Smart is such a ****ing moron. Can't stand watching him play about 90% of the time. Hope he's fined for his flop, too. He needs to stop acting like a clown and work about 10x harder than he is on developing something resembling basketball skills.
You are in no position to question Smart's effort. You hate Smart, we get it. But to call out his effort in a game where he and Crowder were about the only ones who gave consistent effort, it really is disgusting.
I don't hate Smart, I never did. He has the best chance of developing into a home-grown star on the roster right now. I hope that happens. His effort on the court is great. But he needs to get a lot better offensively. Either he isn't putting in the time, or he is just a poor basketball player. Is that really hard to see?
He's averaging 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists and 1.8 steals in 27 minutes as a 21 year old who has barely over one year (103 games) NBA experience. He's also considered by quite a few people to be one of the better defensive guards in the NBA right now, regardless of experience.
I'm not sure exactly what you more you expect from him.
If you think his current level of play doesn't align with him one day being a star then that's a fair enough argument. But to say he's not trying hard enough, or that he's a "poor basketball player" is just silly.
A 'poor basketball player' wouldn't be averaging almost 28 minutes a game on a team with a top 3 seed. Hell, Jerebko and Zeller are only averaging 22 minutes combined and I wouldn't describe either of those guys as a 'poor' basketball player. A poor basketball player would be struggling to earn 5 minutes a game on a lottery team.
Anyway I think I understand your position. We got a top 6 pick and drafted Smart, so based on the fact that he is a top 6 pick you expect him to look like an All-Star in his first two years. He doesn't, so you are disappointed.
I'm sorry to say but if that is the case, then it's your fault for setting expectations too high - not Smart's fault.
Take a look at D'Angelo Russell. He was a #2 pick last year and was taken over Okafor. Does he look as good as Smart right now? No, he doesn't. He looks a tad better on offense, and is nowhere near Smart's level on defense.
So all that considered, I'm not sure how you can be disappointed with Smart. He pretty much is what most of us expected to be, and he is starting to show occasional flashes of who most of us hoped he would one day become. That's pretty much what I expect of a guy like him at this point.
I'm not at all disappointed with Smart. I'm happy with who he is as a player right now when he plays within himself, the right way. I can't stand when he plays outside of himself, though, especially in a situation like tonight. Yes, he's 21. Yes, I should have more patience with him. I am positive he will get better, and significantly so... but right now, I want him in his lane and doing the right things to get better.
He's far from a finished product, though, and his stats are well-explained by the fact that he is a good athlete, a superior competitor, and a very good defensive player. I love that about him. He's my prototypical player, in fact. I root for guys like Smart and Crowder. They've earned minutes and found success by playing gritty and consistent defense... that's our DNA, it suits him well.
But realize too that everyone on this team has made a leap under Stevens. It's hard to imagine a scenario in which Smart didn't average 10 points, 4 reb, 3 asst. He benefits from easy buckets off T/Os and has been hitting spot-up 3s. That's where he's at right now. Perfect, I'm good with that. I'd just like him to stay in his lane.
I don't care to compare to Russell. Relative to draft position, he had bust written all over him before he was even drafted. But, I genuinely fail to see where I am losing people here. I am being as transparent and deliberate as I possible can in defining "poor basketball player" -- he lacks talent. He is a poor shooter unless set off a pass (and streaky, then), he isn't a good ball handler, he lack finesse/touch on the ball.
And he doesn't finish well at the rim. Why not? It's not b/c he doesn't try... he does. But his attempt is always to bulldoze, create contact, and try to finish through it. Not going to work, he's too small for that now. Instead, develop a euro, put some English on the ball, develop a floater/tear drop. He hasn't done those things yet. Why not? I can do those things. So, he's:
a) Not working hard enough, b) Not talented enough, or c) Isn't being coached well (by Stevens? Seems unlikely).
I just don't understand how you describe him as a poor basketball player. An average basketball player maybe, but poor?
Even your 'lack of talent' argument - I don't get that.
Talent is essentially a players natural, god given abilities. They are the things that you are born with, or aren't. Things you either have, or you don't. Things you cannot teach. These are things like size, strength, speed, quickness, lateral quickness, defensive instincts, court vision, leadership skills, etc.
I think Smart measures up quite well in all of those areas.
The areas where Smart needs improvement are things like ball handling, shooting and finishing around the basket - i would argue that these things are more skills rather than talents. They are things that you can work on, develop and get better at.
There are some guys who can't ever get better at those things because of physical limitations (e.g. Rondo's big hands stopped him from ever being a good shooter) but I don't think Smart is limited in that way in any of those skill areas.
He's improving as the season goes on both as an outside shooter and as a free throw shooter, which suggests that he has potential as a shooter and can improve. is ball handling seems to be improving over time, and he continues to have a very solid assist:TO ratio, which suggests his court feel is quite good.
I actually think Smart has quite a bit of talent, I just don't think he has elite/superstar talent. I think he is a player who has average to above average talent, but who's mental nature makes gives him a high probability to become a better player than his natural talent level suggests he should be.
I don't think it's even remotely fair to call him a poor basketball player. I think he is an above average basketball player who has the potential to become a very good basketball player.
I don't think he will ever be a great basketball player because I just don't think he has enough natural talent to get him to that point, but by all means I do hope he proves me wrong.
With his talent and intangibles (mental nature, etc) I could see him developing into the Paul Millsap of Point Guards, and I can't complain about that.
You are correct when you say that he doesn't finish well around the basket - his 49% shooting inside 3 feet ranks 13th on the team. However it's not all bad.
1) He actually shot 56% inside 3 feet last year, which isn't terrible (though isn't great either)
2) He has increased his percentages in the 3-10 foot range from 25.5% last year, to 34.8% this year - that's sign of progression
3) He's increased his Free Throw Rate from 26.6% last year (pretty average), to 32.5% this year (very good)
He's also increased his shooting percentage slightly from midrange. He is shooting 40% on twos from 10-16 feet (up from 38.2% last year) and 33.3% on twos outside 16 feet (up from 29.5% last year). Not dramatic jumps, but jumps none the less - and 40% from 10-16 feet is actually very respectable.
His FT% is also much improved compared to last year (from 64.6% up to 74.3%).
His 3PT shooting is obviously down, but has been getting better as the season has gone on (he has shot 36% from three in February).
There are bright spots to take from this season for Smart. We just need to be mindful of the fact that he's only 21 and that offense was never his strong suit, so it's probably going to take time for him to develop that aspect of his game.
Topic: Celtics (33-24) at Timberwolves (17-39) Game #58 2/22/16 (Read 47512 times)