Marcus Smart's Finishing

[PhoSita]

First off, the team is balling right now; they win ugly in a lot of ways, but they keep on winning, and it's awesome.


OK, that said, let's talk about Marcus Smart.

His shooting is bad, we know that.

His defense is great.  His passing is pretty good.  His hustle is off the charts.


Why can't he finish inside?  He was something like a 60% finisher in the paint in college.  In the pros, his finishing inside has gotten worse every year to where he's shooting around 40% inside 3 feet this season.

What the heck?  He's approaching break-even from deep so far this year, but his inability to score inside the arc, even at the rim, with anything like acceptable efficiency makes it hard to get too excited about the other stuff he brings to the table. 

If he could just reach the basketball equivalent of the Mendoza line in terms of scoring ability, he'd be awesome.

[greece66]

I remember ppl asking the same question about his scoring in the paint in his first year. iirc back then we supposed injury had slowed him down.

Hope he is a late bloomer.

[Androslav]

Why can't he finish inside?  He was something like a 60% finisher in the paint in college.  In the pros, his finishing inside has gotten worse every year to where he's shooting around 40% inside 3 feet this season.

What the heck?  He's approaching break-even from deep so far this year, but his inability to score inside the arc, even at the rim, with anything like acceptable efficiency makes it hard to get too excited about the other stuff he brings to the table. 

If he could just reach the basketball equivalent of the Mendoza line in terms of scoring ability, he'd be awesome.

Why would he be a good finisher?
- He can't jump on one leg
- His jump with 2 legs isn't impressive at all
- He doesn't posses some extraordinary length to help him at the "towers"
- He doesn't have the scoring touch, that good small finishers have

He was faster in college, before his ankles gave him trouble and also guys are smaller and less skilled, so it is easier to finish, hence his better finishing in OK.
Honestly, I don't see much upside for him here.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Why can't he finish inside?  He was something like a 60% finisher in the paint in college.  In the pros, his finishing inside has gotten worse every year to where he's shooting around 40% inside 3 feet this season.

What the heck?  He's approaching break-even from deep so far this year, but his inability to score inside the arc, even at the rim, with anything like acceptable efficiency makes it hard to get too excited about the other stuff he brings to the table. 

If he could just reach the basketball equivalent of the Mendoza line in terms of scoring ability, he'd be awesome.

Why would he be a good finisher?
- He can't jump on one leg
- His jump with 2 legs isn't impressive at all
- He doesn't posses some extraordinary length to help him at the "towers"
- He doesn't have the scoring touch, that good small finishers have

Honestly, I don't see much upside for him here.

Agreed.  Doesn't take away from his felt impact on games, but I just don't see the upside at this point.

[PhoSita]

Why can't he finish inside?  He was something like a 60% finisher in the paint in college.  In the pros, his finishing inside has gotten worse every year to where he's shooting around 40% inside 3 feet this season.

What the heck?  He's approaching break-even from deep so far this year, but his inability to score inside the arc, even at the rim, with anything like acceptable efficiency makes it hard to get too excited about the other stuff he brings to the table. 

If he could just reach the basketball equivalent of the Mendoza line in terms of scoring ability, he'd be awesome.

Why would he be a good finisher?
- He can't jump on one leg
- His jump with 2 legs isn't impressive at all
- He doesn't posses some extraordinary length to help him at the "towers"
- He doesn't have the scoring touch, that good small finishers have

He was faster in college, before his ankles gave him trouble and also guys are smaller and less skilled, so it is easier to finish, hence his better finishing in OK.
Honestly, I don't see much upside for him here.

Yeah, there probably isn't upside for him here.  Still, it's kind of mystifying.

He was actually pretty good as a finisher in college. 

Losing weight was ostensibly supposed to help with that, right?  Lighter on his feet?


I guess he's just going to set offensive futility records for a guy who gets the minutes and shot attempts that he gets because of what he brings elsewhere.

[moiso]

Androslav is right.  I don't think he'll ever be a good finisher.  Sometimes I even feel bad for him when he gets an open lane to the hoop and he takes off like he think he wants to dunk it but doesn't reach the rim.  Someone posted a picture of Smart in a pre- preseason workout looking like he was in great shape and about to violently dunk the ball- until on further analysis it was apparent that the rim in the picture looked a couple feet higher than it should have looked in a picture like that!  It looked like he was going to dunk the ball into the outside of the bottom of the net.

The lack of leap and length causes him to take difficult shots and he also lacks both touch and a scorer's feel for angles down low.  Kyrie is short and can't jump either but he is a genius at the angles and gets soft shots up with ease, so it can be done by guys with Smart's physical attributes.  Smart even has the size and strength advantages over Kyrie.  I just think Smart doesn't have the IQ to finish well down low with the physical attributes that he has.  He is tense, doesn't relax, the game it probably very fast in his head in those situations. 

I don't see Smart getting a whole lot better.  What I do like to see is when Smart realizes that he is not Michael Jordan attacking the rim and he's not Steph Curry from the 3 point line.  Guys like Draymond Green, Bruce Bowen, and Dennis Rodman could have a huge impact on the game while taking only a few shots.  I think that's where I'm at with Smart.  If he'd just take the shots he can make and realize his limitations it would be a huge benefit for the Celts.  If Smart goes 1 for 5 from the field he is not going to make us cringe like he does when he's 3 for 15.  And he's a huge positive in all the areas that don't involve putting the ball in the basket.

[RockinRyA]

Androslav is right.  I don't think he'll ever be a good finisher.  Sometimes I even feel bad for him when he gets an open lane to the hoop and he takes off like he think he wants to dunk it but doesn't reach the rim.  Someone posted a picture of Smart in a pre- preseason workout looking like he was in great shape and about to violently dunk the ball- until on further analysis it was apparent that the rim in the picture looked a couple feet higher than it should have looked in a picture like that!  It looked like he was going to dunk the ball into the outside of the bottom of the net.

The lack of leap and length causes him to take difficult shots and he also lacks both touch and a scorer's feel for angles down low.  Kyrie is short and can't jump either but he is a genius at the angles and gets soft shots up with ease, so it can be done by guys with Smart's physical attributes.  Smart even has the size and strength advantages over Kyrie.  I just think Smart doesn't have the IQ to finish well down low with the physical attributes that he has.  He is tense, doesn't relax, the game it probably very fast in his head in those situations. 

I don't see Smart getting a whole lot better.  What I do like to see is when Smart realizes that he is not Michael Jordan attacking the rim and he's not Steph Curry from the 3 point line.  Guys like Draymond Green, Bruce Bowen, and Dennis Rodman could have a huge impact on the game while taking only a few shots.  I think that's where I'm at with Smart.  If he'd just take the shots he can make and realize his limitations it would be a huge benefit for the Celts.  If Smart goes 1 for 5 from the field he is not going to make us cringe like he does when he's 3 for 15.  And he's a huge positive in all the areas that don't involve putting the ball in the basket.

you're putting too much on one picture, one that didnt have a good view. Btw I read somewhere that he made that shot.

[moiso]

Androslav is right.  I don't think he'll ever be a good finisher.  Sometimes I even feel bad for him when he gets an open lane to the hoop and he takes off like he think he wants to dunk it but doesn't reach the rim.  Someone posted a picture of Smart in a pre- preseason workout looking like he was in great shape and about to violently dunk the ball- until on further analysis it was apparent that the rim in the picture looked a couple feet higher than it should have looked in a picture like that!  It looked like he was going to dunk the ball into the outside of the bottom of the net.

The lack of leap and length causes him to take difficult shots and he also lacks both touch and a scorer's feel for angles down low.  Kyrie is short and can't jump either but he is a genius at the angles and gets soft shots up with ease, so it can be done by guys with Smart's physical attributes.  Smart even has the size and strength advantages over Kyrie.  I just think Smart doesn't have the IQ to finish well down low with the physical attributes that he has.  He is tense, doesn't relax, the game it probably very fast in his head in those situations. 

I don't see Smart getting a whole lot better.  What I do like to see is when Smart realizes that he is not Michael Jordan attacking the rim and he's not Steph Curry from the 3 point line.  Guys like Draymond Green, Bruce Bowen, and Dennis Rodman could have a huge impact on the game while taking only a few shots.  I think that's where I'm at with Smart.  If he'd just take the shots he can make and realize his limitations it would be a huge benefit for the Celts.  If Smart goes 1 for 5 from the field he is not going to make us cringe like he does when he's 3 for 15.  And he's a huge positive in all the areas that don't involve putting the ball in the basket.

you're putting too much on one picture, one that didnt have a good view. Btw I read somewhere that he made that shot.

Hard to believe... but even the other night in a game he had a path to the rim and he jumped up like he was going to dunk it but didn't get up high enough.  I actually felt bad for him a moment before he took off because I knew what he was going to attempt and figured it would be unsuccessful.

[Big333223]

These are some pretty dubious reasons. Smart does not lack length, he was elite length for his height (over 6'9" wingspan) and there are plenty of shorter players than Smart who finish well at the rim. Extreme examples are guys like Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson. but there are plenty of guards in the NBA today who are as short or shorter than Smart and finish well at the rim (Avery Bradley shot 62% inside of 3 feet last year, Victor Oladipo 61%, Goran Dragic 61%, Lou Williams 61%, Kyrie 60%, Mike Conley 60%, Eric Bledsoe 60%, John Wall 59%, Dennis Schroder 56%, Kemba Walker 55%).

Marcus shot 49% within 3 feet last year and is at only 41% this season.

There is no physical reason that I can see why Smart should not be finishing more than half of his attempts at the rim.

[jambr380]

Contrary to popular belief, Marcus actually is quite explosive. This was evident in his block during the Lakers game the other night - and that was from a standstill. Unfortunately, as mentioned, he has almost no ability to jump off of one foot which makes using his length on drives impossible. He almost stops before jumping giving the defender a chance to contest his shot.

If you compare him to someone like Rozier, you can see the difference in how jumping off of one foot creates space for a shot. Rozier moves really well on the floor - almost Rondo-like - and when he gets an explosive first step (something Marcus also doesn't have), it allows him to move horizontally past defenders where he gets a clear shot at the hoop...and eventually misses.

While they are both bad finishers, Rozier actually looks like he is creating a great shot, where Marcus looks like he has no chance. I LOVE him as a player, but unless he learns to create more space for himself and uses his fairly impressive two-foot jumping as an advantage on shots (harder to do), then his potential on drives is nowhere near Rozier's.

[JBcat]

Contrary to popular belief, Marcus actually is quite explosive. This was evident in his block during the Lakers game the other night - and that was from a standstill. Unfortunately, as mentioned, he has almost no ability to jump off of one foot which makes using his length on drives impossible. He almost stops before jumping giving the defender a chance to contest his shot.

If you compare him to someone like Rozier, you can see the difference in how jumping off of one foot creates space for a shot. Rozier moves really well on the floor - almost Rondo-like - and when he gets an explosive first step (something Marcus also doesn't have), it allows him to move horizontally past defenders where he gets a clear shot at the hoop...and eventually misses.

While they are both bad finishers, Rozier actually looks like he is creating a great shot, where Marcus looks like he has no chance. I LOVE him as a player, but unless he learns to create more space for himself and uses his fairly impressive two-foot jumping as an advantage on shots (harder to do), then his potential on drives is nowhere near Rozier's.

Very nice analysis.  TP.  I’ll just add Smart seems to be the better ball handler in a crowd so it’s frustrating when he can’t finish off a drive, however he does seem to make some very nice passes in a crowded area. 

Rozier is frustrating for me because so many times it looks like he can get a step on his man to drive to the hoop, and he should with his athletic ability. He just isn’t confident enough in his ball handling I guess to make those moves.  If Rozier got better at ball handling in traffic it could unlock so much more growth.

[Celtics4ever]

He plays too much for the foul instead of going for the shot.  A lot of our guys seem to do this and its a bad habit.

[IDreamCeltics]

First off, the team is balling right now; they win ugly in a lot of ways, but they keep on winning, and it's awesome.


OK, that said, let's talk about Marcus Smart.

His shooting is bad, we know that.

His defense is great.  His passing is pretty good.  His hustle is off the charts.


Why can't he finish inside?  He was something like a 60% finisher in the paint in college.  In the pros, his finishing inside has gotten worse every year to where he's shooting around 40% inside 3 feet this season.

What the heck?  He's approaching break-even from deep so far this year, but his inability to score inside the arc, even at the rim, with anything like acceptable efficiency makes it hard to get too excited about the other stuff he brings to the table. 

If he could just reach the basketball equivalent of the Mendoza line in terms of scoring ability, he'd be awesome.

This is the danger of drafting guards who physically matured in college.  Marcus' game at Oklahoma State was predicated on being bigger/stronger/faster than his competition.  In the NBA he has average size and below average athleticism for his position.  He basically has to revamp his entire offense rather than building on a foundation that was started in college.

He'll probably be an effective offensive player in three years.

[feckless]

I agree with most of what has been said but I see his finishing the same as I see Marcus's shooting -- it is shot selection --most of his misses for both are due to bad choices--too often he makes up his mind to drive or shoot without reading what is there -- creating poor shots and poor opportunities to drive and to finish a drive.  Hopefully he grows in this area one of these years?

His passing has improved but he still sometimes has you wondering what he was thinking or he tries a home run pass that just isn't going to work.

With Rozier I see it more that he is going too fast --out of control and he needs to gather and be in control more when he finishes or shoots. 

[td450]

There are guys that have been good finishers in the NBA that had no explosiveness off one foot. Chauncey Billups and Andre Miller come to mind.

Marcus just doesn't have the fundamental skills for it.

His number one problem is he does not have the ability to create space with a first step. Almost every other guard in the league has this skill.

He also doesn't have any other core skills to create space. No jab step, no bump and release move. No spin move.He doesn't have a reliable floater. He doesn't have a midrange shot off picks.

He doesn't pick his opportunities well. He's good with slow developing plays, but can't adjust to quickly developing openings at all.

He doesn't have footwork skills

He has a very poor sense of where the help angles are coming from.

His balance is poor.

He isn't able to soften up his shot, around the rim. He has no touch.



These are all things that Kyrie or IT could teach a master class in, but Marcus rarely can pull off.