Fair Marcus Smart discussion

[gouki88]

My issues:

One, this team needs to add players who can be counted on, not subtract one.  Especially if one of the players coming in is a FA at the end of the season.

Two, if a real big time player hits the trade market, the fact that so many teams want Smart, he is to important of a trade piece for players that are in the same range in terms of value.

Three, I just don't get the cap issues.

I don't think Smart fits that description

[Goldstar88]

Other than Smart shooting(and missing) too much, is there any other part of his game that you have a problem with? He was tied for the most assists on the team tonight with 6, only 1 turnover.  4-4 from the Line. The shooting is infuriating and Brad needs to limit his attempts, but that’s really the only issue I have with his play. I don’t understand how the coach allows a 32% 3pt shooter to attempt 10 3’s in a game....This seems like more of a Brad problem.

[gouki88]

Other than Smart shooting(and missing) too much, is there any other part of his game that you have a problem with? He was tied for the most assists on the team tonight with 6, only 1 turnover.  4-4 from the Line. The shooting is infuriating and Brad needs to limit his attempts, but that’s really the only issue I have with his play. I don’t understand how the coach allows a 32% 3pt shooter to attempt 10 3’s in a game....This seems like more of a Brad problem.

His mediocre defence?

[PhoSita]

My issues:

One, this team needs to add players who can be counted on, not subtract one.  Especially if one of the players coming in is a FA at the end of the season.

Two, if a real big time player hits the trade market, the fact that so many teams want Smart, he is to important of a trade piece for players that are in the same range in terms of value.

Three, I just don't get the cap issues.

I don't think Smart fits that description

It's wild to me how easily people have forgotten all of the big plays Smart has made over the years.

[gouki88]

My issues:

One, this team needs to add players who can be counted on, not subtract one.  Especially if one of the players coming in is a FA at the end of the season.

Two, if a real big time player hits the trade market, the fact that so many teams want Smart, he is to important of a trade piece for players that are in the same range in terms of value.

Three, I just don't get the cap issues.

I don't think Smart fits that description

It's wild to me how easily people have forgotten all of the big plays Smart has made over the years.

It's not a case of forgotten at all. But those individual plays don't negate his poor play. And his play has disappointing. He's been downright bad this year, after a slight defensive decline last year (his playmaking was good, but his shooting efficiency returned its usual terrible level).

Smart has run out of excuses. He's a 27 year-old who is absolutely clueless about his rightful role on offence, who has become a pretty middle of the pack level defender this year, and is perhaps the worst volume shooter of all time from three. What's wild to me is how many people are still clamouring over him

[Muzzy66]

My issues:

One, this team needs to add players who can be counted on, not subtract one.  Especially if one of the players coming in is a FA at the end of the season.

Two, if a real big time player hits the trade market, the fact that so many teams want Smart, he is to important of a trade piece for players that are in the same range in terms of value.

Three, I just don't get the cap issues.

I don't think Smart fits that description

It's wild to me how easily people have forgotten all of the big plays Smart has made over the years.

It's wild to me how easily people have forgotten all of the terrible plays Smart has made over the years.  Why is it that Celtics fans are so quick to excuse/forgive all of the times Smart has made horrible decisions that have cost the Celtics games? 

Today is a quality example.  Smart shot 2-10 from three.  Smart is a defensive role player and a 32% three point shooter for his career.  There is NO SCENARIO in which Marcus Smart should ever be attempting 10 three point shots in a game...especially not when he's having a bad shooting night.  He ranks 11th on the team in 3PT% yet ranks 4th on the team in three point attempt rate (52.4%).  Smart is one of the worst shooters among guards that I've ever seen, and yet it really does seem like he's never seen a shot he didn't like.

If we are going to evaluate Marcus Smart as a player, I think it's important that we be impartial.  I'm more then happy to acknowledge the value that Smart brings with his passion, his hustle, his defence, and his uncanny tendency to perform game saving/winning plays. 

But with that you also need to acknowledge his recklessness, the unforced turnovers (bad passes, failed flop attempts, tacky offensive fouls) and his horrible shot selection - tendencies that have lost the Celtics crucial games on so many occasions.

I know we all love that feeling we get when smart makes a big time play.  But just as much as I love that - probably even more - I hate that feeling of deep dread that I feel every time Smart touches the ball at the end of a close game.  Especially in the playoffs.  I don't know if my heart can take much more of this extreme roller-coaster rides.  There's an old saying, that "slow and steady wins the race".  I love Smart, but I think I'm about ready to trade the love/hate relationship in for a bit of that 'slow and steady'. 

[colincb]

Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach

In fourth quarters this season Marcus Smart's now shooting 28.3 percent overall and 8.0 percent from three (2 for 25).

He was brutal in the MIA playoff series too. I still think he can improve with the bad shot selection (like driving into the thicket on the last series tonight), but I've thought that for a while now without seeing much progress. He's not the biggest problem we face though: health, depth, and a starting PF are.

[Muzzy66]

Other than Smart shooting(and missing) too much, is there any other part of his game that you have a problem with? He was tied for the most assists on the team tonight with 6, only 1 turnover.  4-4 from the Line. The shooting is infuriating and Brad needs to limit his attempts, but that’s really the only issue I have with his play. I don’t understand how the coach allows a 32% 3pt shooter to attempt 10 3’s in a game....This seems like more of a Brad problem.

It's a Smart problem, and it's also a Brad problem.

It's a Smart problem because he very clearly case of the kitten who thinks he is a tiger.  Or in this case, the defensive role player who thinks he is an offensive superstar.  He clearly has far more (misguided) confidence in his own shooting ability then anybody else on this planet does, and we've seen enough of him to realise that no amount of time will every gift him the ability to take a look in the mirror and realise/accept what he actually is.

It's a Brad problem because he should be coming down on Smart like a Lion on a Gazelle every time he goes out and does stuff like this.  If he played like this with Doc Rivers, Phil Jackson or Greg Popovich as the coach he'd find himself constantly riding the bench.  Brad won't do it, because he's far too nice/soft and clearly doesn't have the balls needed to keep in check guys who have strong/domiant personalities. 

As for other parts of his game...other then the shooting my other main problem with him is the general wrecklessness.  I've seen from Smart far too many dangerous passes, dribbles off his foot, cheap unnecessary fouls, and flagrant flops - so often these have resulted in extra opponent possessions or free throws, and often they come at absolutely crucial points in the games where every single possession counts. 

Yes, I know that we do see Tatum and Brown do some of those things at times too, but those guys are still very young / inexperienced and dealing with a lot of pressure, so I can let some of those pass.  Smart has played over 400 games (and over 60 playoff games) across 7 seasons.  He can't pull that excuse.

IF you take away the shooting issues and the bad decision making then sure, no other issues with Smart that I really have an major issue with.  But those two issues are really, really big issues.

Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach

In fourth quarters this season Marcus Smart's now shooting 28.3 percent overall and 8.0 percent from three (2 for 25).

He was brutal in the MIA playoff series too. I still think he can improve with the bad shot selection (like driving into the thicket on the last series tonight), but I've thought that for a while now without seeing much progress. He's not the biggest problem we face though: health, depth, and a starting PF are.

You're right, he's definitely not the biggest problem.  But he really doesn't help.  On a team that is struggling for wins as much as this team is right now, the last thing you need is one of the worst shooters ever chucking up 10 threes in a game that was otherwise actually extremely winnable.  This was a 2 point loss.  One good FG could have been the difference between a loss and a win.  If Smart had just given up the ball on 4 or 5 of those possessions this may well have been a nice win against a very good team. 

[kraidstar]

Smart has seniority over Tatum and Brown, and they too easily defer to him. It is a real problem, one that Brad should intervene on.

I love Smart's attitude and will to win, but he is smothering our younger, better players.

They aren't going to learn to lead if he is in charge, and if he isn't being held accountable by Brad.

[Indocelts]

Remember last year during the ECF Finals when Smart launched a corner 3 (and missed) knowing that Brown was wide open under the basket?

That highlighted Smart needs for self glory, clearly showing his low BB IQ even during very critical time.

We seem to always get attached to his occasional defensive highlights, but forget all the dumb plays he has regularly committed.

[Somebody]

Okay Smart deserves to get ragged on, but I don't think that he should simply get rid of the ball at all costs when he's wide open in crunch time: he should use that space to probe for better looks. He can take a few dribbles for a midrange shot that he's actually pretty good at making (he's been shooting 42-44% from 10-16 feet in the past 1.5 seasons and is currently shooting a scorching hot 58.8% from 16 feet to the three point arc, he's also shooting 44.7% on pullup jumpshots this year). He can also just drive to the rim to either shoot a floater (he's shooting around 50% on them this season) or kick it out to an open shooter if the defence collapses around him.

Smart's not a great three point shooter, but he's not hopeless on offence - he just needs to be more sensitive to whether he's hot or cold in games and make decisions based on his in-game form (eg. none of us would be complaining about the threes Smart misses in crunch time if he was coming off a hot streak of 5-6 made threes).

[0003323344]

Smart has seniority over Tatum and Brown, and they too easily defer to him. It is a real problem, one that Brad should intervene on.

I love Smart's attitude and will to win, but he is smothering our younger, better players.

They aren't going to learn to lead if he is in charge, and if he isn't being held accountable by Brad.

Stevens is too timid to get involved. A good college coach who never really made the transition to NBA coach that well.

[0003323344]

My issues:

One, this team needs to add players who can be counted on, not subtract one.  Especially if one of the players coming in is a FA at the end of the season.

Two, if a real big time player hits the trade market, the fact that so many teams want Smart, he is to important of a trade piece for players that are in the same range in terms of value.

Three, I just don't get the cap issues.

I don't think Smart fits that description

It's wild to me how easily people have forgotten all of the big plays Smart has made over the years.

It's a what have you done for me lately league and he hasn't done much for the team other than chuck up 3's and play hero ball way too much. I love Smart and his intensity and how he leads the team, but he's not a shooter and never will be. There was a series a few years ago where he made 6 or 7 3's and he's been trying to duplicate that game ever since. He should stick to dishing and driving and the occasional 3 or pull up.

[BruceBanner18]

This team has zero chemistry and lacks defensive effort. If Smart is really the "heart and soul" then he is failing.

[boscel33]

This team has zero chemistry and lacks defensive effort. If Smart is really the "heart and soul" then he is failing.

The team has no heart and soul.  Thought JB would be that, after last year when he was more vocal, but he's not.  JT is soft in my opinion.  Maybe they should just go to a rook and give the team to PP.