Poll

Well is he?

Yes, he is a minister of defence shooting 37% from downtown.
8 (53.3%)
No, he is not, there are folks in front of him.
5 (33.3%)
I can't decide just yet, it an opened question.
2 (13.3%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Author Topic: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?  (Read 4637 times)

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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #30 on: January 23, 2019, 06:47:53 AM »

Offline Androslav

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I don't think it's fair to Marcus Smart to classify him as a 3&D player, given his ball-handling and facilitating abilities.  Smart bring so much more to the game than just threes and defense.
A think that a lot of people are overestimating Marcus as a playmaker.
Don't get me wrong, he can be a "steward" on offense, but not really a facilitator of some potent offense.
We have him for 5 years now, he never led a good offense as a starter or primary ballhandler, regardless of our talent ATT.
Trouble is he can't penetrate, create pressure on the defense, get to the line with regularity, nor finish over the top.
He doesn't scare and draw the defense when he does.
Also, his career TO rate is at .153, which is just high. We drafted him as a playmaker, but that didn't work out as planned.
His handle is OK, but not above average for the position he plays.
Therefore we moved him to the off-guard spot. No biggie, he is more valuable there.

Marcus does "think fast" with the ball, he has some vision, he will swing it to the opened man without hesitation or monitoring the situation at first.
He will dribble it to open space if he sees an opening. He has that software.
Those are some of the qualities of a playmaker but not all that is necessary to be one.
Joe Ingles, Kyle Anderson also do that, but none sees them as playmakers per se.

The 3&D classification I use for Marcus is not a diss on him in any way, I think it is the appropriate one for this and future phases of his career.

Poll added.

Kyle Anderson is viewed as a playmaker. He is advertised as a point forward. What you are describing is a great playmaker, not playmaker alone. You don't have to be elite at it to be able to qualify as a good playmaker.

Smart does a good of directing an offense, he makes nice passes. He doesn't need to make fancy passes or show top-notch vision to qualify as a playmaker.
I define the playmaker as a dynamic playmaker, a guy that can make things happen, that redirects defenders and not the other way around.
Not someone who is dribbling the ball at the top of the arc and can't beat his man off the dribble nor with a pick set in front of him.
But that's just me.
It is true that Kyle and Smart were advertised as playmakers entering the league.
At the college level, they were that, but NBA reality showed that it was not written in their cards to actually be the ones.
« Last Edit: January 23, 2019, 07:01:57 AM by Androslav »
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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #31 on: January 23, 2019, 08:54:08 AM »

Offline celtics4ever33

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.


Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #32 on: January 23, 2019, 09:18:12 AM »

Offline Monkhouse

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.

Please name 10 players that are considered 3 & D and can hit open 3's at 45% clip..

To put it into perspective, Green is shooting on catch and shoot attempts 43.9% which is pretty good, but how many players that aren't defensive sieves averaging over 42%?
« Last Edit: January 23, 2019, 09:45:18 AM by Monkhouse »
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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #33 on: January 23, 2019, 09:49:04 AM »

Offline Csfan1984

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This year he is currently. But it can change.

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #34 on: January 23, 2019, 10:00:02 AM »

Offline IDreamCeltics

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I think you have to go with Danny Green for best 3 and D player this year.  Better shooter, similar level of defense, none of the histrionics or controversy that have plagued Smart's career.

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #35 on: January 23, 2019, 10:47:19 AM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.
this may not be accurate. please see the earlier posts in the thread. smart's shooting may have turned around. since november 20th he has shot 3 pointers at 41.3%. (50 for 121)

also, mentioned above was the need for 3 & D folks to shoot over 45%. i could only find five current players shooting over 45%. that is a really, really high bar to set.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/player-stat/three-point-field-goal-percentage
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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #36 on: January 23, 2019, 12:24:29 PM »

Offline droopdog7

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Smart is a lot of things but a 3 and D player is certainly not one of them.  He's much more than that.  My descriptor for him is a junkyard dog.

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #37 on: January 23, 2019, 04:18:07 PM »

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.
this may not be accurate. please see the earlier posts in the thread. smart's shooting may have turned around. since november 20th he has shot 3 pointers at 41.3%. (50 for 121)

also, mentioned above was the need for 3 & D folks to shoot over 45%. i could only find five current players shooting over 45%. that is a really, really high bar to set.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/player-stat/three-point-field-goal-percentage
He said open 3's, which is different then any 3. 
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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #38 on: January 23, 2019, 04:24:32 PM »

Offline gouki88

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.
So much of this is untrue, except for the last sentence.
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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #39 on: January 24, 2019, 05:44:55 AM »

Offline celtics4ever33

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.
So much of this is untrue, except for the last sentence.

Well yea because the truths hurt. You only picked out the sentence that makes Marcus Smart extremely important, but i have never seen somebody airball corner open 3 balls more than Marcus.

No matter how open he is , it doesnt mean its good, unlike Danny Green etc. When these guys are open you almost think its automatic. Marcus Smart is erratic as they come.

The good thing is he will be left open, like he has been in past playoff games. So if he can shoot ok ,  it will be huge.

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #40 on: January 24, 2019, 05:50:26 AM »

Offline celtics4ever33

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Marcus Smart is one of the most pathetic shooters in the history of the NBA. Nothing has changed.

The difference with a 3 and d shooters is that those guys can shoot the 3 ball , they can actually make 3 pointers.

Which brings me to the key for the Celtics in the playoffs.

Marcus Smart is left open / given the shot most of the time, a good 3 and d player would hit an open 3 at 45% clip.

If Marcus can hit his 3 point shot at 35% during the playoffs , given that he will almost guaranteed be left open while focus is on Kyrie and the other guys, the Celtics will be golden and probably finals bound.
this may not be accurate. please see the earlier posts in the thread. smart's shooting may have turned around. since november 20th he has shot 3 pointers at 41.3%. (50 for 121)

also, mentioned above was the need for 3 & D folks to shoot over 45%. i could only find five current players shooting over 45%. that is a really, really high bar to set.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nba/player-stat/three-point-field-goal-percentage

Danny Green shoots 45.8 % from 3 point land on open 3's

Marcus is a respectable 37.4 %

Marcus Morris is an amazing 46.2 %

Case in point as well , Rozier is shooting 44.9 % from 3 point land when open , despite his immense struggles.


In the playoffs Marcus will most def be open , and he is going to have to hit the three point shot.

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #41 on: January 24, 2019, 05:51:31 AM »

Offline celtics4ever33

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Also, as we suspect Gordon Hayward is shooting 34.8 on open 3's, doesnt sound awful , but these are wide open shots.

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #42 on: January 25, 2019, 05:20:44 PM »

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Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #43 on: January 25, 2019, 05:47:06 PM »

Offline rondofan1255

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Kuzma is shooting 30.3% from 3 this season on 6.2 attempts per game

Re: Is Smart the best 3&D player in the league?
« Reply #44 on: January 25, 2019, 06:20:51 PM »

Offline KGs Knee

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Kuzma is shooting 30.3% from 3 this season on 6.2 attempts per game

Nor is he a good defensive player.