smart had a good game

[rollie mass]

i liked the way he walled off for his teamate to score
,got up there, for a over the back offensive rebound without fouling
,hit some three's penetrated and dished to bigs,
 both blew dropping the ball in the basket
never got out of control or started jacking up shots

[PaulAllen]

The best thing I took from his game last night was he was attacking the basket without losing control and got to the line three times... while I would like to see that number go up more I thought it was a positive sign... He is still chucking threes but he did have clean looks and they looked good coming off his stroke... He was lost a bit during the Hawks scoring streak but also Stevens needs the majority of that fault as he didnt call TO's or make proper adjustments..

[Donoghus]

Thought he tossed up some ill advised threes but Smart was also the least of the Celtics worries last night.

[footey]

He steps up in big moments.

[Fafnir]

Thought he tossed up some ill advised threes but Smart was also the least of the Celtics worries last night.

He does that, but most of the time I feel like he does it when the rest of the team is struggling. Decides to "make a big shot", if things are moving okay he moves the ball and takes the kick out threes instead.

Which of course doesn't help the team get into a flow even if he does make it. But I think that's an impulse you see most players succumb to. (scorers especially)

[Evantime34]

i liked the way he walled off for his teamate to score
,got up there, for a over the back offensive rebound without fouling
,hit some three's penetrated and dished to bigs,
 both blew dropping the ball in the basket
never got out of control or started jacking up shots

I thought he was pretty good last night. My only issue is that after he hit two 3's he immediately took so bad shot. Sometimes when he hits shots he takes progressively worse shots because he now thinks he can hit anything. I think as he gets older he will work for quality shots all the time instead of hoisting some bad shots once he's hit a few.

He has been great defensively this series. He's almost completely shut down Korver for the series, he has prevented Korver from even attempting shots for the majority of the time Smart is on him. I don't think people give this enough credit because his best defense comes off the ball. Against Millsap in game 4 he worked so hard before Millsap even got the ball to prevent him from scoring.

We are going to be a top 5 defensive team for the rest of his career here and he's a big part of that.

[Fafnir]

The best thing I took from his game last night was he was attacking the basket without losing control and got to the line three times... while I would like to see that number go up more I thought it was a positive sign... He is still chucking threes but he did have clean looks and they looked good coming off his stroke... He was lost a bit during the Hawks scoring streak but also Stevens needs the majority of that fault as he didnt call TO's or make proper adjustments..

Yeah ability to drive and get to the line is a big part of what I thought he'd do more of in the NBA when we drafted him. Always feel better when he does that in a game.

[Atzar]

The best thing I took from his game last night was he was attacking the basket without losing control and got to the line three times... while I would like to see that number go up more I thought it was a positive sign... He is still chucking threes but he did have clean looks and they looked good coming off his stroke... He was lost a bit during the Hawks scoring streak but also Stevens needs the majority of that fault as he didnt call TO's or make proper adjustments..

The sad truth is that this team kind of needs Marcus to chuck up some questionable threes.  It didn't when Bradley, Crowder and Olynyk were healthy, but it does now.  We don't have any shooters right now.  So we basically have to rely on some less-than-ideal shooters taking shots, hoping they randomly catch fire and demand defensive attention, in order to space the floor for IT and ET to work in the paint. 

When nobody gets hot, we see what we saw in Game 2 and Game 5. 

[Snakehead]

Thought he tossed up some ill advised threes but Smart was also the least of the Celtics worries last night.

He does that, but most of the time I feel like he does it when the rest of the team is struggling. Decides to "make a big shot", if things are moving okay he moves the ball and takes the kick out threes instead.

Which of course doesn't help the team get into a flow even if he does make it. But I think that's an impulse you see most players succumb to. (scorers especially)

I see that sometimes as his competitiveness too.  I don't love his shot selection either with threes but I take it as he is being asked to catch and shoot more so he feels he needs to to help and try to win.   He's a fearless player so he won't be afraid to shoot.

I agree with those saying he kind of needs to chuck as well because we just don't have the shooters.

That's why I am happy he is getting to handle the ball a bit more since Stevens is trying to get IT off ball to avoid the Atlanta defense.  I do think you see him drive more, which I also like because he has the ability there.  I also think he's shown a lot of growth as a passer.  We should let him run more pick and rolls.

I was encouraged by those drives as well.  A couple were the type where you are using your speed advantage as a guard with the intention of drawing a foul.  Consistent FTs would do a lot for Smart's game.