crossover or a lightning quick first step like a prototypical star point guard prospect, but he's already got what he needs to be a very valuable role player in the league.
Add the fire and intensity he brings to the game, the swagger, the ability to draw fouls on both ends, the willingness to take big shots even as a young guy ... he's pretty fun to watch, star or not.
With all of that in mind, I'm just going to go ahead and say that phrases like "Marcus Banks 2.0" and "homeless man's Tony Allen" are just troll talk.