Marus Smart 47, 18 and 19

[Sketch5]

His stats were basically the same in summer league last year.   I don't anticipate him being all that different than he was over the second half of last season.  If they make him the primary ballhandler, he might see an uptick in his stats.

2014:  5 games - 14.8 points, 4.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2 steals, 0.4 blocks 29%/26/83%   
2015:  5 games - 16 points, 4.2 assists, 3 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 0.4 blocks 35%/28%/84%

He showed mild improvement over the first and second half of the regular season last year, so it's not shocking that he showed mild improvement over his appearance a year ago in Summer league... having spent an entire season playing against NBA competition:


Pre All-star: 6.8 points, 3.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals on 37%/35%/67% - 24.4mpg
Post All-star: 9.1 points, 2.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals on 36%/32%/63% - 30.2mpg

In Smart's defense, he was hurt the final game so his stats took a hit... he finished #54 amongst summer league participants in total statistical efficiency.   Even before the injury, his uptick in stats reflected the mild uptick he had over the second half of the NBA season last year...

He also had that one bad shooting night that brought his numbers down, but those other three games he was really stroking it when he was taking the right shots. Problem with SL is guys like Smart are seeing were they are at so they end up taking some bad shots.

But out side of that he brought a floater to his game, took it to the hoop more and made some really excellent passes. His dribbling got better over a month and a half, so I'm going to see if he works on that for preseason. If he can get his handles tighter he's going to be hard to guard.

Plus he had more of a swagger and leadership look to him, even more so than last year which I was impressed with.

[LarBrd33]

His stats were basically the same in summer league last year.   I don't anticipate him being all that different than he was over the second half of last season.  If they make him the primary ballhandler, he might see an uptick in his stats.

2014:  5 games - 14.8 points, 4.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2 steals, 0.4 blocks 29%/26/83%   
2015:  5 games - 16 points, 4.2 assists, 3 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 0.4 blocks 35%/28%/84%

He showed mild improvement over the first and second half of the regular season last year, so it's not shocking that he showed mild improvement over his appearance a year ago in Summer league... having spent an entire season playing against NBA competition:


Pre All-star: 6.8 points, 3.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals on 37%/35%/67% - 24.4mpg
Post All-star: 9.1 points, 2.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals on 36%/32%/63% - 30.2mpg

In Smart's defense, he was hurt the final game so his stats took a hit... he finished #54 amongst summer league participants in total statistical efficiency.   Even before the injury, his uptick in stats reflected the mild uptick he had over the second half of the NBA season last year...

Comparing stats without actually watching the game is retarded,

I saw the game where he went 1-11 with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes against undrafted semi-pro basketball players... was he just joking around?

So your conclusion of Smart's Summer League performance being mildly better than last years that you repeatedly post on this site is based on actually watching only 1 game.  If you are too slow to realize, the coaching staff clearly made a point for him to strictly practice threes in that game.  If he played a normal game, no doubt he would of gotten in a better groove and had a better performance.

It's based on the fact that he was only mildly improved from last year. He had a good game. He had a bad game. Cant dismiss either. Is what it is.

[oldtype]

At the end of the day, dwelling over per-game averages for Summer League is more or less worthless given how ridiculously small the sample sizes are. This is even more true for Smart, who sat out several games in both Utah and Vegas.

The eye test tells me that he played significantly better than he did last year, and this is one of the few cases where the eye test - unreliable as it is - is probably a better metric than stats.

We'll see soon enough whether that translates to the NBA or not.

[LarBrd33]

At the end of the day, dwelling over per-game averages for Summer League is more or less worthless given how ridiculously small the sample sizes are. This is even more true for Smart, who sat out several games in both Utah and Vegas.

The eye test tells me that he played significantly better than he did last year, and this is one of the few cases where the eye test - unreliable as it is - is probably a better metric than stats.

We'll see soon enough whether that translates to the NBA or not.

at the end of the day we can only hope that he looks better next season but based on his mild progress as a rookie, you can only expect so much. He's still a weak offensive player and my expectations are reasonably low.

[KingofDaPlayazBall]

His stats were basically the same in summer league last year.   I don't anticipate him being all that different than he was over the second half of last season.  If they make him the primary ballhandler, he might see an uptick in his stats.

2014:  5 games - 14.8 points, 4.2 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 2 steals, 0.4 blocks 29%/26/83%   
2015:  5 games - 16 points, 4.2 assists, 3 rebounds, 2.4 steals, 0.4 blocks 35%/28%/84%

He showed mild improvement over the first and second half of the regular season last year, so it's not shocking that he showed mild improvement over his appearance a year ago in Summer league... having spent an entire season playing against NBA competition:


Pre All-star: 6.8 points, 3.5 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.2 steals on 37%/35%/67% - 24.4mpg
Post All-star: 9.1 points, 2.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals on 36%/32%/63% - 30.2mpg

In Smart's defense, he was hurt the final game so his stats took a hit... he finished #54 amongst summer league participants in total statistical efficiency.   Even before the injury, his uptick in stats reflected the mild uptick he had over the second half of the NBA season last year...

Comparing stats without actually watching the game is retarded,

I saw the game where he went 1-11 with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 26 minutes against undrafted semi-pro basketball players... was he just joking around?

So your conclusion of Smart's Summer League performance being mildly better than last years that you repeatedly post on this site is based on actually watching only 1 game.  If you are too slow to realize, the coaching staff clearly made a point for him to strictly practice threes in that game.  If he played a normal game, no doubt he would of gotten in a better groove and had a better performance.

It's based on the fact that he was only mildly improved from last year. He had a good game. He had a bad game. Cant dismiss either. Is what it is.

Your dismissed.  Your argument is basically saying your opinion is fact without giving reasons. No point in arguing with a hater.  Whether you like it or not, Smart is most likely our next franchise player.  The larry bird days are long gone lol.

[KG Living Legend]

Your dismissed is not polite.

[LarBrd33]

Your dismissed is not polite.

Heh I get his point, though.   We need Marcus to develop into a franchise player some day.  I hope he does.  I'd be pretty surprised if that happened this season.  He looked ok at the end of the season.  He should be ok this season.  I just think we need some perspective about his summer league performance.  It was severely overrated.

[KG Living Legend]

No doubt. I'm hoping for a big jump, I'm happy he's the spiritual leader of the team, that's why we got much better after Rondo and green were gone.
 Rondo's spirit was gone, Jeff never had any.

[oldtype]

At the end of the day, dwelling over per-game averages for Summer League is more or less worthless given how ridiculously small the sample sizes are. This is even more true for Smart, who sat out several games in both Utah and Vegas.

The eye test tells me that he played significantly better than he did last year, and this is one of the few cases where the eye test - unreliable as it is - is probably a better metric than stats.

We'll see soon enough whether that translates to the NBA or not.

at the end of the day we can only hope that he looks better next season but based on his mild progress as a rookie, you can only expect so much. He's still a weak offensive player and my expectations are reasonably low.

I don't know if rookie year progression is any more informative to a player's future development arc than summer league stats are. Most players don't make dramatic leaps within their first year.

I'm not holding out much hope that this guy will become a star this year, mostly because that would be unlikely for any second-year prospect, but we have no where near enough information to put a ceiling on his development already.

If nothing else, he has more potential than anyone else on the team and people have to place their hope somewhere.

[ahonui06]

Marcus Smart is the best Celtics draft pick since Rajon Rondo (via Phoenix) back in 2006.

You need to take Summer League with a grain of salt, but his development towards the end of his rookie year and his overall passion for the game are very promising.  He is Boston's best hope to become a franchise/star player for the organization.