Van Gundy made a great point about Smart

[Evantime34]

One thing that has given me hope for Smart improving offensively is how he has scored/created offense for others by posting up. With teams going small a lot in the current NBA Smart is going to get guarded by someone smaller than him.

As to him getting better as a shooter all you need to do is look at how he shoots in the clutch (60%+ from 3 last year, 50%+ overall). That shows me that he has the tools to be a good shooter and just needs to work on his shot selection/consistency.

[Future Celtics Owner]

Unlike Elfrid and Mudiay, Smart has never been given the keys to run the team as its primarily ball handler and point guard.

We got to see in Summer League what he can do. He needs reps at point and needs to be playing D on the other teams point in order to force more to's and dominate defensively.

With Turner and IT4 on the roster, it will be near impossible for him to  get real minutes at the point. At least in terms of actually running the offense. Turner and IT4 are better ball handlers and playmakers at the moment anyway.

Well thats my point. Lets say we traded IT AB ET or pretend they are not on the team for a moment, then Smart would be handed over the keys to the team....ala Mudiay.

Smart needs to be THE POINT GUARD in order to get the reps and experience he needs. I am thinking about our future and Smarts development. I think its somewhat unfair to have him defending the 2 or 3 because he could literally lead the league in steals, especially the way his huge wingspan gets in the passing lanes.

[CelticsJG]

Smart not a PG. His ball handling is terrible and doesn't do anything elite on offense. He is more of a 3-D SG if he reach his potential which I doubt  because it is looking like he is injury prone.

[GreenWarrior]

wow! what a revelation a 2nd yr. guy has to get better....

[Rondo9]

wow! what a revelation a 2nd yr. guy has to get better....

Sorry he isn't Anthony Davis.......

[Big333223]

To the point the IP (and Van Gundy) was making, I think Smart's shot selection is a huge deal. he's a capable 3 point shooter but he's really inconsistent. So why have more than half of his shots in the NBA come from deep?

I want him to take some 3's because he's got to get better at them but a guy with his physical gifts should be getting into the lane and finishing over smaller/weaker guards. He has to get smarter about shot selection.

[BDeCosta26]

Smart not a PG. His ball handling is terrible and doesn't do anything elite on offense. He is more of a 3-D SG if he reach his potential which I doubt  because it is looking like he is injury prone.

Injury prone? He's had a few unrelated injuries due to his style of play, but nothing that looks chronic or long-lasting.

And idk what games your watching, but Smart's ball-handling has never been terrible, and has significantly improved this year to the point where it's probably slightly above average. It will continue to improve. His ability to get to the rim has also improved, and as he adjusts to learning how to bully his way to the hoop in the NBA he'll keep getting better at it. I'm not 100% sold on him being a full-time PG, but that's not what Brad wants anyway (He wants multiple creators on the floor at all times) so I'm not sure how much that really matters.

Just about no one works harder than he does, he'll continue to improve and develop into a good offensive player. Maybe not great, but good enough to supplement his defense. He's got a far better offensive skill set than Tony Allen's ever had, for example.

It's easy to overlook defense, but it should never be overlooked. Smart, at 21 or whatever he is, is already one of the best perimeter defenders in the entire NBA. He's like a defensive savant, the total package from a back-court defender with a motor that just never stops. He has future All-NBA defense written all over him. People need to be patient with young guys like Smart and Young who are gonna need time for it all to click.

[SHAQATTACK]

If we had MJ

There would still be complainers on this blog .

Smart is a excellent talent.