Should Smart start at the 2 permanently?

[kmart12]

His defense is obviously a plus, but I actually like his playmaking equally as much. It's a huge asset to have another player out there who can create for others; this is especially true given how much we've been struggling to distinguish roles in the offense. Big fan of the move, but a small sample size to feel conclusive about.

As a 2nd or 3rd passer in the play - yes, he has an eye to nicely pass the ball. But as a primary ball-handler (PG) - God no!

How about when he facilitates the pick and roll? He may be one of our best guys at creating for the screener.

[Androslav]

His defense is obviously a plus, but I actually like his playmaking equally as much. It's a huge asset to have another player out there who can create for others; this is especially true given how much we've been struggling to distinguish roles in the offense. Big fan of the move, but a small sample size to feel conclusive about.

As a 2nd or 3rd passer in the play - yes, he has an eye to nicely pass the ball. But as a primary ball-handler (PG) - God no!

How about when he facilitates the pick and roll? He may be one of our best guys at creating for the screener.

Last year he was in the 42,7th percentile as a PNR Ballhandler

[slamtheking]

His defense is obviously a plus, but I actually like his playmaking equally as much. It's a huge asset to have another player out there who can create for others; this is especially true given how much we've been struggling to distinguish roles in the offense. Big fan of the move, but a small sample size to feel conclusive about.

As a 2nd or 3rd passer in the play - yes, he has an eye to nicely pass the ball. But as a primary ball-handler (PG) - God no!

he's a fine backup PG and as a secondary playmaker on the floor but as the primary ballhandler in pick and rolls, he's not enough of a threat offensively with his jumpshot to be really as effective as we need.  other teams will leave him open to shoot and guard the roller going to the hoop since that will be the primary option on that play with Smart running it.

[Roy H.]

I don’t know. Smart, Horford and Baynes aren’t really scorers. Is Kyrie + Tatum enough of a punch to prevent early deficits?

[Donoghus]

I don’t know. Smart, Horford and Baynes aren’t really scorers. Is Kyrie + Tatum enough of a punch to prevent early deficits?

Good question.  As with most things, it might come down to team matchups.  Some nights, sure.  Other nights against other teams, probably not.

[kmart12]

His defense is obviously a plus, but I actually like his playmaking equally as much. It's a huge asset to have another player out there who can create for others; this is especially true given how much we've been struggling to distinguish roles in the offense. Big fan of the move, but a small sample size to feel conclusive about.

As a 2nd or 3rd passer in the play - yes, he has an eye to nicely pass the ball. But as a primary ball-handler (PG) - God no!

How about when he facilitates the pick and roll? He may be one of our best guys at creating for the screener.

Last year he was in the 42,7th percentile as a PNR Ballhandler

Yikes, I guess I must be seeing things; I imagine a portion of that is due to his inability to score for himself in pick and roll situations. I'm interested in knowing where his 4 or so assists a game come from, what kind of scenarios because he doesn't lead a ton of fast breaks.

[Rosco917]

Smart and Sr. create energy and both respond to pushes from the opposition. They add toughness. 

Kyrie thrives with another ballhandler and facilitator on the floor. (remember that guy LeBron) With Smart playing with Kyrie, he easily slips into 2 guard mode getting the ball in opportunistic spots.

Brown needs to be a 7th or 8th man and continue to observe. With Brown out of the way, Tatum more smoothly does his thing, he realizes that we need him to be more aggressive offensively and has more freedom.

[Chris22]

I like the idea of starting our best defensive team to wear down the other side.

[hpantazo]

I don’t know. Smart, Horford and Baynes aren’t really scorers. Is Kyrie + Tatum enough of a punch to prevent early deficits?

Horford is a scorer and facilitator , but yeah, having Morris in there instead of Baynes is ideal

[Moranis]

I don’t know. Smart, Horford and Baynes aren’t really scorers. Is Kyrie + Tatum enough of a punch to prevent early deficits?

Who says Baynes, why not Hayward?  I've been calling for that lineup all season long i.e. Horford, Tatum, Hayward, Smart, Irving.

[Erik]

I don’t know. Smart, Horford and Baynes aren’t really scorers. Is Kyrie + Tatum enough of a punch to prevent early deficits?

Kyrie by himself is technically enough. You could run Kyrie in a high pick and roll to swap defenders -> iso all game.

This may just be a problem of too many players of similar ability being on the floor at the same time. Perhaps giving more playing time to the more unique players creates more diversity and raises the overall effectiveness of the lineup.

I am a huge Smart fan. I think that he should have the most playing time on the team because he does things that no one else on the team can do.

For Brad: just shed this notion of starter/bench and call it 2 units. Then, figure out which players complement each other the best and assign them to a unit. Last quarter is when you can play the 5 players that are doing the best.

[wiley]

My favorite starting lineups are:

Baynes, Horford, Tatum, Smart, Irving
Horford, Morris, Tatum, Smart, Irving (Pel's game starters)

I might lean toward the second, as with Hayward off the bench Morris becomes a nice starter. 
And Morris is our biggest wing and thus it's not such a small group of starters to have him start at the 4.  I like Tatum starting solidly at the 3. 

End of games all bets are off...I'm sure we'll see all kinds of lineups...probably most of them smallish.

Hayward will be great of the bench and I think Brown can be too...let Marcus set the tone and do his thing...he's awesome and is perfect between Irving and Tatum.

[The Oracle]

Irving/Smart/tatum/Morris/Horford lineup in 52 minutes has has an ORat. 121.7 and DRat. 96.6

Season best ORat. 125.3 last night for the team as a whole.

Small sample size warning but looks real good so far.  I have been advocating starting Smart dating clear back in place of Bradley with I.T..  His skillset is a nice compliment to Irving just as it was for I.T., and he is a necessary secondary playmaker as Hayward hasn't got his wheels under him yet and Brown/Tatum still haven't learned to create for others at all.

[keevsnick]

It depends on what our goal are. If we want to win some regular season games then sure. But when u get to the highest levels u need a guy who is at least a threat to score in the starting line up. Keep rolling with Jaylen, let him play his way out of his funk. He has been better recently (except for his 3pnt shot). And its not like smart being on the floor has led to us shutting down fast guards. But if Jaylen stinks for another 20 games then sure. Thats where im at, lets see at the half way mark.

[manl_lui]

something i just saw

https://twitter.com/ChrisForsberg_/status/1067419535526035456

Smart defended and caused 5 TO on Holiday and held Davis/Mirotic on 10 possessions for 2 points