My hopes for Marcus Smart

[hodgy03038]

just as an update, smart's 2 pt% continues to be embarrassingly poor, coming in for the season at 39.2%.

next, his season average at 3 point shooting is 30.7%, poor but not embarrassingly so.

but what is of interest is that over the past 19 games, smart's 3 point shooting is 29 for 64, or, 45%.

could he have turned the corner on at least 3 point shooting? still to soon to know. but this is a trend worth watching. if he develops a credible 3 point shot, his value is much higher to the team.

I haven't looked at the numbers but I know by watching his free throw percentage is dramatically better than it was last year. I used to worry about him making 1 of 2. Now he is almost automatic.

[knuckleballer]

just as an update, smart's 2 pt% continues to be embarrassingly poor, coming in for the season at 39.2%.

next, his season average at 3 point shooting is 30.7%, poor but not embarrassingly so.

but what is of interest is that over the past 19 games, smart's 3 point shooting is 29 for 64, or, 45%.

could he have turned the corner on at least 3 point shooting? still to soon to know. but this is a trend worth watching. if he develops a credible 3 point shot, his value is much higher to the team.

I haven't looked at the numbers but I know by watching his free throw percentage is dramatically better than it was last year. I used to worry about him making 1 of 2. Now he is almost automatic.

He seems to have really improved.  He had a horrible start this season in his free throw shooting, but he's been at 82 and 88 percent for the past two months.  Hopefully, this is real improvement and the rest of his shooting will follow.  He'll be a hell of a player if his shooting comes around.

[tankcity!]

It's not just shooting with him. He needs to improve on his finishing, his floater, his mid range game isn't great either. He has no flexibility when attacking the rim. He needs to improve his fade away shot when posting up. He is just not very good on offense. He's handling and playmaking have improved, but we live in an era where a player like Rajon Rondo has trouble finding a home. Rondo is a better finisher around the rim funny enough.

So imo, he needs to improve his offensive arsenal. If he doesn't, he's a great role player, not that there is anything wrong with that.

[CelticGuardian]

It's not just shooting with him. He needs to improve on his finishing, his floater, his mid range game isn't great either. He has no flexibility when attacking the rim. He needs to improve his fade away shot when posting up. He is just not very good on offense. He's handling and playmaking have improved, but we live in an era where a player like Rajon Rondo has trouble finding a home. Rondo is a better finisher around the rim funny enough.

So imo, he needs to improve his offensive arsenal. If he doesn't, he's a great role player, not that there is anything wrong with that.

Smart is not agile like most ball players, he's too heady and doesn't have the grace for half of the stuff you want him to do. I think the expectations of a lottery pick should not be tied to Smart anymore since we are moving on with better options.

[nickagneta]

Smart's fairly dramatic improvement in his free throw shooting since his rookie year(65% then to nearly 90% over the last couple months) gives me hope that he has the ability to at least develop some sort of outside shot. Maybe not from 3 but an ability to hit 15-20 footers would make a huge difference for him offensively.

[mctyson]

Smart's fairly dramatic improvement in his free throw shooting since his rookie year(65% then to nearly 90% over the last couple months) gives me hope that he has the ability to at least develop some sort of outside shot. Maybe not from 3 but an ability to hit 15-20 footers would make a huge difference for him offensively.

I will never claim that a 78% FT shooter "can't shoot."  I think Marcus takes a lot of rushed shots which hurts his percentage.  He will get better at being patient and picking his spots.

[hwangjini_1]

The trend is still going the correct way. Since 12/23 our Marcus smart is shooting 38% from 3 point land.

More than acceptable. This is over a quarter of a seasons worth of games. At some point soon we might consider this the new normal for smart.

My eyes say he is taking more controlled shots, set shots instead of desperation chucking and off balance bricks.

But it is still a bit early for conclusions.

Oh, his 2 point shooting still stinks, 34% during the same time.

[chambers]

The trend is still going the correct way. Since 12/23 our Marcus smart is shooting 38% from 3 point land.

More than acceptable. This is over a quarter of a seasons worth of games. At some point soon we might consider this the new normal for smart.

My eyes say he is taking more controlled shots, set shots instead of desperation chucking and off balance bricks.

But it is still a bit early for conclusions.

Oh, his 2 point shooting still stinks, 34% during the same time.

I think the idea is to get him in the post and bumping up his FG% and confidence.
He seems like a better catch and shoot 3 point shooter as the season goes on.

But yeah, the longer they keep going to him in the post vs guards, the higher his 2p FG% will rise  (hopefully).

[KG Living Legend]

The trend is still going the correct way. Since 12/23 our Marcus smart is shooting 38% from 3 point land.

More than acceptable. This is over a quarter of a seasons worth of games. At some point soon we might consider this the new normal for smart.

My eyes say he is taking more controlled shots, set shots instead of desperation chucking and off balance bricks.

But it is still a bit early for conclusions.

Oh, his 2 point shooting still stinks, 34% during the same time.

 TP for the encouraging stats Hwang.

 Maybe he should only shoot three's lol

 My gut tells me he will eventually score at will inside against smaller players.

 He and Jaylen have no touch right near the basket. Jaylen gets where he wants to, but finished worse than I do.

 It needs to show them a thing or two.

 Smart has no arc on his shots around the hoop. Drives me nuts. 45 degrees is the perfect arc Smart. Get the ball up higher bro!

[oldtype]

He's been staying in the corners and cutting the "NO MARCUS" pull-up threes out of his game, which is exactly what we needed.  His two point shooting is a bigger problem than his three point shooting right now.