Shouldn't we give Marcus Smart the chance to emerge as another Jrue Holiday?

[BoulderMike]

Similar on defense, pretty good facilitator (but not necessarily elite), and can emerge as a secondary shooter ...

When you have J & J, isn't Jrue 2.0 the best type of point guard? Watching tonight's game and wish we had him for J&J. But, maybe we already have him?

I believe so, but am interested in other perspectives and rationales. I think we should give him the point guard job and see if he can be  Jrue 2.0.  If he can't, move him at the deadline.  If he can, resign him next summer and and the job is his.

[Moranis]

Smart has no where near the skills required for him to be Holiday.  Also, doesn't have the offensive IQ.

[nebist]

I think Kyle Lowry is the comp for a hoped-for career progression for Smart. Lowry progressed slowly as an offensive player but continued to get better and better as both a shooter and facilitator into his 30s. Similar to Smart, Lowry relies far more on strength than speed.

Edit: I looked it up and Smart’s first 7 seasons are almost an exact statistical match to Lowry’s. I still have some hope he has another level to his game.

https://stathead.com/tiny/rs9gM

[BudweiserCeltic]

I'll say this much, I prefer him as a PG than as a SG. If we don't find a trade or FA that's a clear improvement, I'm very comfortable entering the season with Smart focusing on his role as a PG... I just been of mind that if for some reason or another our starters with Smart as our PG works offensively, then I'd be hard pressed to find a better solution for us considering the defense he brings as well.

But comparing him to Jrue is nonsense.

[gouki88]

Jrue Holiday, who was an All-Star at 22 and averaged 18/7/4 with All-Defensive level defence during his New Orleans stint? Smart has no chance of being that kind of player.

Holiday's lowest FG% for a season was 43% early in his career, which is higher than Smart's highest FG%. The disparity in scoring talent is huge

[Rosco917]

There is an offensive game that Marcus could thrive.

Like further developing his floater off the dribble, getting into the paint and posting-up, simply concentrating on garbage buckets, sneaking in for offensive rebounds, and learning to let his offense come to him. Just facilitate plays for the two J's!

His shooting percentage would drastically improve, thus improving his value. Instead Marcus has convinced himself that he's sniper always on the verge of getting hot.   

[Bobshot]

Smart was drafted as a PG. But he quickly became enamored with the 3P shot along with the rest of the team.

They need a real PG, and Smart could be the one if the new coach wanted him to be one. But he has to cut down on his shooting and increase his assists.

In my view, a PG is what the Celtics need the most.

[Roy H.]

I think Marcus can be a starter.  He can pass, run the offense, make some plays and defend.

But, Holiday is better and smarter.

[blink]

There is an offensive game that Marcus could thrive.

Like further developing his floater off the dribble, getting into the paint and posting-up, simply concentrating on garbage buckets, sneaking in for offensive rebounds, and learning to let his offense come to him. Just facilitate plays for the two J's!

His shooting percentage would drastically improve, thus improving his value. Instead Marcus has convinced himself that he's sniper always on the verge of getting hot.   

This is pretty much exactly how I feel about Marcus.  If he reduces the amount of 3 point shots he takes, takes it to the hole more and sets up his teammates.  Hopefully our new coach and help him evolve in this direction.  I agree Holiday is just better on offense, but Smart has the intangibles, and seems to always come up big at crucial times.  That 'make a big play in crunch time' gene is something we still need on this team and doesn't show up on the stat sheet.

[jambr380]

Shouldn't we give Marcus Smart the chance to emerge as another Jrue Holiday? the starting PG of this Team?...is what I thought the thread title was going to be when looking at the Latest Discussions section on the side of the page. To that question, I give a resounding YES! But, I don't think he is ever going to be much like Jrue...and that's fine. If Smart can continue to polish his game, he has his own set of skills that can be very useful to a winning team.

[Vermont Green]

The question should have been simply "Shouldn't we give Marcus the chance to be the starting PG".  To that I say yes, that is exactly what I believe the Celtics should do.

Now will he be another Jrue Holiday or Kyle Lowrie, probably not as good as either of these two, or at least not the same.  I think Smart as a full time PG will get more assists, play better defense, and bring more intangibles than either of these two but he will not be the scoring threat that these two have been.

And I will go on to say that I am not that concerned with assists.  I would rather be the kind of team where there are 3 or 4 players getting 5 or 6 assists each over having your PG get 10 assists and everyone else gets 2.  We don't need Smart to be the type of PG that has the ball in his hands all the time.  Just get the ball up the court, get the team into something if there isn't a transition opportunity, take good shots when you have them, and make enough of them to keep the defense honest.  And get out of the way of the J's when you need to.

[PhoSita]

Smart is who he is.

He's not Jrue Holiday.

I like Smart just fine.  The Celts don't need him to be Jrue Holiday.  They just need him to be in a role that's commensurate with his skillset. 

Smart is somewhere between Pat Beverley and PJ Tucker.  I'd rather have Smart than either of those guys, but that's the level of role he should have on a good team.

[Roy H.]

I think Smart as a full time PG will get more assists, play better defense, and bring more intangibles than either of these two but he will not be the scoring threat that these two have been.

I think you're underrating Jrue.  He's at least Smart's equal on defense and is a better passer.  In terms of intangibles, he's one of the best teammates and community leaders in the NBA.

[Vermont Green]

I think Smart as a full time PG will get more assists, play better defense, and bring more intangibles than either of these two but he will not be the scoring threat that these two have been.

I think you're underrating Jrue.  He's at least Smart's equal on defense and is a better passer.  In terms of intangibles, he's one of the best teammates and community leaders in the NBA.

Comparing defense and passing is hard as you do not have a definitive measure or stat as you do with scoring.  Jrue Holiday has always been a full time PG which in my mind means more opportunities for assists and to showcase passing.  Last season, Holiday had 6.1 assts, Smart 5.7  My premise is that Smart as a full time PG (which he wasn't last season) will up the assists number.  Now whether that means he is a better passer or not, is a different question.  Holiday takes more shots meaning tries to pass less.

As to defense, they are pretty close on blocks and steal, I did not dig into advanced stats but based on what I see on the court, Smart plays elite defense.  Maybe Holiday does too, I don't see him play as much, but I can't believe an opposing PG would rather see Smart defending him over Holiday.

Anyway, overall, yes Holiday is better, probably underrated.

[BruceBanner18]

The elephant in the room is his extension...what do you pay him for that chance to emerge?

He's likely expecting in the ballpark of 4 yrs 100 mil