Long term plan for Smart

[ctrey]

Has anyone noticed he only shoots 3's? He barely ever drives to the rim, which is clearly a strength of his if you watch his college games. Last night playing for Maine he just launched 3 after 3. My guess is this is at the behest of the Celtics. Much like they had Sullinger do last year. Just use games as practice. Technically it is tanking but with a clear longterm goal in mind.
Has anyone else noticed this? Am I crazy?

[littleteapot]

It seems like the C's management views their perimeter players as Rondo, Green and bunch of "system players". This means that they gameplan around the limitations of Rondo and Green and everyone else has a simple job: 3 and D.

I think this is a stupid plan because the C's are clearly not a good team now, and we have no idea what Rondo and Green will do this summer. We drafted Smart for his defense, passing, getting to the rim etc. and if we don't plan on using that skillset I'm not sure what we're doing. If you just want a 3 and D guy, any team could have had Arron Afflalo last summer and he's as good a 3 and D guy as there is.

I hope we are not just cowtowing to the needs of our veterans in an effort to convince them to stay - that's failed for so many teams of late. I also think that Danny knew that Smart and Rondo probably can't coexist long-term and that he would have to move on from one of them. Unfortunately it looks like he's either going to overpay to keep Rondo and force Smart into a mold he doesn't fit in, keep Rondo and get bent over a barrel to trade Smart, or lose Rondo for nothing and waste the most important year of Smart's development. I honestly don't understand what the plan is.

[D.o.s.]

Great post^ Welcome to CB, and have a tommy point.

[PickNRoll]

I want to see Smart go to the rim a lot more.  Develop a mid range game too.  But this is out of favor in the NBA right now.

[Evantime34]

I strongly agree that Smart needs to start driving the to the hoop but I think there is a reason he is playing the way he is.

They are bringing him along slowly. It is easy to improve when he just needs to focus on shooting open shots and playing defense. This is why they haven't had him running the offense as a point guard very much or telling him to create. They want him to concentrate on defense before adding more to his plate. Although, I would rather have him exclusively drive on offense instead of exclusively shooting 3's.

[loco_91]

It's the Sully plan, indeed. Smart would benefit greatly if defenders had to respect his shot, so I'm not upset that he's taking 3's. But I am upset that he is taking 3's almost exclusively... why not develop his strengths, in addition to his weaknesses?

[Csfan1984]

My guess is that it is about system,  role and development or Smart could be hitting threes at a good % in practice which is why he is encouraged to shoot it. I don't mind him trying to develop the shot but the three should be only half his offense he should drive the other half.

[PickNRoll]

I strongly agree that Smart needs to start driving the to the hoop but I think there is a reason he is playing the way he is.

They are bringing him along slowly. It is easy to improve when he just needs to focus on shooting open shots and playing defense. This is why they haven't had him running the offense as a point guard very much or telling him to create. They want him to concentrate on defense before adding more to his plate. Although, I would rather have him exclusively drive on offense instead of exclusively shooting 3's.

I agree with you.  I think maybe Steven's is emphasizing "space" as in "pace and space".  First, understand why spacing is critical.  Second, start to see more driving lanes.  Spacing promotes team play but ISO attacks don't.  It's a natural learning progression.

[wdleehi]

They are using the d-league to work on one of his weaknesses.  I am perfectly OK with that idea.  His driving ability is not going away and it is not going to be as challenged in the d-league like it will be in the big league. 


Smart developing a shot makes it more likely that he can be the starting SG next to Rondo.  Maybe a Dumars type SG.  Short, strong defender.  PG skills. 

[littleteapot]

There's a player who was exactly the guy you guys were all describing coming out of college last summer: Gary Harris. If we wanted that, we should have just traded down and picked Gary Harris and another guy instead of forcing Marcus Smart to turn himself into that.

[D Dub]

agree with wdleehi; he's got lots of great tools already, why not add another?

I also think there is an element of 'stashing' going on as well.  Potential trade partners are actively scouring the league, and the less time floor time Smart see's between now and Feb, the better it is for Ainge if he ultimately wants to keep him out of deals.

Meanwhile; guys like Sully, Bass, Rondo, Green, Thornton, and AB appear to be on showcase...
My opinion is, based on what I've seen thus far, Ainge's next-gen celts team will feature Smart as pg and captain. 

[Celtics4ever]

I think he added toughness the NBA level Celtics.   But I would rather him to develop himself fully and add that skill back into his arsenal because I do not see us going anywhere this year.  Young and Marcus's development should be the key factor this year and that means NBA DL with some NBA real time mixed in.   There will be a huge roster turnover next year with several expiring contacts.

[wdleehi]

There's a player who was exactly the guy you guys were all describing coming out of college last summer: Gary Harris. If we wanted that, we should have just traded down and picked Gary Harris and another guy instead of forcing Marcus Smart to turn himself into that.

With less talent.



Smart developing a respectable jump shot is the right thing to do with his talent.  Many players had to do that. 

[littleteapot]

There's a player who was exactly the guy you guys were all describing coming out of college last summer: Gary Harris. If we wanted that, we should have just traded down and picked Gary Harris and another guy instead of forcing Marcus Smart to turn himself into that.

With less talent.



Smart developing a respectable jump shot is the right thing to do with his talent.  Many players had to do that.

Many players have done that, but I can't remember one who was as good as Smart at the other stuff who literally stopped doing what he was good at and shot threes until he became good at it. Developing a three point shot often takes years.

Harris has less talent than Smart mainly because he's not capable of barreling his way into the lane and making big plays. Smart could do that as well as anyone in college and now he's going to need to learn to do that against NBA players. I'm afraid we're going to turn him into a replaceable talent, or just kill his development altogether because he can't learn it.

[D Dub]

There's a player who was exactly the guy you guys were all describing coming out of college last summer: Gary Harris. If we wanted that, we should have just traded down and picked Gary Harris and another guy instead of forcing Marcus Smart to turn himself into that.

With less talent.



Smart developing a respectable jump shot is the right thing to do with his talent.  Many players had to do that.

Many players have done that, but I can't remember one who was as good as Smart at the other stuff who literally stopped doing what he was good at and shot threes until he became good at it. Developing a three point shot often takes years.

Jason Kidd?