Amusing Article About Ainge's Favorite Restaurant

[walker834]

I love this highlight package of his D as a rookie.  He looks bigger to me.  But hopefully Marcus always plays defense like this.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW44FMmALf8

[Rosco917]

He's looks much more comfortable taking the ball into the paint, he's taking his time while keeping all options open, including the pass, or finding the best place to get a clean look. He doesn't try to blast in the paint like IT can do. i think he's finding out what his game is.

He's also using the in-between game, like from the 14-18 foot area, using his jump shot, and keeping defenders honest. This type of offensive game should give him a higher shooting percentage over all.

He still shoots the three, hopefully he'll improve it. 

[penwasser]

When Marcus is wide open for a 3, and has a second to think about it, his shooting mechanics seem elongated and far less fluid then when he is able to shoot in rhythm. 

[walker834]

Marcus has all the tools when you think about it.  All these guys like Kemba taking over.  Marcus has that kind of skill but he's bigger and more of a ridiculous defender.

His shot needs to fall with more consistency. When he's driving in the paint good things happen.

[loco_91]

Smart matched up against a lot of forwards in college, and he was consistently able to get in the paint vs those bigger, slower defenders. It'll be interesting to see what he can do playing as a smallball SF. He's also been posting up a lot more.

Smart doesn't need to shine on the offensive end to be a great player - he just needs to be solid. A combo of making good passes, posting smaller guards, driving on slower wings, and providing hopefully-only-slightly-subpar spacing would be perfect.