Smart Takes Too Many Bad Shots

[Sophomore]

I guess Smart is the designated pinata for this loss 

TP. He was bad, but it’s ridiculous to pin this on him. It was iso ball and hero ball all the way down the line. 17 assists and 17 turnovers. Ball movement and decision making was really really bad by essentially everyone. Nobody made the extra pass to get a better shot. They played like a tired unfocused team.

[Moranis]

I guess Smart is the designated pinata for this loss 

TP. He was bad, but it’s ridiculous to pin this on him. It was iso ball and hero ball all the way down the line. 17 assists and 17 turnovers. Ball movement and decision making was really really bad by essentially everyone. Nobody made the extra pass to get a better shot. They played like a tired unfocused team.

hard to get assists when the team shoots 35% from the field.

As for Smart, he is shooting 43.2% from 2 and 31.4% from 3 on the year.  And he is shooting so many 3's his FG% is just 36.3%.  That is horrific.  But Smart shooting too many 3's isn't new, he has done it every single year he has been in the league.  He needs to stop shooting so much.  He would be a much better player overall if he was at 2 or 3 long range attempts a game and not over 6 this year or 4 every other year.  I'm not saying he should be Simmons, but some self restraint wouldn't hurt.  Sometimes taking the open 3 is a bad shot and for Smart that is pretty much always the case.  There is a reason he is open that much. 

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I've said this in a couple threads lately. I love Smart and don't want him to play for another team, but I think his on court impact is overall not as a great as fans might think. I know he makes winning plays, but I also think he makes a lot of losing plays.

Not just the bad threes--and there are a lot of them. He demands the ball on offense, and he's probably the fifth best offensive player on the team. He has been posting up a lot over the last few games and, honestly, not doing very well at it. He drives to the basket and takes bad shots. He's also pretty turnover prone.

I've also noticed that he is getting stuck on more screens so far this year. He isn't slipping them as well, which is leaving his man open for a lot of threes. He's a great defender against bigs and wings, but I just don't think he's a good defender against shooters or guards. He isn't quick enough to get around screens.

Smart's defensive playmaking is a luxury, but the cost is 3/14 with a ton of offensive stallouts because he is demanding the ball in the post or making bad drives.

He's a perfect fit if he's willing to take 4 shots, move the ball, and do the little things, but he has consistently proven that he is too willing to try to take over a game offensively. He's a fine offensive role player, but when he tries to take the role of offensive playmaker, he is one of the worst in the NBA statistically.

All of this being said, I don't think we need Smart to be a championship contender. Brown, Hayward, and Tatum are all really good defenders. Walker is a really good defender as well. His defense is a luxury we don't need, and  it comes at the cost of 5-8 bad offensive possessions per game.

[Fafnir]

I guess it comes down to the philosophical question. Is it better for an weak offensive player to take no jump shots a game, or 6? Is it better to be Ben Simmons/Andre Roberson or Marcus Smart.

I'm firmly in the camp of you need to take them. If he was shooting at the same percentage as last year when everyone was happy with how well he was shooting and he was so very valuable he would have made 8 more 3s over 25 games. That's the difference from being a negative offensive player and a positive one at his usage and shot selection, an extra made three every third game.

Should he cut out the worst 3 he takes every game, sure. But I'd rather he be a willing shooter than become a Tony Allen who can't finish on drives and becomes hard to play in big games.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I guess it comes down to the philosophical question. Is it better for an weak offensive player to take no jump shots a game, or 6? Is it better to be Ben Simmons/Andre Roberson or Marcus Smart.

I'm firmly in the camp of you need to take them. If he was shooting at the same percentage as last year when everyone was happy with how well he was shooting and he was so very valuable he would have made 8 more 3s over 25 games. That's the difference from being a negative offensive player and a positive one at his usage and shot selection, an extra made three every third game.

Should he cut out the worst 3 he takes every game, sure. But I'd rather he be a willing shooter than become a Tony Allen who can't finish on drives and becomes hard to play in big games.

I'm with you on this. It's not the threes that have ever been a problem for me. He takes 1-2 bad ones a game, but he makes those sometimes. In my mind, he has to stop demanding the ball in the post and driving to the rim so much. He's just not good enough to be taking that many shots from our best players.

[Fafnir]

I'm with you on this. It's not the threes that have ever been a problem for me. He takes 1-2 bad ones a game, but he makes those sometimes. In my mind, he has to stop demanding the ball in the post and driving to the rim so much. He's just not good enough to be taking that many shots from our best players.

I don't mind him running the PnR, but other than that and 3s its not great at all.

His post ups have been pretty futile his entire career overall. He's 37th percentile in the post this year. (though that is on only 12 possessions according to NBA.com which indicates that most of his post ups he passes out of. I'd be curious if the C's have done well on those passes out otherwise why post him up ever...)

[Spicoli]

Honestly Marcus Smart is a guy that i wouldn't mind if he was traded. He just can't help himself from chucking. Yes he makes plays on defense but last night Ish Smith destroyed him along with everyone else. Smart had no prayer of stopping the guy. So if Smart can't stop a guy who is red hot and torching us, while also chucking and throwing up bricks on the other end, how valuable is that really?

[Moranis]

I guess it comes down to the philosophical question. Is it better for an weak offensive player to take no jump shots a game, or 6? Is it better to be Ben Simmons/Andre Roberson or Marcus Smart.

I'm firmly in the camp of you need to take them. If he was shooting at the same percentage as last year when everyone was happy with how well he was shooting and he was so very valuable he would have made 8 more 3s over 25 games. That's the difference from being a negative offensive player and a positive one at his usage and shot selection, an extra made three every third game.

Should he cut out the worst 3 he takes every game, sure. But I'd rather he be a willing shooter than become a Tony Allen who can't finish on drives and becomes hard to play in big games.

There is a middle ground between 0 and 6.  If Smart just trimmed his 3 worst shots every game, his percentage would increase significantly and the team would most likely get 3 better shots every game.  That is a lot of points gained over the course of a season.  It isn't just his misses it is what those misses mean for the rest of the team.  And if he took 3 less a game, it might actually make him a more lethal offensive player.  If he could even approach mediocre with his defense and intangibles he would be a significantly better player with far more value. 

At this point though, Smart is never going to change.  It is why I'd have no problem shipping him out in a larger trade package.  He is just so frustrating to watch, I think I'd enjoy the games more not wondering when Smart's next brick will come from. 

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I guess it comes down to the philosophical question. Is it better for an weak offensive player to take no jump shots a game, or 6? Is it better to be Ben Simmons/Andre Roberson or Marcus Smart.

I'm firmly in the camp of you need to take them. If he was shooting at the same percentage as last year when everyone was happy with how well he was shooting and he was so very valuable he would have made 8 more 3s over 25 games. That's the difference from being a negative offensive player and a positive one at his usage and shot selection, an extra made three every third game.

Should he cut out the worst 3 he takes every game, sure. But I'd rather he be a willing shooter than become a Tony Allen who can't finish on drives and becomes hard to play in big games.

There is a middle ground between 0 and 6.  If Smart just trimmed his 3 worst shots every game, his percentage would increase significantly and the team would most likely get 3 better shots every game.  That is a lot of points gained over the course of a season.  It isn't just his misses it is what those misses mean for the rest of the team.  And if he took 3 less a game, it might actually make him a more lethal offensive player.  If he could even approach mediocre with his defense and intangibles he would be a significantly better player with far more value. 

At this point though, Smart is never going to change.  It is why I'd have no problem shipping him out in a larger trade package.  He is just so frustrating to watch, I think I'd enjoy the games more not wondering when Smart's next brick will come from.

I'm getting a little scared how often I agree with you lately. Smart just muddies the game up, which can be a good thing at times, but it isn't fun to watch and I'm sure it's always the best path to victory.

I'm with you. He used to be a bit untradeable in my mind, but I think he's become a bit overrated. I'm ok with him being part of a larger trade package.

I just don't want to face him in the playoffs. That's why I like a trade that sends him to Minny, sends Covington to the Pacers, and sends Turner to us (with some smaller pieces). That makes a ton of sense for all sides.

[Sophomore]

I guess Smart is the designated pinata for this loss 

TP. He was bad, but it’s ridiculous to pin this on him. It was iso ball and hero ball all the way down the line. 17 assists and 17 turnovers. Ball movement and decision making was really really bad by essentially everyone. Nobody made the extra pass to get a better shot. They played like a tired unfocused team.

hard to get assists when the team shoots 35% from the field.

As for Smart, he is shooting 43.2% from 2 and 31.4% from 3 on the year.  And he is shooting so many 3's his FG% is just 36.3%.  That is horrific.  But Smart shooting too many 3's isn't new, he has done it every single year he has been in the league.  He needs to stop shooting so much.  He would be a much better player overall if he was at 2 or 3 long range attempts a game and not over 6 this year or 4 every other year.  I'm not saying he should be Simmons, but some self restraint wouldn't hurt.  Sometimes taking the open 3 is a bad shot and for Smart that is pretty much always the case.  There is a reason he is open that much.

The bolded statement is, of course, true. But as Brad pointed out after the game, he doubts they missed many potential assists.

You can really see the difference when the team is moving the ball: a guy will have a pretty good look at a 3 but he's a little out of rhythm or off balance, so he moves it again to somebody who will get a very clean look. There are picks, actions, and cuts off the ball that lead to passes. The ball will go into the paint and then there are two more passes before there's a really good look. It almost never happened last night and *everybody* was part of the problem. So many lazy possessions, people - definitely including Jaylen and Jayson, probably Horford too - just taking the first shot that showed or going iso.

I'm not defending Smart. He showed poor shot selection. I'm saying it was a team-wide disease. I happened to catch the game on the Wizards feed and they were definitely noticing it too.

[Fafnir]

How low usage do you envision Smart having exactly? He's already a very low usage player, I guess you want Patrick Beverly/KCP/Danny Green type fga? That's where he was in year's past. (shooting wise he handles a lot more than them too)

It makes more sense that you cape for Simmons strangling his team's offense to death given you want to trade Smart because he dares to take shots lol.

[Moranis]

How low usage do you envision Smart having exactly? He's already a very low usage player, I guess you want Patrick Beverly/KCP/Danny Green type fga? That's where he was in year's past. (shooting wise he handles a lot more than them too)

It makes more sense that you cape for Simmons strangling his team's offense to death given you want to trade Smart because he dares to take shots lol.

Watching Simmons consistently would frustrate me the way watching Smart does, but for the opposite reason.  The simple truth is, both Simmons and Smart should be taking 3's like Giannis i.e. a couple a game.  Enough to keep defenses honest, but not enough to really be a detriment or a negative over the long haul and you know if they start hitting them consistently, then you up it a bit (like Smart shooting 36.4% last year with 4.3 attempts, that is fine, though even then that was less than the team average so Smart taking a 3 was a worse shot than someone else on the team taking the 3).  There is a happy medium and Smart just has never been able to find it. 

And yes, I'm fine with Smart having a usage like Beverley.  There is nothing wrong with knowing your limitations and playing within yourself and the offense.  Every shot Smart takes is a shot Walker or Brown or Tatum or Hayward or Kanter isn't taking and that isn't a good thing since you know they are vastly superior offensive players.  Your best offensive players should get the shots and players that are historically bad should cede a lot more shots than they take.  Smart reminds me a lot of Antoine Walker on offense (not necessarily style of play but mentality).  They are both guys that never saw a shot they didn't like and thought/think they are better than they were/are.  Less shots for Smart is a good thing as he misses them a lot and it means a better player would be getting that shot (also a good thing).

[PhoSita]

Smart is who he is.  The irrational confidence, heat check shots are part of it.

I sincerely don't think you can have all the good that Smart brings without the bad.

I'm a huge Smarf fan and I wouldn't change anything.  To the extent this team is missing something they'd need to contend, it's not due to anything about Smart's game.

[td450]

Honestly Marcus Smart is a guy that i wouldn't mind if he was traded. He just can't help himself from chucking. Yes he makes plays on defense but last night Ish Smith destroyed him along with everyone else. Smart had no prayer of stopping the guy. So if Smart can't stop a guy who is red hot and torching us, while also chucking and throwing up bricks on the other end, how valuable is that really?

I've always thought his defense was overrated because quite a few point guards torch him. He just isn't as good an on-ball defender as Jaylen Brown is. He is as good as any guard ever in the lane, has great hands and anticipation, and makes lots of exciting plays. He's pretty average against quick guards who can draw him outside. He just doesn't have that burst speed you need to keep up with those guys.

[Spicoli]

Honestly Marcus Smart is a guy that i wouldn't mind if he was traded. He just can't help himself from chucking. Yes he makes plays on defense but last night Ish Smith destroyed him along with everyone else. Smart had no prayer of stopping the guy. So if Smart can't stop a guy who is red hot and torching us, while also chucking and throwing up bricks on the other end, how valuable is that really?

I've always thought his defense was overrated because quite a few point guards torch him. He just isn't as good an on-ball defender as Jaylen Brown is. He is as good as any guard ever in the lane, has great hands and anticipation, and makes lots of exciting plays. He's pretty average against quick guards who can draw him outside. He just doesn't have that burst speed you need to keep up with those guys.

Not only that, but he struggled defending Buddy Hield as well. Buddy came in and got 41 with very little resistance. Buddy hasn't had a game like that since. So Smart cannot stay with guys running around screens and he cannot stop quick ballhandlers. Other than playing in the passing lanes and playing decent post defense (LeBron still destroys him whenever they matchup in the post) i'm not seeing how what he brings is so valuable.