Who is the better defender (overall): Marcus Smart or Avery Bradley?

[BDeCosta26]

Put in a different way, AB is an elite All-NBA caliber defender. He's fast, athletic and an absolute ballhawk. He hustles his butt of on D, puts great pressure on opposing guards and is as good as anyone when it comes to on-ball pressure. He's been a great defender for the 5 years he's been with us.

But Smart is just a ROOKIE. That kid is an absolute defensive savant. People knew coming out of college he was a good defender, but my lord "good defender" doesn't even do him justice. That kid makes life miserable for some of the leagues best offensive players. His ability to fight through screens is amazing and his instincts are incredible. Smart has a legit chance to be the best defending guard of his generation. A Gary Payton-esque, multiple time DPOY candidate, he's that good as a 21 year old rookie.

[crimson_stallion]

I think the two things that impress me most about each guy:

Avery Bradley
The thing that constantly amazes me about Bradley is his ability to force turnovers just from how uncomfortable he makes his defensive assignments.  I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen Bradley press guys (either full or half court) and the offensive player has either:

a) Dribbled off his foot
b) Thrown a bad pass (either out of bounds or straight to a Celtic)
c) Stepped out of bounds
d) Forced up a bad shot
e) Pass up the ball early

He just seems to be so good at getting into an opposing players' head so well - it's like he actually makes opposing guards scared to bring the ball up.  He seems to completely take away their confidence to the point where he can make a 10 year veteran PG look like a rookie out of high school, consciously thinking about every move they make and constantly looking over their shoulder every time up the court.  You can just see that after 5-10 minutes of game time with AB pressing them, they just give up completely and change their entire style of play. 

That's an unbelievably powerful thing for a defender to be able to do - to be able to make your defensive assignment completely lose confidence in their abilities and start altering their game purely because of what your defensive pressure.  Few players have that type of defensive talent.

I feel like if you looked at the stats for the most turnovers forced (not just steals, but all turnovers) while being defended by a player, Bradley would be right up near the top of that list. 

The most frustrating part of all is that as an opponent, you can't even hate him for what he does.  He's not like one of those KG style defenders who gets in your head with cheap shots, trash talk and hard fouls.  This kid is the ultimate gentleman - quiet, polite, humble, never gets involved in fights, rarely ever argues calls, never commits hard fouls.  He's such a professional and such a nice guy that all you can do is respect him and be happy for him the entire time he's embarrassing you on public television.     

It's kinda like watching Forrest Gump - you see this quiet, unlikely kid achieving things you would never believe right before your eyes, just through straight up hard work, and you just can't help but root for him. 


Marcus Smart
The most impressive thing about Smart to me is his ability to somehow always get back in front of a player when he's beat.

Smart doesn't seem like the quickest player in the world laterally, and he plays pretty aggressive defense, so it's just natural that from time to time he's going to get beat off the dribble. 

But I swear every single time that happens I sit there thinking "ahh, there you go - Smart finally made a defensive mistake", only to find that within half a second to a second the defender has stopped and backed off because Smart is back in front of him again!

I don't know how he does it - I'm no pro (I only play casual basketball with friends) but my greatest strength as a player has always been my defense, and from my own playing expriences there are very few things in basketball that are harder then catching up to a player who has just beat you off the dribble while you're backpedaling on defense. 

I mean, surely by that point in time offensive player is thinking "I left him in my dust, easy layup coming my way!!" only to look up a half second later and see him right back in your face again!

I don't think I've ever seen a defensive player who can do that as consistently as Smart does. Almost every single time he gets beat, he ends up back in front of his defender again.  As somebody said, it's like he's a Jedi and he's used some trick to slow the defender in time.  Either that or he's just a LOT quicker off the mark than he looks.

[SCeltic34]

I think the two things that impress me most about each guy:

Avery Bradley
The thing that constantly amazes me about Bradley is his ability to force turnovers just from how uncomfortable he makes his defensive assignments.  I've lost count of the amount of times I've seen Bradley press guys (either full or half court) and the offensive player has either:

a) Dribbled off his foot
b) Thrown a bad pass (either out of bounds or straight to a Celtic)
c) Stepped out of bounds
d) Forced up a bad shot
e) Pass up the ball early

He just seems to be so good at getting into an opposing players' head so well - it's like he actually makes opposing guards scared to bring the ball up.  He seems to completely take away their confidence to the point where he can make a 10 year veteran PG look like a rookie out of high school, consciously thinking about every move they make and constantly looking over their shoulder every time up the court.  You can just see that after 5-10 minutes of game time with AB pressing them, they just give up completely and change their entire style of play. 

That's an unbelievably powerful thing for a defender to be able to do - to be able to make your defensive assignment completely lose confidence in their abilities and start altering their game purely because of what your defensive pressure.  Few players have that type of defensive talent.

I feel like if you looked at the stats for the most turnovers forced (not just steals, but all turnovers) while being defended by a player, Bradley would be right up near the top of that list. 

The most frustrating part of all is that as an opponent, you can't even hate him for what he does.  He's not like one of those KG style defenders who gets in your head with cheap shots, trash talk and hard fouls.  This kid is the ultimate gentleman - quiet, polite, humble, never gets involved in fights, rarely ever argues calls, never commits hard fouls.  He's such a professional and such a nice guy that all you can do is respect him and be happy for him the entire time he's embarrassing you on public television.     

It's kinda like watching Forrest Gump - you see this quiet, unlikely kid achieving things you would never believe right before your eyes, just through straight up hard work, and you just can't help but root for him. 


Marcus Smart
The most impressive thing about Smart to me is his ability to somehow always get back in front of a player when he's beat.

Smart doesn't seem like the quickest player in the world laterally, and he plays pretty aggressive defense, so it's just natural that from time to time he's going to get beat off the dribble. 

But I swear every single time that happens I sit there thinking "ahh, there you go - Smart finally made a defensive mistake", only to find that within half a second to a second the defender has stopped and backed off because Smart is back in front of him again!

I don't know how he does it - I'm no pro (I only play casual basketball with friends) but my greatest strength as a player has always been my defense, and from my own playing expriences there are very few things in basketball that are harder then catching up to a player who has just beat you off the dribble while you're backpedaling on defense. 

I mean, surely by that point in time offensive player is thinking "I left him in my dust, easy layup coming my way!!" only to look up a half second later and see him right back in your face again!

I don't think I've ever seen a defensive player who can do that as consistently as Smart does. Almost every single time he gets beat, he ends up back in front of his defender again.  As somebody said, it's like he's a Jedi and he's used some trick to slow the defender in time.  Either that or he's just a LOT quicker off the mark than he looks.

TP for a great post.

I give the edge to Smart simply based on his ability to fight through screens.  Bradley is one of the best on ball defenders on the league.  But basketball is a game of screens - one good pick from a 7 footer and suddenly Bradley's terrific perimeter defense ain't so tough anymore.  So often you will see NBA players give half-hearted efforts to fight through screens and stay in front of their man, even in the playoffs.  Not Smart.  He'd bulldoze his way through Shaq if he was capable.

Smart also does the "little things" - or intangibles, if you will - that don't show up in box scores or stat sheets.  He'll go down into the paint and box out the opposing team's center, and seems to enjoy doing it.  Has excellent anticipation and awareness.  Doesn't gamble and is an excellent off-ball defender.  Uncanny ability to stay in front of the player he is guarding.  Tough as nails.  I also think that he will eventually become the leader of our team.

You could go on and on about Smart.  But for good measure, he is one of few players who can completely take a player out of the game (especially lesser guards).  Just ask Greivis Vasquez.  Smart took his soul when we played Toronto late this season.

[Rosco917]

Smarts ability to defend PG's, SG's, and some SF's is invaluable. He's just getting warmed up too.

AB is best used to defend the ball handler, the PG, and most SG's.

(SCeltic34 analogy was perfect)

I'm going to throw in another player...Crowder, now you have another willing defender, a small forward that can defend SG's, SF's and most PF's and do it well. 

(These guy's give it 100% every minute their in the game, they actually hang their hat on defense, and are the core players responsible for this team making the playoffs.)

[CelticGuardian]

Smarts ability to defend PG's, SG's, and some SF's is invaluable. He's just getting warmed up too.

AB is best used to defend the ball handler, the PG, and most SG's.

(SCeltic34 analogy was perfect)

I'm going to throw in another player...Crowder, now you have another willing defender, a small forward that can defend SG's, SF's and most PF's and do it well. 

(These guy's give it 100% every minute their in the game, they actually hang their hat on defense, and are the core players responsible for this team making the playoffs.)

In a league where perimeter shooting is becoming the bread and butter of most teams, instead of playing the half-court, their defense is paramount to our system.

If we can just get some better 3pt shooting out of our bigs we can take the league by storm.

[JBcat]

Can I add Tony Allen to this discussion?  Does anyone think that either player is at TA's level defensively?  I think Smart if not now will get to his level soon.  I've watched some Grizzlies games here and there and TA has been just awesome defensively.

[D.o.s.]

To answer: No, neither of them is on TA's level defensively. And, tbh, I'm not sure either of them ever will be. They both have the potential, although Smart's got a higher ceiling because he's larger.

[BDeCosta26]

Can I add Tony Allen to this discussion?  Does anyone think that either player is at TA's level defensively?  I think Smart if not now will get to his level soon.  I've watched some Grizzlies games here and there and TA has been just awesome defensively.

At the moment, no. Tony is the best defensive player in the NBA under 6'9 (Though Kawhi is coming up fast), and he has been for a few years. Even with an absolutely terrible offensive game, he's one of the three most important players on a legitimately contending team. He's just that good.

But AB is just 24 and Marcus is only 21. I think AB is a different kind of player. He's not big enough or strong enough to do what Allen does, but he's a top-tier defender in his own right. In a league with so many really good guards, it's important to have a guy like him. Plus he's so much better offensively.

As for Smart, we saw last year that he is just an absolute stud defensively. If your gonna be as good as TA, you'd have to believe there's a chance Smart can become one of the two or three best perimeter defenders in the NBA, and I certainly think that's possible. He has all the tools, and he certainly seems to have the drive and work ethic. Plus, he improved all the way up to 33% from 3 this season after 28% from the shorter college 3. And it's no fluke, considering Stevens just had him sit in the corner to take open threes all year, he shot a ton of them. As he becomes a more featured part of our offense, he will become a great two way player and this be more valuable than Allen.

But right now, no. Not yet anyways.

[SHAQATTACK]

Luv both defense.

Avery has to work quick to steal the ball. Shifty , in their jersey glued to his opponent.

Marcus uses his speed to get in front of a guard.....then size to stand them up ...stop em cold in their tracks ...usually face to face.....then my favorite play .....he reaches out and just grabs the ball with brute strength from the opponent and takes off.........

[Joe Green]

AB is a SG who can only effectively guard PGs..

Smart is a PG who can guard PG, SG and even a few SF...

AB puts a ton of pressure on ballhandlers, but if he is not paired with a big PG - we get roasted. That is why Smart is such a fantastic player and running mate for AB.