If I had a chance to trade Smart For Elfrid Peyton I would do it in a heartbeat

[KeepRondo]

I would rather have Smart. But I do think he needs to work on the following -

Stop picking up his dribble when he gets pressured.
Stop trying to pass out of trouble.
Develop a floater since he's not a leaper.
Work on mid range game.

[ssspence]

It's early to look at early returns and be tempted by the notion of the latter over the former. But I think it's premature to judge. Their games are pretty different. I don't really care about having a PG dominate the ball if efficiency is there. Which leads to my biggest concern about Smart:

When is his defensive tenacity & energy going to show up on the offensive side of the ball? Guess I'd just like to see him get into the paint more....

[DesertDweller]

Let it be, Smart is killing it, son!!!

[Quetzalcoatl]

I think they're both great players, but I would honestly take Smart, even with my homer glasses off.  His defense is just on another level and I think the rest of his game will work out in the off season. 

[aingeforthree]

I think they're both great players, but I would honestly take Smart, even with my homer glasses off.  His defense is just on another level and I think the rest of his game will work out in the off season.

You said the key words right there.

His defense is on another level.  Kid is 20 years old and his defense is legit first team all NBA type defense.

The shooting, PG skills (although a lot of good things to see here already), and bball IQ will just come with time. 

From the sound of it, it seems his work ethic is on another level as well.  Add those things up and you're looking pretty darn good.

[PickNRoll]

 A little love from Zach Lowe.  (and a dig at the Celtics)

[Mass_1081]

Lol why? He's a point guard....he can pass better than smart and drive better...the are obvious...all smart does is shoot 3s and your tEllington me you want to see if elfrid can do that?

   I guess you didn't watch much of Smart in college, you can't judge any rookie this many games in,they both will develope at different pace. Let Smart actually get a season and get comfy at the pro level befor judging him. Guys like James Harden and Paul George would have all been declared busts by a lot of you by the way their rookie seasons started out.

[TwinTower14]

I am very happy with Marcus Smart, he is actually a little better than I thought he would be.  I never thought he would shoot the 3 ball at 37%, especially as a rookie 20 year old. 

I remember listening to Troy Brown ( I know different sport ) once talk about the worst injury he ever had and he said it was by far the high ankle sprain.  He couldn't cut, explode out of his breaks etc.  He said that it took him until next training camp to feel better.  I don't think we will see Smart's real athleticism until the end of the year.  Didn't he test at the combine very comparable to other great athletes at his position?  You watch his college tape and it's there.  It doesn't go away at the age of 20.  Smart is a keeper and he will be the face of this franchise for a long time...

[colincb]

From today's chat:

Marcus Smart can shoot! Has your opinion/forecast changed?
Chad Ford
  (1:21 PM)


We are talking about a pretty small sample size here. I'm not sure anyone is ready to call Marcus Smart the next Ray Allen. However, where he's really stood out to me is defensively. We knew this during the draft, but it's played out immediately in the NBA. Smart looks like a good bet to win Defensive Player of the Year someday. If he can shoot a respectable 37% or higher from 3? He's going to be an All-Star in the NBA for years.


====

He's shooting 41% from 3 for December and January. Small sample size, but Smart in college was a drive to the basket halfcourt player who drew a lot of fouls and whose biggest flaw was shooting too many bad shots.  He has certainly changed his game on the offensive side of the ball to 3 & D. 

[ScoobyDoo]

If people are looking for Smart to be the flashy Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose razzle dazzle play making point I think many will miss the point with him.

The more I watch him the more he strikes me as a Dennis Johnson / Joe Dumars type player.
* Tough, steady, relentless
* Elite, game changing defender
* Excellent positional rebounder - boxes out whoever is closest to him, including DeMarcus Cousins...
* Typically makes the fundamental, non flashy "correct" pass
** The over the shoulder to Zeller was actually fundamental as well - he could see Zeller right behind him.
* Makes many plays that win games 

He's just not going to "wow" us with the "flashy" play very often. I think he will most often "wow" us when we realize how many plays he actually makes on a nightly basis that impact the win column. A lot of his value comes from stuff that doesn't litter a box score.

That being said, I think he could very easily become a 20 point, 6 rebound, 6 assist first team all defensive guard within the next 2-3 seasons.

His shooting will improve and he will also start "bullying" his way to the rim more often as gets more comfortable.

Assist and rebound levels of 6 & 6 a game are a no brainer for this kid, in time.

[RAcker]

Thanks to you all for one of the most entertaining threads I've read through in a long time.

FYI...I love Marcus Smart.

[celtics2030]

20 6 and 6 would be great but i doubt that, especially if we want it to be a good team

Kyle Lowry is averaging 19.8, and he is a top pg in the East. Has a pretty [dang] good team too. Still cannot hit the 20 mark so to speak.

20 6 and 6 is tough....

could he do it on this team , its fairly possible, If they get the rid of the obese gunner Sullinger.

I rather Smart score 20, than Sullinger, in that Smart can actually become a good starter on a solid team. Sullinger scoring 25+ a game to me does not change anything about him. Hes fat , short, and shoots three pointers.

Smart having one of those 20 point average years, could help his game, and eventually with a good team that point average would probably come down to 13 14 or 15, and his assists more around the 8 range

[PickNRoll]

13, 5, and 6 with 8 extra possessions each game.  Just as good.

[ScoobyDoo]

Yeah, understood. And it doesn't have to be 20 for me. I just think he's going to turn out to be a sneaky scorer, where twenty points is not a big stretch for him on a lot of nights.

By sneaky I mean:  A couple steals and layups, a couple put backs, a few threes, a couple and one's, and I think he'll start getting to the free throw line more and more as time goes by.

And I agree I don't he needs to do this on the team we build but think he'll become fully capable of it.

[Rosco917]

I think they're both great players, but I would honestly take Smart, even with my homer glasses off.  His defense is just on another level and I think the rest of his game will work out in the off season.

You said the key words right there.

His defense is on another level.  Kid is 20 years old and his defense is legit first team all NBA type defense.

The shooting, PG skills (although a lot of good things to see here already), and bball IQ will just come with time. 

From the sound of it, it seems his work ethic is on another level as well.  Add those things up and you're looking pretty darn good.

What's really exciting is the fact that he still doesn't know the players he's guarding very well. This is his 1st or 2nd time seeing them. Wait until he knows their personal tendencies and understands the subtleties of NBA defense in general.
I just hope his offensive game matures to the level of his defensive potential. As many have stated on this site, his 3 point shooting is coming around, but his game in the paint is totally void.