Marcus Smart thinks he’s a great shooter....

[knuckleballer]

[Moranis]

Any 3 Smart takes is a bad shot because it means the significantly better shooters aren't taking those shots.

[Rondo9]

Any 3 Smart takes is a bad shot because it means the significantly better shooters aren't taking those shots.

Even if it goes in for an average 3 point shooter?

[DefenseWinsChamps]

This is an ongoing problem. He's one of the streakiest shooters in the league. He can flip a game for you, but is that worth the many, many bad shots?

Man I like Marcus Smart, but I keep wishing he would figure out his low usage role on offense and he hasn't yet.

[Somebody]

I don't mind him shooting them if they're open and as a product of good offence.

It's when he takes 3s off the dribble, or takes them instantly after an offensive rebound, that annoys me. He can't be a guy taking 6+ threes a game

He can get 6+ open threes a game though. Think it's more about how he's taking the threes - he can take them off the catch or dribble as long as he's open and can take his time in launching them.

I'm aware that he makes his pullup threes at a higher clip than his catch and shoot threes, but most of his pullup threes aren't incredibly rushed, hence my "he can take them as long as he has a good amount of time to launch them".

[GreenEnvy]

Any 3 Smart takes is a bad shot because it means the significantly better shooters aren't taking those shots.

So if Tatum gets doubled at the elbow with under 5 seconds on the clock and swings it to a wide-open Smart in the corner.... you’re saying you rather Tatum take a contested long two or make a telegraphed lob to someone else than have an average shooter take the shot? Okkkk.

[Somebody]

Any 3 Smart takes is a bad shot because it means the significantly better shooters aren't taking those shots.

So if Tatum gets doubled at the elbow with under 5 seconds on the clock and swings it to a wide-open Smart in the corner.... you’re saying you rather Tatum take a contested long two or make a telegraphed lob to someone else than have an average shooter take the shot? Okkkk.

How dare you bring common sense and context into the discussion!

[ChillyWilly]

Any 3 Smart takes is a bad shot because it means the significantly better shooters aren't taking those shots.

So if Tatum gets doubled at the elbow with under 5 seconds on the clock and swings it to a wide-open Smart in the corner.... you’re saying you rather Tatum take a contested long two or make a telegraphed lob to someone else than have an average shooter take the shot? Okkkk.

How dare you bring common sense and context into the discussion!

We all know Smarts issue is chucking 3s early in the shot clock and not getting others touches first. No one has issue if he's taking end of clock 3s. He's suppose to have high BBIQ I'm starting to question it if he increases 3s in those circumstances.

[Moranis]

Any 3 Smart takes is a bad shot because it means the significantly better shooters aren't taking those shots.

So if Tatum gets doubled at the elbow with under 5 seconds on the clock and swings it to a wide-open Smart in the corner.... you’re saying you rather Tatum take a contested long two or make a telegraphed lob to someone else than have an average shooter take the shot? Okkkk.

Generally speaking, yes.  Smart is a bad shooter and every shot he takes is a shot that a better shooter is not taking.  And perhaps the reason that Tatum is doubled and Smart is wide open is because the other team knows it is a bad shot and they give it to him because they want him to take it.  That is just playing the odds and percentages.  And Smart is not an average shooter, he is a below average shooter.  He shot 34.7% last year, league average was 35.8% and Boston shot 36.4% with Smart (36.7% without Smart).  So the rest of the team was a full 2% better than Smart last year.  Tatum, Hayward, Walker, and Brown were all over 38% (Tatum was 40.3%).  Those are the guys that should have been taking the shots. 

Now to be fair, if Smart was shooting around 2 a game, no one would care because that would keep a defense honest, but the reality is, every 3 point shot Smart takes just means the better shooters aren't taking them and that is always going to be a problem.

[Csfan1984]

I don't mind him shooting them if they're open and as a product of good offence.

It's when he takes 3s off the dribble, or takes them instantly after an offensive rebound, that annoys me. He can't be a guy taking 6+ threes a game

Here are 2 interesting stats from the 2019/20 regular season regarding Smart's 3P%.

Catch and Shoot
3P%: 31.4 in 4 attempts per game

Pull Up Shooting
3P%: 40.1 in 2.5 attempts per game

Go figure!

A few shooters have this weird stat it has something to do with rythm shooting. In these cases I usually look at how passes are delivered. Some guys need to catch the ball a certain way to improve/keep their mechanics right. Carson Edwards might have the same issues but haven't tried pulling the numbers.

[Evantime34]

I trust Smart to knock down open shots. If someone closes out hard then he takes a dribble to get by him then takes the step back I am fine with that.

With Smart playing more 1 for us without Kemba I think he will be posting up more this year. At the 1 I want to see him create for others more than jack 3's. If he takes the heat check out of his game I think he will shoot a lot better and help the offense a lot more.

[cman88]

Smarts problem is he thinks hes in the same league as Tatum/Brown. there were games last year he took more shots than them.

that should not be happening. Hes more than a "role player" but he shouldnt be taking the most shots in a game.

[BringToughnessBack]

Well, he is a much better shooter than when he came into the league and that is encouraging.

[boscel33]

The funny thing about Marcus, seems like he is older than he really is.  He's only 26 right now, but already with the C's for 6 years.  I'd like to see him take the next steps and become an Andre Iguodala type.  He needs to know his role on this team.  It's JT, JB first.

[Wretch]

Last season Smart averaged 2.3 3PFM on 6.6 attempts. If Smart drops 1 "bad/heat check" 3 attempt (2.3 makes on 5.6 attempts) a game he becomes a 40% 3pt shooter.  That's pretty great.

If he can turn that heat check 3 into a drive to the basket to try to draw fouls or kick out to JT or JB he makes everyone better.