Smart says he still has not fully recovered from sprained ankle

[Vermont Green]

I am not surprised that the ankle is still not 100% although I am a little surprised he would come out and say it.  It is pretty clear to me that the ankle was a big setback for him.  He is also dealing with the pro length of season for the first time.  I suspect he would be worn down even without the ankle issue.

I remain very high on Marcus Smart.  It is still to be seen how much shooting "touch" he will develop but I believe there is plenty of upside that we will see from him.

[droopdog7]

Smart had trouble driving and especially finishing in summer league.  And the ankle has nothing to do with his average handle.

So color me unimpressed by this revelation.

[rollie mass]

on the blocked shot i knew i should have added he was coming from behind and actually more in control-if you were a player you would understand,this is 240 lb guy landing, cutting and accelerating this is the nba, not playing at 100% and a rookie is radical-you have ex players telling you their experiences  and you doubt the word of smart -if he says its not 100% he means it-i had good vertical and even landing was uncomfortable-a jump shot if you even favor the smallest amount throws your shot off-

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

I think its hindering his defense.  I'm sure there are times he gets beaten because he can't switch directions quickly enough.  But two things: 1) ardent supporters of Smart would generally say that he has All-NBA defense potential, and that his offense is behind his defense, so because he's so good at defense (and he is), he can still look like a viable NBA player on that end even when nursing an injury.  Secondly, the primary offensive criticism of Smart is that he doesn't penetrate well, both in quality and quantity.  I don't see why you think it irrational to believe that a significant ankle injury could impact his ability to have the burst needed to drive to the rim while not affecting (as much) his ability to make a jump shot or move laterally on defense.

But what do the kids say?  Haters gonna hate, or something like that.

Putting aside your unnecessary sarcasm, I'll reiterate my point: I'm not disputing medical facts, just saying that based on my observations of Smart's more ardent supporters on CB, it seems like they're using his ankle injury as a convenient excuse for his lack of offensive production.

In other words, I'm questioning how a player with lingering effects of an ankle injury can (according to his supporters) play all facets of defense well—including leaping high to block shots (which requires explosiveness)—but be terrible on offense—not only is he not a threat to drive, he's not a threat to do much of anything on offense right now.

Just ...smh 

I don't understand. You're saying there's no truth to what I'm saying? Or that what I'm saying is silly? I'm asking an honest question: A lot of people are saying the injury is a HUGE detriment to his offense, yet the same injury is not at all affecting his defense, and I'm asking, How can that be?

Defense is not just lateral movement, and offense isn't just explosiveness. Smart can't find a way to contribute on offense besides driving to the hoop? Can he not take and make more jumpers? Can he not post up?

[fairweatherfan]

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

I think its hindering his defense.  I'm sure there are times he gets beaten because he can't switch directions quickly enough.  But two things: 1) ardent supporters of Smart would generally say that he has All-NBA defense potential, and that his offense is behind his defense, so because he's so good at defense (and he is), he can still look like a viable NBA player on that end even when nursing an injury.  Secondly, the primary offensive criticism of Smart is that he doesn't penetrate well, both in quality and quantity.  I don't see why you think it irrational to believe that a significant ankle injury could impact his ability to have the burst needed to drive to the rim while not affecting (as much) his ability to make a jump shot or move laterally on defense.

But what do the kids say?  Haters gonna hate, or something like that.

Putting aside your unnecessary sarcasm, I'll reiterate my point: I'm not disputing medical facts, just saying that based on my observations of Smart's more ardent supporters on CB, it seems like they're using his ankle injury as a convenient excuse for his lack of offensive production.

In other words, I'm questioning how a player with lingering effects of an ankle injury can (according to his supporters) play all facets of defense well—including leaping high to block shots (which requires explosiveness)—but be terrible on offense—not only is he not a threat to drive, he's not a threat to do much of anything on offense right now.

Just ...smh 

I don't understand. You're saying there's no truth to what I'm saying? Or that what I'm saying is silly? I'm asking an honest question: A lot of people are saying the injury is a HUGE detriment to his offense, yet the same injury is not at all affecting his defense, and I'm asking, How can that be?

Maybe people are rolling their eyes at you because saltlover just answered this question and you ignored it to make the same claim two more times.



On the topic, I've had a high ankle sprain as well, and it took a bit over a year before it was all the way back again.  I didn't have access to NBA-caliber trainers and treatment, but I wasn't playing in games with an NBA level of strenuousness either.  These kinds of sprains really do linger a long time after you can get back to playing.

[rollie mass]

where does marcus have the advantage, of course it's defense he playnig guys not as strong or tall,it has always been his strength,fighting over screens again he is a powerfull guy,on offense he has to beat a quick quard and then go up against big strong power forwards and rim protectors-he is a rookie already at a disadvantage in experience ,what happened to thomas coming back that was just a bruise-do you remember ko when he came back ,he was clumsy ,could.t touch the rim,shot poorly-and was out there to set picks and pass.

[loco_91]

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

I think its hindering his defense.  I'm sure there are times he gets beaten because he can't switch directions quickly enough.  But two things: 1) ardent supporters of Smart would generally say that he has All-NBA defense potential, and that his offense is behind his defense, so because he's so good at defense (and he is), he can still look like a viable NBA player on that end even when nursing an injury.  Secondly, the primary offensive criticism of Smart is that he doesn't penetrate well, both in quality and quantity.  I don't see why you think it irrational to believe that a significant ankle injury could impact his ability to have the burst needed to drive to the rim while not affecting (as much) his ability to make a jump shot or move laterally on defense.

But what do the kids say?  Haters gonna hate, or something like that.

Putting aside your unnecessary sarcasm, I'll reiterate my point: I'm not disputing medical facts, just saying that based on my observations of Smart's more ardent supporters on CB, it seems like they're using his ankle injury as a convenient excuse for his lack of offensive production.

In other words, I'm questioning how a player with lingering effects of an ankle injury can (according to his supporters) play all facets of defense well—including leaping high to block shots (which requires explosiveness)—but be terrible on offense—not only is he not a threat to drive, he's not a threat to do much of anything on offense right now.

Just ...smh 

I don't understand. You're saying there's no truth to what I'm saying? Or that what I'm saying is silly? I'm asking an honest question: A lot of people are saying the injury is a HUGE detriment to his offense, yet the same injury is not at all affecting his defense, and I'm asking, How can that be?

Defense is not just lateral movement, and offense isn't just explosiveness. Smart can't find a way to contribute on offense besides driving to the hoop? Can he not take and make more jumpers? Can he not post up?

Nobody's saying it hasn't impacted his D at all-- clearly he's continued to be good on D, it's hard to judge exactly how much the impact has been. I think that the reason Smart isn't driving is a combination of things, one of which is the ankle. The others are the fact that his handle needs work and that CBS has him focusing on developing his shot.

Before the injury, it looked to some ppl like CBS was beginning to trust Smart to create offense. It just looks to me like after the injury it was like, ok let's go back to focusing on 3&D while your ankle fully heals, and resume this project next season.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

I think its hindering his defense.  I'm sure there are times he gets beaten because he can't switch directions quickly enough.  But two things: 1) ardent supporters of Smart would generally say that he has All-NBA defense potential, and that his offense is behind his defense, so because he's so good at defense (and he is), he can still look like a viable NBA player on that end even when nursing an injury.  Secondly, the primary offensive criticism of Smart is that he doesn't penetrate well, both in quality and quantity.  I don't see why you think it irrational to believe that a significant ankle injury could impact his ability to have the burst needed to drive to the rim while not affecting (as much) his ability to make a jump shot or move laterally on defense.

But what do the kids say?  Haters gonna hate, or something like that.

Putting aside your unnecessary sarcasm, I'll reiterate my point: I'm not disputing medical facts, just saying that based on my observations of Smart's more ardent supporters on CB, it seems like they're using his ankle injury as a convenient excuse for his lack of offensive production.

In other words, I'm questioning how a player with lingering effects of an ankle injury can (according to his supporters) play all facets of defense well—including leaping high to block shots (which requires explosiveness)—but be terrible on offense—not only is he not a threat to drive, he's not a threat to do much of anything on offense right now.

Just ...smh 

I don't understand. You're saying there's no truth to what I'm saying? Or that what I'm saying is silly? I'm asking an honest question: A lot of people are saying the injury is a HUGE detriment to his offense, yet the same injury is not at all affecting his defense, and I'm asking, How can that be?

Maybe people are rolling their eyes at you because saltlover just answered this question and you ignored it to make the same claim two more times.



On the topic, I've had a high ankle sprain as well, and it took a bit over a year before it was all the way back again.  I didn't have access to NBA-caliber trainers and treatment, but I wasn't playing in games with an NBA level of strenuousness either.  These kinds of sprains really do linger a long time after you can get back to playing.

I don't think I was ignoring anyone's answer; I hear and understand their answers—that ankle sprains require a long recovery time. I get it. I've played basketball too, and had ankle injuries myself. I've also never said that anyone here claimed his D was unaffected by the injury.

What I said was that I find it interesting how people laud his all-world defense—how he hustles and dives and blocks shots and gets steals, all in spite of lingering ankle issues ... then they say his near-total lack of offense is due to the ankle injury. To which I simply ask myself, How can he still play high-level defense with the lingering effects of this injury, but is almost 100% ineffective on offense? To me, that just doesn't jibe. That's what I'm saying.

I realize that the bum ankle may be robbing him of the explosiveness necessary for driving to the rim, and that Stevens may be asking him to just focus on outside shooting for now, in light of the ankle—but why should that limit him to 2 or 3 points on 4 or 5 shots? No one else seems to have trouble getting off lots of shots, regardless of how many plays are called for them, or regardless of what limitations they might have.

Besides, I don't recall him doing much driving before the ankle injury. He's also not a great ballhandler, which is one reason I can't see him being the point guard of the future.

[Evantime34]

What I said was that I find it interesting how people laud his all-world defense—how he hustles and dives and blocks shots and gets steals, all in spite of lingering ankle issues ... then they say his near-total lack of offense is due to the ankle injury. To which I simply ask myself, How can he still play high-level defense with the lingering effects of this injury, but is almost 100% ineffective on offense? To me, that just doesn't jibe. That's what I'm saying.

I realize that the bum ankle may be robbing him of the explosiveness necessary for driving to the rim, and that Stevens may be asking him to just focus on outside shooting for now, in light of the ankle—but why should that limit him to 2 or 3 points on 4 or 5 shots? No one else seems to have trouble getting off lots of shots, regardless of how many plays are called for them, or regardless of what limitations they might have.

Besides, I don't recall him doing much driving before the ankle injury. He's also not a great ballhandler, which is one reason I can't see him being the point guard of the future.

I've always thought that the reason he isn't taking a lot of shots and scoring more can be divided among a few reasons.
1. He can't finish around the hoop so he doesn't try to get to the bucket
2. Coach Stevens told him that he should only take specific shots. In college he took a lot of bad shots, because his team needed him to score. Maybe Stevens is trying to get him to only take shots that have a higher likelihood of going in based on his skill set.
3. His ball handling isn't great so creating for himself is difficult.

This might not seem like an answer to your question, but it is. He could be able to play great defense because he is giving his all on defense and doing the full compliment of various things that  go into defense. On offense he has been instructed to only take shots that are set up for him on the rotation. So people can laud him for playing great defense, because he is. Then they can view his scoring as being effected by the knee because he isn't aggressive in creating his own shot which might have to do with confidence.

 Confidence can easily be shaken in doing something you weren't that great at to begin with, and then you get injured and it becomes more difficult.

If Smart was instructed to not try and do too much, it would be more apparent on the offensive side of floor, since he can pretty much do anything on the defensive side of the floor already. There are very few things on defense that are too much for Smart, while on offense anything besides shooting an open 3 might be too much for him on offense.

In general I think people (myself included) like to blame the ankle injury on his offensive woes because it is comforting and makes you feel better about his offense. Where on defense we don't need to be optimistic about Smart because he is objectively already good.

[rollie mass]

i was taught talk positive think cynical---

[hwangjini_1]

you deserve a tp for that sprain-the dr told me i would have been better off breaking it--i lived off speed and first step, as well as the pull up-i love good solid technical b ball both ends,of course  there are those moves that take your breath away but i love what brad has done and trying to do-i have always been a celts fan it's all i knew but i don't where green glasses-

you should buy a pair. the world looks much nicer through them. 

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

What I said was that I find it interesting how people laud his all-world defense—how he hustles and dives and blocks shots and gets steals, all in spite of lingering ankle issues ... then they say his near-total lack of offense is due to the ankle injury. To which I simply ask myself, How can he still play high-level defense with the lingering effects of this injury, but is almost 100% ineffective on offense? To me, that just doesn't jibe. That's what I'm saying.

I realize that the bum ankle may be robbing him of the explosiveness necessary for driving to the rim, and that Stevens may be asking him to just focus on outside shooting for now, in light of the ankle—but why should that limit him to 2 or 3 points on 4 or 5 shots? No one else seems to have trouble getting off lots of shots, regardless of how many plays are called for them, or regardless of what limitations they might have.

Besides, I don't recall him doing much driving before the ankle injury. He's also not a great ballhandler, which is one reason I can't see him being the point guard of the future.

I've always thought that the reason he isn't taking a lot of shots and scoring more can be divided among a few reasons.
1. He can't finish around the hoop so he doesn't try to get to the bucket
2. Coach Stevens told him that he should only take specific shots. In college he took a lot of bad shots, because his team needed him to score. Maybe Stevens is trying to get him to only take shots that have a higher likelihood of going in based on his skill set.
3. His ball handling isn't great so creating for himself is difficult.

This might not seem like an answer to your question, but it is. He could be able to play great defense because he is giving his all on defense and doing the full compliment of various things that  go into defense. On offense he has been instructed to only take shots that are set up for him on the rotation. So people can laud him for playing great defense, because he is. Then they can view his scoring as being effected by the knee because he isn't aggressive in creating his own shot which might have to do with confidence.

 Confidence can easily be shaken in doing something you weren't that great at to begin with, and then you get injured and it becomes more difficult.

If Smart was instructed to not try and do too much, it would be more apparent on the offensive side of floor, since he can pretty much do anything on the defensive side of the floor already. There are very few things on defense that are too much for Smart, while on offense anything besides shooting an open 3 might be too much for him on offense.

In general I think people (myself included) like to blame the ankle injury on his offensive woes because it is comforting and makes you feel better about his offense. Where on defense we don't need to be optimistic about Smart because he is objectively already good.

In all sincerity, thank you for a response that's both full of honesty and void of sarcasm. I feel that way about the entirety of your response, but especially the bolded portion. That's exactly what I was getting at in my original post ...

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

but it seems that lots of people either weren't getting the joke, or were doing exactly what you admitted to—blaming his poor offense on a bum ankle, when the full and complete truth is that, yes, he has a bum ankle, but his offense was already pretty poor to begin with.

[Evantime34]

What I said was that I find it interesting how people laud his all-world defense—how he hustles and dives and blocks shots and gets steals, all in spite of lingering ankle issues ... then they say his near-total lack of offense is due to the ankle injury. To which I simply ask myself, How can he still play high-level defense with the lingering effects of this injury, but is almost 100% ineffective on offense? To me, that just doesn't jibe. That's what I'm saying.

I realize that the bum ankle may be robbing him of the explosiveness necessary for driving to the rim, and that Stevens may be asking him to just focus on outside shooting for now, in light of the ankle—but why should that limit him to 2 or 3 points on 4 or 5 shots? No one else seems to have trouble getting off lots of shots, regardless of how many plays are called for them, or regardless of what limitations they might have.

Besides, I don't recall him doing much driving before the ankle injury. He's also not a great ballhandler, which is one reason I can't see him being the point guard of the future.

I've always thought that the reason he isn't taking a lot of shots and scoring more can be divided among a few reasons.
1. He can't finish around the hoop so he doesn't try to get to the bucket
2. Coach Stevens told him that he should only take specific shots. In college he took a lot of bad shots, because his team needed him to score. Maybe Stevens is trying to get him to only take shots that have a higher likelihood of going in based on his skill set.
3. His ball handling isn't great so creating for himself is difficult.

This might not seem like an answer to your question, but it is. He could be able to play great defense because he is giving his all on defense and doing the full compliment of various things that  go into defense. On offense he has been instructed to only take shots that are set up for him on the rotation. So people can laud him for playing great defense, because he is. Then they can view his scoring as being effected by the knee because he isn't aggressive in creating his own shot which might have to do with confidence.

 Confidence can easily be shaken in doing something you weren't that great at to begin with, and then you get injured and it becomes more difficult.

If Smart was instructed to not try and do too much, it would be more apparent on the offensive side of floor, since he can pretty much do anything on the defensive side of the floor already. There are very few things on defense that are too much for Smart, while on offense anything besides shooting an open 3 might be too much for him on offense.

In general I think people (myself included) like to blame the ankle injury on his offensive woes because it is comforting and makes you feel better about his offense. Where on defense we don't need to be optimistic about Smart because he is objectively already good.

In all sincerity, thank you for a response that's both full of honesty and void of sarcasm. I feel that way about the entirety of your response, but especially the bolded portion. That's exactly what I was getting at in my original post ...

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

but it seems that lots of people either weren't getting the joke, or were doing exactly what you admitted to—blaming his poor offense on a bum ankle, when the full and complete truth is that, yes, he has a bum ankle, but his offense was already pretty poor to begin with.

If anyone argues that he is having anything more than a poor offensive season they are drinking even more cool aid than I am.

Why people like to argue the cause of his offensive faults is because  what you believe the problem with his offense is, determines how much potential for growth he has on that end.

I've heard too many people reason that his poor offense is simply a case of him not being good at offense, which really can't be fixed. Where if it's his ankle, or his offensive role, or what the coaches tell him then that is an indication that he can improve greatly.

[BDeCosta26]

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

I think its hindering his defense.  I'm sure there are times he gets beaten because he can't switch directions quickly enough.  But two things: 1) ardent supporters of Smart would generally say that he has All-NBA defense potential, and that his offense is behind his defense, so because he's so good at defense (and he is), he can still look like a viable NBA player on that end even when nursing an injury.  Secondly, the primary offensive criticism of Smart is that he doesn't penetrate well, both in quality and quantity.  I don't see why you think it irrational to believe that a significant ankle injury could impact his ability to have the burst needed to drive to the rim while not affecting (as much) his ability to make a jump shot or move laterally on defense.

But what do the kids say?  Haters gonna hate, or something like that.

Putting aside your unnecessary sarcasm, I'll reiterate my point: I'm not disputing medical facts, just saying that based on my observations of Smart's more ardent supporters on CB, it seems like they're using his ankle injury as a convenient excuse for his lack of offensive production.

In other words, I'm questioning how a player with lingering effects of an ankle injury can (according to his supporters) play all facets of defense well—including leaping high to block shots (which requires explosiveness)—but be terrible on offense—not only is he not a threat to drive, he's not a threat to do much of anything on offense right now.

Just ...smh 

I don't understand. You're saying there's no truth to what I'm saying? Or that what I'm saying is silly? I'm asking an honest question: A lot of people are saying the injury is a HUGE detriment to his offense, yet the same injury is not at all affecting his defense, and I'm asking, How can that be?

Defense is not just lateral movement, and offense isn't just explosiveness. Smart can't find a way to contribute on offense besides driving to the hoop? Can he not take and make more jumpers? Can he not post up?

I didn't hear anyone say it's a HUGE detriment to his offense. But clearly it's affected his first step and jumping ability. His defensive instincts are what make him so great on that side of the ball, it's not freakish athleticism or length. It's affecting him on both ends, it's just he's so much better on defense that it isn't as much of an issue there.

I think Shaq is shaking his head because what you just said makes it seem like you don't know how the game works. It's really hard to contribute anything on offense when A) Your not the primary ball-handler, B) Your option #5 in just about every action the offense runs and C) No one passes you the ball. You can't just "take more shots" when you don't have the ball, and you don't want him to do that anyways. You want him to make good decisions about when to take and not take jump shots. He's done very well improving his shot selection this season, and that's what you wanna see. You can't just post-up either, you generally post up other guards on a designed action to exploit a mismatch while the defending big is drawn away from that post up, so without Stevens giving him the green light to do so, he's not just gonna post up whenever he wants to.

And y'know what, he's still finding ways to contribute without scoring. Smart has made numerous big stops on D, forced key turnovers that lead to easy buckets, been the first to a loose ball that changed the games momentum, he's been an above average rebounder for someone who sits at the 3pt line, and made clutch shots when it mattered the most. Since the ASG, Smarts averaged 9/3/3 as a defacto shooting guard who gets all of 6-8 shots a game. That's Tony Allen numbers, from a rookie, with TA caliber defense and an ankle injury.

We're 18-11 in the past 29 games. Stevens has pushed all the right buttons with this group. He has Smart playing a Tony Allen like role on a team seriously pushing for the playoffs which will allow him to excel where he's most comfortable and be slowly brought along on offense. Next year, he prob won't be option #5 anymore, and Smart will start to take the reins more. You can't let Smart swallow his lumps getting adjusted to being an NBA PG while also making the playoffs. He may even end up at the 2 spot but give the kid a break, hes a major reason we've played so well in the past few months, worst case scenario we have Tony Allen with a better jump shot. And that's still pretty dang good.

[droopdog7]

According to some of his more ardent supporters on CB, the bum ankle is hindering his offensive game ... yet somehow it's not hindering his defense. Hmmm ...

I think its hindering his defense.  I'm sure there are times he gets beaten because he can't switch directions quickly enough.  But two things: 1) ardent supporters of Smart would generally say that he has All-NBA defense potential, and that his offense is behind his defense, so because he's so good at defense (and he is), he can still look like a viable NBA player on that end even when nursing an injury.  Secondly, the primary offensive criticism of Smart is that he doesn't penetrate well, both in quality and quantity.  I don't see why you think it irrational to believe that a significant ankle injury could impact his ability to have the burst needed to drive to the rim while not affecting (as much) his ability to make a jump shot or move laterally on defense.

But what do the kids say?  Haters gonna hate, or something like that.

Putting aside your unnecessary sarcasm, I'll reiterate my point: I'm not disputing medical facts, just saying that based on my observations of Smart's more ardent supporters on CB, it seems like they're using his ankle injury as a convenient excuse for his lack of offensive production.

In other words, I'm questioning how a player with lingering effects of an ankle injury can (according to his supporters) play all facets of defense well—including leaping high to block shots (which requires explosiveness)—but be terrible on offense—not only is he not a threat to drive, he's not a threat to do much of anything on offense right now.

Just ...smh 

I don't understand. You're saying there's no truth to what I'm saying? Or that what I'm saying is silly? I'm asking an honest question: A lot of people are saying the injury is a HUGE detriment to his offense, yet the same injury is not at all affecting his defense, and I'm asking, How can that be?

Defense is not just lateral movement, and offense isn't just explosiveness. Smart can't find a way to contribute on offense besides driving to the hoop? Can he not take and make more jumpers? Can he not post up?

I didn't hear anyone say it's a HUGE detriment to his offense. But clearly it's affected his first step and jumping ability. His defensive instincts are what make him so great on that side of the ball, it's not freakish athleticism or length. It's affecting him on both ends, it's just he's so much better on defense that it isn't as much of an issue there.

I think Shaq is shaking his head because what you just said makes it seem like you don't know how the game works. It's really hard to contribute anything on offense when A) Your not the primary ball-handler, B) Your option #5 in just about every action the offense runs and C) No one passes you the ball. You can't just "take more shots" when you don't have the ball, and you don't want him to do that anyways. You want him to make good decisions about when to take and not take jump shots. He's done very well improving his shot selection this season, and that's what you wanna see. You can't just post-up either, you generally post up other guards on a designed action to exploit a mismatch while the defending big is drawn away from that post up, so without Stevens giving him the green light to do so, he's not just gonna post up whenever he wants to.

And y'know what, he's still finding ways to contribute without scoring. Smart has made numerous big stops on D, forced key turnovers that lead to easy buckets, been the first to a loose ball that changed the games momentum, he's been an above average rebounder for someone who sits at the 3pt line, and made clutch shots when it mattered the most. Since the ASG, Smarts averaged 9/3/3 as a defacto shooting guard who gets all of 6-8 shots a game. That's Tony Allen numbers, from a rookie, with TA caliber defense and an ankle injury.

We're 18-11 in the past 29 games. Stevens has pushed all the right buttons with this group. He has Smart playing a Tony Allen like role on a team seriously pushing for the playoffs which will allow him to excel where he's most comfortable and be slowly brought along on offense. Next year, he prob won't be option #5 anymore, and Smart will start to take the reins more. You can't let Smart swallow his lumps getting adjusted to being an NBA PG while also making the playoffs. He may even end up at the 2 spot but give the kid a break, hes a major reason we've played so well in the past few months, worst case scenario we have Tony Allen with a better jump shot. And that's still pretty dang good.

I'm sorry but what you just said makes it seem like you don't know how the game works.

Everything in bold is true.  And there is a reason for it.  The good offensive players get things drawn up for them.  The bad offensive players (like Smart) get nothing. 

Sorry but that's the way it is.