Stats don't show defence. They don't show a full picture on how good someone plays the point guard position.
Rondo was a fantastic PG for us, the stats support that. However under Brad he struggled to impact the game, his stats hardly declined though. Stats mask a lot or they fall short a lot.
Rozier and Smart can both play the game of basketball. Both have strengths and both have weaknesses. One of Smart's weaknesses is his outside shooting. For me, one of Rozier's is his playmaking. He can be a playmaker, he has the potential to be a good PG. However right now he spends too much time thinking about going 1 on 1, dribbling at the top of the key for 8-10 seconds and not effectively involving his teammates. These aren't things that show up on his stat sheet, or maybe any stat sheet. However it does impact the game.
[quote author=TheSundanceKid link=topic=87417.msg2176774#msg2176774
This isn't Rozier's rookie season. Yes he didn't play much last year, there was a log jam but he practiced with those guys, he got reps.
Perhaps Smart was lucky to not have as many guys ahead of him but perhaps he was also more ready to step into the role.
You keep telling yourself that.
Smart was gifted major minutes by default because he was drafted to a lottery team coming off a 25 win season that had so little guard depth that even Phil-freaking-Pressey had a regular rotation spot. Smart never had to earn a thing - he was a top #6 pick on a bottom 6 team, and he was going to get substantial minutes no matter how many mistakes he made.
Rozier spent almost his entire first season in the D-League because he was drafted to a playoff team that already had four rotation guards (Thomas, Bradley, Smart, Turner). The only way for him to get into that rotation would have been to earn it - which he was never given the opportunity to do. He was never gifted 20+ MPG simply because he showed up. He was never given the luxury of being able to go out and make as many mistakes as he needed to, knowing that there was nobody else to take challenge him for his minutes. The only way for him to get a rotation spot was to try and work his butt off in practice so he could earn the respect of his teammates - and based on recent comments he has done exactly that.
There was the game against Washington in his rookie year where Rondo sat on the bench for the entire 4th quarter in favour of Smart. In no world could I have imagined Rozier playing ahead of Bradley or IT last year.
And yet Marcus Smart was 'gifted' the starting PG position at the beginning of last season...only to lose it to Isaiah Thomas.
This is despite the fact that Brad/Danny had specifically (and publicly) stated, multiple times, that they did not want to start Thomas - because they wanted to utilise him as a spark plug to lead the second unit.
Why?
Because with Smart in the starting lineup their offence as so utterly pathetic that the second unit kept having to dig the starters out of double-digit deficits...until it reached the point where Thomas took over the starting PG spot, the Celtics started winning games, and the rest (as they say) became history.
The reason he is having less of an impact than Smart at the respective points in their careers is because his overall game is not as developed. Simple
The reason he is having less of an impact is because he hasn't spent the past two years building chemistry with his teammates, while honing his skills in 25+ MPG, against NBA competition, on a nightly basis.
Yet despite this lack of experience he is still already a better (a) playmaker, (b) ball handler and (c) scorer then Smart is.
But Smart is a better defender!!!
Yes, he is. Even as a rookie, Smart was a better defender. I'm not denying that and I never have. Smart SHOULD be a better defender - it's his bread and butter. It's his speciality. It's pretty much the one single talent Smart has that actually keeps him on an NBA roster.
You really think Smart would be getting rotation minutes on a playoff team if he wasn't such a good defender? Of course he wouldn't be. The guy can't shoot. He can't dribble. He is an atrocious decision maker. He's a mediocre playmaker.
You critiise Rozier's play-making skills on the basis that he spends too much time dribbling the ball. How about the time Smart spends chucking up ill advise threes that end in opponent rebounds, that end in opponent scoring opportunities? How about the times Smart gives opponents free possessions because of all the offensive fouls he gets called for while he's out there flopping like a WWF wrestler?
You can say all you want but Rozier has only 1/8th of the NBA experience that Smart has, and yet he is already out there on the court playing the game at (at least) Smart's level. May be you Marcus Smart fans feel threatened by that...and so you should. Rozier's raw talent far exceeds Smart's, and as such he has the potential to become a significantly better player then Smart could ever be...if he makes the most of his opportunities.
Will he do that? Only time will tell - I'm calling yes.
I will keep telling myself that, because it's true. I wouldn't expect Rozier to be able to run the point at this juncture, that would be unfair of me. He is developing though so that is good.
I pointed out the difference in situation in their rookie years. Smart was still backing up an All-Star point guard though so...
He lost the starting spot to IT for more than just his play. IT was making it impossible not to go with him as the starter. Sure everyone wants a sparkplug 6th man but IT was consistently showing he was far more than that. Nice attempt to change history though.
The point on impact was meant to state a comparison between them at the same point in their careers. By that I mean comparing Rozier now to Smart at the start of his sophomore year. Smart lit summer league alight just the same as Rozier, he was getting the same hype before he dislocated his fingers. Rozier has the plus on shooting, Smart on defence.
I can't agree with you that Rozier is a better playmaker or ball handler. Rozier has more speed and can get places faster but he's yet to slow it down to the point where he can make good decisions out of it. To your point though, game reps will be the biggest help in developing that you're right.
Yes I do criticise him for pounding the ball at the top of the key. He's not Rondo waiting for Ray Allen to run off 1000 screens. It would be fine if he were setting up a play but a lot of the time it seems like he's confused or confusing his teammates. Maybe that was because he played minutes with Zeller, Mickey and co instead of Bradley, Amir etc. I guess we'll see.
Also Smart does seem to have reigned in the 3s a little. Last year it was absolutely infuriating watching him put up a 3 with 22s left on the shot clock. He has developed a good md range so I'm hoping he utilises that more. That's also a reason to play him on the ball and Rozier off the ball. Rozier is currently excelling behind the 3 point line.
I'm not anti-Rozier, I am impressed by how he's developed and I'm hoping he can become a regular rotation piece or a valuable trade chip. Like you say he seems to have a ceiling higher than Smart, although I still think that Smart is only a decent 3 point shot away from becoming one of the better PGs in the league. I don't think we will have to choose between the two, I do think we will have to choose a max of 3 out of Smart, Rozier, IT and Bradley going forward. If we say that we try and get some value from the 4th guy and use him to get a piece like a Cousins or a Davis (pipe dreams over here) then Rozier might be the most enticing piece because of the potential he has over Smart and because of the contract control he has over IT and Bradley.
Anyway, whilst the future is important it's the now we are debating. I'm glad we can even have the debate to be honest!
