Thank You Marcus Smart! We’ll Miss You

[liam]

I've been trying to put my finger on it, why I didn't care for Smart, but Cousey says it perfectly:

“I liked Smart,” Cousy said. “I didn’t like some of the things he did. He thought he was a point guard when he was not. His mind was more to create opportunities for himself. In my judgment, point guards have to come across midcourt thinking, ‘How am I going to set one of the other guys up?’ That was never his thing.”

As a general rule of thumb we should perhaps avoid relying on the opinions of nonagenarians for much of anything in the way of analysis.

No, I don't like the sound of that. He's not senile. He is a HOF all-time great and he knows a few things about basketball.

I wouldn't ask William Beebe's opinion on the OceanGate submarine, either, and the laws of physics have changed less than the game of basketball.
Cous is entitled to his opinion, but even if he's a 'cognitive super ager' his accomplishments would have little bearing on the quality of his commentary on the modern game in general, let alone a throwaway comment about a former player.

I agree. The current day NBA is far different than the league that Cous played in. Almost different sports.

Cousey is 100% correct.

[green_bballers13]

I've been trying to put my finger on it, why I didn't care for Smart, but Cousey says it perfectly:

“I liked Smart,” Cousy said. “I didn’t like some of the things he did. He thought he was a point guard when he was not. His mind was more to create opportunities for himself. In my judgment, point guards have to come across midcourt thinking, ‘How am I going to set one of the other guys up?’ That was never his thing.”

As a general rule of thumb we should perhaps avoid relying on the opinions of nonagenarians for much of anything in the way of analysis.

No, I don't like the sound of that. He's not senile. He is a HOF all-time great and he knows a few things about basketball.

I wouldn't ask William Beebe's opinion on the OceanGate submarine, either, and the laws of physics have changed less than the game of basketball.
Cous is entitled to his opinion, but even if he's a 'cognitive super ager' his accomplishments would have little bearing on the quality of his commentary on the modern game in general, let alone a throwaway comment about a former player.

I agree. The current day NBA is far different than the league that Cous played in. Almost different sports.

Cousey is 100% correct.

Cousy didn't play with a 3 pt line. Marcus played for a team that encouraged everyone to shoot the 3 as much as possible. It's a shocker that Cousy didn't like Marcus shooting as much. He grew up in a time when point guards fit a narrow description. Today we have guys like Lebron and Giannis playing point forward. I wonder if Bob has any commentary for those guys, knowing that they don't conform to the cookie-cutter sport that he played in the 50's.

Also, I wonder what Marcus would say about Cousy's defense when comparing it to basketball played 70 years later.

edit: Why does anyone care about Cousy's criticism of Smart, and why does this belong in the thank you Marcus Smart thread?

[footey]

Bob Cousy INVENTED the NBA  point guard position. He has the right to say anything he wants about Smart as a point guard!!!

[liam]

Bob Cousy INVENTED the NBA  point guard position. He has the right to say anything he wants about Smart as a point guard!!!

TP

[Vermont Green]

I don’t get the debate. Marcus Smart isn’t Steve Nash but neither was Dennis Johnson.  Few teams have a Bob Cousy type PG these days. So what?  The 86 Celtics were perhaps the best team ever and they didn’t have a traditional PG.   I don’t think it matters.

[Who]

A fun highlight mix of Marcus Smart's passing from 3 seasons ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRavhgLw3M

[green_bballers13]

A fun highlight mix of Marcus Smart's passing from 3 seasons ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQRavhgLw3M

TP for getting this thread back on track. There's an ugly trend to kick players on the way out. It makes (a little bit more) sense when Ray Allen or Johnny Damon leave voluntarily for the key opposition. In this case, Marcus was traded to Memphis. It wasn't his choice.

Marcus was an imperfect player. He was an inefficient shooter for most of his time here, and he flopped frequently.

He also cared a lot. I got the sense that he cared about being a Celtic more than any player over the last decade. He will be missed.

[gouki88]

Bob Cousy INVENTED the NBA  point guard position. He has the right to say anything he wants about Smart as a point guard!!!

No, he does not. Smart's passing in the first half of the year, before he got injured, was quite brilliant. 7.2APG to 2.4TO - really good numbers, and the offence was unstoppable. He was really greasing the wheels of what looked like a special offence.

The issues arose when he came back from the injury. 4.4APG and 2.3TO once he returned from the layoff, and in the playoffs it was 5.1APG to 2.3TO, so somewhere in the middle.

Cous did invent the PG position. He was playing in Chucks, before the 3PT line, before you could dribble the side of the ball, before the cassette tape was invented! A very long time ago. The position and the game has changed.

[Goldstar88]

Bob Cousy INVENTED the NBA  point guard position. He has the right to say anything he wants about Smart as a point guard!!!

No, he does not. Smart's passing in the first half of the year, before he got injured, was quite brilliant. 7.2APG to 2.4TO - really good numbers, and the offence was unstoppable. He was really greasing the wheels of what looked like a special offence.

The issues arose when he came back from the injury. 4.4APG and 2.3TO once he returned from the layoff, and in the playoffs it was 5.1APG to 2.3TO, so somewhere in the middle.

Cous did invent the PG position. He was playing in Chucks, before the 3PT line, before you could dribble the side of the ball, before the cassette tape was invented! A very long time ago. The position and the game has changed.

Which injury effected his ability to pass the ball?

[gouki88]

Bob Cousy INVENTED the NBA  point guard position. He has the right to say anything he wants about Smart as a point guard!!!

No, he does not. Smart's passing in the first half of the year, before he got injured, was quite brilliant. 7.2APG to 2.4TO - really good numbers, and the offence was unstoppable. He was really greasing the wheels of what looked like a special offence.

The issues arose when he came back from the injury. 4.4APG and 2.3TO once he returned from the layoff, and in the playoffs it was 5.1APG to 2.3TO, so somewhere in the middle.

Cous did invent the PG position. He was playing in Chucks, before the 3PT line, before you could dribble the side of the ball, before the cassette tape was invented! A very long time ago. The position and the game has changed.

Which injury effected his ability to pass the ball?

Not what I was saying. I think the team changed generally. White was entrusted with more playmaking responsibilities, and when Smart came back I think he didn't quite know where he fit. So he reverted to previous ways.

But he is definitely a capable PG. Not sure it will show in Memphis longer-term with Morant, but he can.

[SHAQATTACK]

You watch …when Memphis plays Boston ….Marcus Smart will become Steph Curry for the night. ……you know that’s what will happen. Brogdon will go 2-12 …..it’s the way nba works

[footey]

This timi tribute to Marcus Smart made me cry.  It is freakin' awesome.

YOU MUST WATCH THIS!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ras9CE4RdxQ