Marcus Smart as a small forward?

[Celtics18]

I know it will sound wacky to some, but I would not be surprised if Marcus Smart becomes a player who can be effective at the three position with some time.  I'm not advocating playing him there full-time necessarily, but I do suspect that his strength and toughness will allow him to pester bigger, taller players at small forward, much like Tony Allen does.  I think he'll be able to guard all three wing positions as a defensive stopper but with much better offense than TA. 

[hpantazo]

I know it will sound wacky to some, but I would not be surprised if Marcus Smart becomes a player who can be effective at the three position with some time.  I'm not advocating playing him there full-time necessarily, but I do suspect that his strength and toughness will allow him to pester bigger, taller players at small forward, much like Tony Allen does.  I think he'll be able to guard all three wing positions as a defensive stopper but with much better offense than TA.

Well, if Doc was still our coach then Smart at SF would be virtually a guarantee.

[wdleehi]

I don't think that is a great idea for long periods of time.



As a quick change-up on short occasions against the right SF, sure.

[Celtics4ever]

I think he could only guard perimeter guys.  I think a guy like LeBron or Melo could easily post him up.   But as far as him challenging them off the dribble, I think he would be fine.

[mgent]

I wish people would stop trying to compare nobodies like Lance Stephenson or Marcus Smart to the defensive genius of Tony Allen.

TA and Iguodala are the only two players in the league who can guard any 1-3 on a consistent basis.  The chances of Smart reaching that level are astronomical.

[wdleehi]

I wish people would stop trying to compare nobodies like Lance Stephenson or Marcus Smart to the defensive genius of Tony Allen.

TA and Iguodala are the only two players in the league who can guard any 1-3 on a consistent basis.  The chances of Smart reaching that level are astronomical.

Well there is also Lebron who can guard 5 positions.


No, I don't think he is going to reach that level defensively because of his height. 

[Vox_Populi]

I wish people would stop trying to compare nobodies like Lance Stephenson or Marcus Smart to the defensive genius of Tony Allen.

TA and Iguodala are the only two players in the league who can guard any 1-3 on a consistent basis.  The chances of Smart reaching that level are astronomical.

George, Leonard, James?

As for the idea of Smart at the 3, I don't know. Maybe for short periods if the other team goes small.

[Eja117]

He'd of course be better than Jeff Green, but asking Smart to play small forward is asking a lot.

[Tr1boy]

Rondo on smart

I think having a guy on the wing that will defend along with Avery and myself, and has a lot more size and strength, that will be big."

Sounds like rondo agrees with you

[D.o.s.]

I'm inclined to agree with the people who say 'short periods of time in the right matchup.'

[loco_91]

He guarded 4 positions in college, so it isn't totally unreasonable to think that he can guard 3 in the NBA. There will be some 3's he can guard, some he can't. I don't see him guarding a guy like LeBron or Melo though. LeBron would post him up, Melo would school him from midrange.

That said, he can have a big impact without necessarily guarding the best opposing player. He can play the passing lanes and provide help D. And plus, there's way more teams now who lean on their PG's to create offense than there are that rely on their wing players.

[mgent]

I wish people would stop trying to compare nobodies like Lance Stephenson or Marcus Smart to the defensive genius of Tony Allen.

TA and Iguodala are the only two players in the league who can guard any 1-3 on a consistent basis.  The chances of Smart reaching that level are astronomical.

Well there is also Lebron who can guard 5 positions.


No, I don't think he is going to reach that level defensively because of his height.

LeBron CAN guard 1s and 5s, but not as well as Tony and Iggy guard 1s.  How many times has he even done it?

[nickagneta]

Smart is a rookie guard that hasn't played an NBA game yet. I think I would want him concentrating on learning the intracacies of playing PG and SG before we start experimenting on throwing him out there as a severely undersized SF right now.

C's have Green, Turner and Wallace to play SF right now. There is zero need to have the rook trying to learn three positions. It just makes little sense unless the opposition goes to a small ball/3 guard lineup.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Stevens said in the press conference he will guard some 3s but let's let him play some games to find out what he can do before we add on things we don't need him to do.

[freshinthehouse]

Once his on-court savvy starts to match his physical gifts, I could definitely see him checking small forwards, at least for short stretches.