Yes or No? Marcus Smart Our Next Superstar?

[D.o.s.]

^ Lazy. It's very possible for a draft to be loaded (particularly when talking about selection) and still be disappointing. Particularly a draft like 2014, which was decimated by injuries.

Except that's not what he was referring to. LarBrd33 expected Smart to come out and put up 15-5-5 in his rookie year. No wonder it was disappointing to him given that little gem.

I wasn't the only one who was disappointed by Smart's rookie season.  I've already pointed out that if you go back to the thread about Smart prior to last season, there were several people who thought he'd put up numbers similar to Tyreke Evans... and when someone name-dropped Iman SHumpert, people explicitly said they'd be disappointed if Smart put up Shumpert-esque numbers.  Turns out, that'e exactly what he did.  I figured on a lotto team like ours, he'd have no trouble putting up 15, 5 and 5.  Solid poor man's Tyreke Evans.   He was labelled an NBA-ready player.  HIs offensive game was nowhere near what I expected.   I hope his progress in summer league carries over into the regular season, but I'm thinking it's the other way around... his progress in the regular season has carried over into the summer league.  Whether or not he's developed beyond the player who averaged 9.1 points, 2.6 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 steals during the second half of the season... that's what I'm curious about.   Perhaps his stats would have been higher if Boston played a different style.  Evan Turner was basically playing point-forward.  So perhaps those 12.6 points, 5.5 assists, 3.4 rebound, 1.9 steal projections for next season will come true if Smart is the primary ball-handler next year.    I still doubt Smart develops into an all-star.  A superstar seems highly unlikely.   

But what do I know?  I"m already eating crow over the Embiid thing.  I don't mind eating more.

Your Wrong,

Smart Will be an All-Star for years to come. He can already get to the line and score at will now.  You forget this dude is a point guard in an outside linebackers body and once his mental footing on the came catches up to his athletic ability. He will be scary.  There is a reason the he is the future of usa basketball and you know he was the captain of the national team and all. He is a ray lewis type teammate on the court. Paired with hunter this backcourt is gonna be scary for years to come.

Doing your Alma Mater proud with that one. Or should I say You're Alma Mater? 

I kid, I kid.

[goCeltics]

Last year total shooting percentage

Noel, the guy who plays 2 inches from the rim 49.3
Stuakas, the 'proven shooter' 49.2
Smart, 49.1

Looks like ppl are severly overating other teams rookies production over our own

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Last year total shooting percentage

Noel, the guy who plays 2 inches from the rim 49.3
Stuakas, the 'proven shooter' 49.2
Smart, 49.1

Looks like ppl are severly overating other teams rookies production over our own

Did you include free throw % in your "total shooting percentage" stat? That's... odd.

Viva the era of statisticianisticers!

[goCeltics]

I meant true rather than total, whatever, and it does include free throws

[tankcity!]

Hahah, yeah. We'll just see what happens this year. Apparently Labrrd has Smart as Tony Allen. Can't wait to watch this year to prove him wrong. I mean all Smart has to do is average 10 points a game. Very disappointed in you Labrrd. I thought you knew more about basketball.

[D.o.s.]

Hahah, yeah. We'll just see what happens this year. Apparently Labrrd has Smart as Tony Allen. Can't wait to watch this year to prove him wrong. I mean all Smart has to do is average 10 points a game. Very disappointed in you Labrrd. I thought you knew more about basketball.

If Marcus Smart is ever as good as Tony Allen on defense I will be ecstatic.

[tankcity!]

Hahah, yeah. We'll just see what happens this year. Apparently Labrrd has Smart as Tony Allen. Can't wait to watch this year to prove him wrong. I mean all Smart has to do is average 10 points a game. Very disappointed in you Labrrd. I thought you knew more about basketball.

If Marcus Smart is ever as good as Tony Allen on defense I will be ecstatic.

Yeah, but that is what Labrrd is basically predicting right? That's why he's comparing the two. I told him a better comp would be Avery Bradley or Aaron Affalo. My main point is that his comp doesn't make any sense. Just reread our back and forth and you will get where I'm coming from.

[Celtics18]

Hahah, yeah. We'll just see what happens this year. Apparently Labrrd has Smart as Tony Allen. Can't wait to watch this year to prove him wrong. I mean all Smart has to do is average 10 points a game. Very disappointed in you Labrrd. I thought you knew more about basketball.

If Marcus Smart is ever as good as Tony Allen on defense I will be ecstatic.

You ought to be ecstatic right now, then. 

[LarBrd33]

If he keeps shooting under 40% in summer league, that's discouraging

[GetLucky]

Hahah, yeah. We'll just see what happens this year. Apparently Labrrd has Smart as Tony Allen. Can't wait to watch this year to prove him wrong. I mean all Smart has to do is average 10 points a game. Very disappointed in you Labrrd. I thought you knew more about basketball.

If Marcus Smart is ever as good as Tony Allen on defense I will be ecstatic.

Yeah, but that is what Labrrd is basically predicting right? That's why he's comparing the two. I told him a better comp would be Avery Bradley or Aaron Affalo. My main point is that his comp doesn't make any sense. Just reread our back and forth and you will get where I'm coming from.

You're forgetting how hyped up Tony Allen was "in his prime" (aka before the stupid dunk injury). He was supposed to be the next big thing once he got it all together. Like Zach Lavine today but with Smart-level defense. And Marcus Smart has not yet strung together a run of basketball during an NBA season that is as good as what TA did at his peak.

(I think the Lavine hype is insane and off-base, by the way.)

[D.o.s.]

Hahah, yeah. We'll just see what happens this year. Apparently Labrrd has Smart as Tony Allen. Can't wait to watch this year to prove him wrong. I mean all Smart has to do is average 10 points a game. Very disappointed in you Labrrd. I thought you knew more about basketball.

If Marcus Smart is ever as good as Tony Allen on defense I will be ecstatic.

You ought to be ecstatic right now, then.

I'm getting there. Very pleased with Smart's development, even if I don't think he'll get the kind of accolades some other posters do.

[NYDan]

The sky really is the limit for Marcus. Skilled, strong and mentally tough, elite defender, a hard worker and a natural leader. Can seemingly do it all on the court right now and has the ability to make both winning hustle plays and eye opening highlights on both ends.

He still has work to do - Improve offensive efficiency and cut down on some of the heat check 3's, expand his offensive arsenal (loving the floater he's been trying out in SL), regular trips to the free throw line via contact in the lane, consistency from game to game. But the early returns for his offseason work so far are promising indeed, he's as poised to take the next step as anyone in his class.

[colincb]

Maybe, which is encouraging enough for a guy coming off his rookie year.



One other related thing, Paul Pierce is going to be a first ballot HOFer. That's superstar enough for me.

[tankcity!]

If he keeps shooting under 40% in summer league, that's discouraging

It's just about what Tony Allen would shoot if he took as much shots as smart did tonight. What's your point? Let's be real here. We both know smart is a better ballhandler and already a better three point shooter. Those are just facts. Their games are in no way similar on offense. I mean Allen is a cutter and a role player. Last year, all smart did was shoot threes and play defense. Using his FG% argument is just plain dumb imo. You should know that Smart mostly attempts threes so his FG% should be close to his 3 point%. This is basketball 101 old man.

[LarBrd33]

Lol