Is it time to give Smart the keys to the team as our long term point guard?

[Moranis]

The long term starting PG is not on the roster.

[Vermont Green]

Before Kemba I said stick with Smart, #juststartsmart. I wanted to sign Randle.

I'm ready to go to Smart but only after the team deals Kemba.

I think there is truth in this.  This push for Smart is indirectly related to the lack of confidence people are developing in Kemba, more than it is related to what Smart can do.  Kemba is not the player he was even last season, he is not playing up to his contract, even last season's version of Kemba had flaws, but he is still a good player and we need to use him.  Trade Kemba in the off season and sure, you can reevaluate a role for Marcus.

As to Marcus, he is a very versatile player.  I think recently, he has been playing better as a true PG.  Better shot selection, fewer forced passes, etc.  Smart can be our PG.  Assuming we have Brown and Tatum as 1 and 2 options, then we need at least one big that can score, and we will be just fine with that core and Smart as the PG and a blue collar big to round it out.

Pritchard is a good back up PG for now and probably for a couple of seasons anyway.  I prefer Smart by a wide margin.

[td450]

The problem with Smart is that he slows the ball movement down, and Tatum slows the ball movement down. Tatum is a cornerstone. If you play Smart with Tatum, you need to hope he controls his impulses to do too much and you can't play a third guy with them that slows the ball movement down.

Fortunately, Brown and Robert Williams fit the bill. Fournier, Pritchard and Langford and maybe Nesmith could fit too. So it really boils down to Kemba or Smart or both having to go, or at least be highly managed, and we have a serious need for another starter who can create and keep the ball moving.

[Tr1boy]

The long term starting PG is not on the roster.

Maybe Smart can still adjust/change

For me the ideal pg for the Jays is Josh Hart

[boscel33]

The long term starting PG is not on the roster.

Maybe Smart can still adjust/change

For me the ideal pg for the Jays is Josh Hart

He's an RFA next year.  Wonder what we could send their way to get him.  With Lewis and Bledsoe on the roster, I think Hart could be had.

[td450]

The long term starting PG is not on the roster.

Maybe Smart can still adjust/change

For me the ideal pg for the Jays is Josh Hart

Josh Hart? Nice rotation shooting guard, but brings nothing as a point guard/creator.

[slamtheking]

The long term starting PG is not on the roster.

Agreed.

I think Pritchard looks like he can be a terrific backup PG but I think we need someone better starting.  Marcus is not someone that a (good) team would want as the primary person initiating their offense.  in fact, he's not who I'd want as a starting SG even alongside a scoring PG because he's just not a real threat on the offensive end.  sure he can have a hot game once in a while but that's only once in a while and his passing is just too erratic.

[nickagneta]

The long term starting PG is not on the roster.

Maybe Smart can still adjust/change

For me the ideal pg for the Jays is Josh Hart

He's an RFA next year.  Wonder what we could send their way to get him.  With Lewis and Bledsoe on the roster, I think Hart could be had.

There will be no sign and trade or full MLE next year because it would hardcap the team. The Celtics will be going over the apron next year and won't be wanting to invite a hardcap.

[Ogaju]

Question is not whether to give Smart the keys. Question is how to convince him he does not have the keys!!

[ScoobyDoo]

Personally I think Smart is exactly what this team needs at point - exactly what they need.  A no back down, tone setting tough as heck point who will:

1. Do all the dirty work
2. Be the guy drawing the line in the sand for the other team
3. The guy to actually drag Tatum and Brown up to his intensity level - which is where they need to be for this team to achieve it's highest goal.

Smart is a natural in this position - they should give him the keys. It's Brad's "job" to manage Smart and reign him in if/when needed. You need a very switchable defender at the point in today's NBA - that is Marcus Smart.

The only question for me is if Fournier is the ideal fit next to Tatum and Brown (That is assuming you like small ball with Tatum and Brown at 3 and the 4 rather than the 2 or the 3. If you ultimately don't like don't like Tatum and Brown at the 3 and 4 then perhaps we use Fournier, draft picks and a player or two to get a great fit at the PF.

I love Smart at the one with Williams at the 5 and all the athletic dynamism in between.

And I get the "but Smart makes so many bone headed plays" all the time. Again, give him the keys, tell him he can't be "that guy" anymore. He has to reign all that in". This is Stevens job -  you yank him every time he does it until he learns. He will learn.

We all bag on Smart (me included) for his bone headed plays. But seriously, how brutal is Jaylen Brown on defense sometimes? He's like a zombie in full sleep walking mode on so many plays, and...we live with it. I'm willing to live with Smart's mistakes out there every bit as much as I'm willing to live with Brown's pathetic lapses on D as well.

Smart at the point. Williams at the five. Get a massive goon behind Williams for when you need it (Howard, Whiteside, maybe Thompson etc...) and one floor spacing center - maybe that's Kornet, 3rd string. Let it roll. We're not far off.               

[ozgod]

I see Smart as similar to an old Dennis Johnson but the league isn't. Smart would have been much more successful as a starting PG in the 80s while DJ would not have been as successful today as an older player playing PG as he was in the 80s. The league has changed too much.

It is too hard to play Smart at PG without a ball-handling wing who can run the offense like Doncic, Harden or LeBron. Smart simply does not offer enough quickness & dribble penetration to break the first line of a team's defense. That is before we get to his limited scoring ability.

When Smart plays PG next to middling playmaking wings, the offense becomes stagnant with everything happening in front of a set defense. 5 guys between the basket and the ball. One C's player trying to play hero ball and the C's offense going down the toilet. They can't win playing that type of basketball.

Payton Pritchard is the one who has the chance to unseat Kemba as the team's starting PG. Not Marcus Smart. Pritchard needs to offer some more dribble penetration but I feel he can give us some of that next year with some more growth. And unlike Smart, Pritchard is a high level shooter / efficiency player with good decision making capabilities who doesn't try to do things that are outside his wheelhouse.

This is the way I see it playing out. I really want Pritchard to be the starting PG next year - I think he could be a top 15 PG in the comp sooner rather than later. His efficiency, movement with and without the ball, and ability to spread the floor for our two stars is great

The one thing I've noticed with PP lately is that he drives, gets to the key and gets stuck and sort of has to dish the ball back out awkwardly. I think eventually he will be able to do what Hayward was so good at, drive and pass in one fluid motion, but right now it's like he's still unsure of exactly where everyone is on the court.

[Celtics4ever]

Pritchard has hit the rookie wall folks.

Personally I think Smart is exactly what this team needs at point - exactly what they need.  A no back down, tone setting tough as heck point who will:

1. Do all the dirty work
2. Be the guy drawing the line in the sand for the other team
3. The guy to actually drag Tatum and Brown up to his intensity level - which is where they need to be for this team to achieve it's highest goal.

This is not the way Smart was playing earlier in the year.   When he does this we are at our best.  I wonder what changed when he when back to it.

[SHAQATTACK]

Somebody needs to act like a leader ,  Kemba is quiet ,kind and soft spoken .  Smart is about the only person who has the natural battle leadership personality and brass to ride people.

[tstorey_97]

There is a vacuum for a leader and I suggest, Smart Thompson are the two veterans who have relatively big mouths and in a position on the team to say what needs to be said.

I enjoyed Perkins howling at the guys. Someone had to ring them up and I think they heard it.

Our team is young.

[jambr380]

I see Smart as similar to an old Dennis Johnson but the league isn't. Smart would have been much more successful as a starting PG in the 80s while DJ would not have been as successful today as an older player playing PG as he was in the 80s. The league has changed too much.

It is too hard to play Smart at PG without a ball-handling wing who can run the offense like Doncic, Harden or LeBron. Smart simply does not offer enough quickness & dribble penetration to break the first line of a team's defense. That is before we get to his limited scoring ability.

When Smart plays PG next to middling playmaking wings, the offense becomes stagnant with everything happening in front of a set defense. 5 guys between the basket and the ball. One C's player trying to play hero ball and the C's offense going down the toilet. They can't win playing that type of basketball.

Payton Pritchard is the one who has the chance to unseat Kemba as the team's starting PG. Not Marcus Smart. Pritchard needs to offer some more dribble penetration but I feel he can give us some of that next year with some more growth. And unlike Smart, Pritchard is a high level shooter / efficiency player with good decision making capabilities who doesn't try to do things that are outside his wheelhouse.

This is the way I see it playing out. I really want Pritchard to be the starting PG next year - I think he could be a top 15 PG in the comp sooner rather than later. His efficiency, movement with and without the ball, and ability to spread the floor for our two stars is great

The one thing I've noticed with PP lately is that he drives, gets to the key and gets stuck and sort of has to dish the ball back out awkwardly. I think eventually he will be able to do what Hayward was so good at, drive and pass in one fluid motion, but right now it's like he's still unsure of exactly where everyone is on the court.

Yeah, Pritchard seems like he could learn to do this. Kemba has completely altered his game in the last few games and has become excellent at this. And this just isn't Smart's game at all. I like Smart at PG at times, but the ability to penetrate the defense and find guys for easy 3s is just too important for a team that shoots a lot of 3s.