Marcus Smart...what an animal.

[chambers]

Marcus Smart was an animal tonight.
*17 points on 7 of 12 shooting.
* 4 steals, 1 block.      lol
*3 assists (could have been more but some easy shots missed by us)
*1 turnover
*and that's after only hitting 1 of 5 threes.

I think the best part of this game was seeing him attack the paint particularly against the trees of San Antonio. Avery was doing the same. I don't think I've ever seen Smart+Avery so aggressive on offensive penetration before and it's a promising sign.

I can't believe Smart was a -1, just shows some of the problems with statistics and who you're out on the floor with influences your +/- dramatically.

The loss was tough after such great wing defense but nights like tonight are the stepping stones in our young guy's development- and watching them become more complete players is one of the bright spots as a fan during this rebuild era.

We really might have an All Star and All NBA first team defender developing at 21 years old.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Yep, this could be a turning point for him. Equally impressive was that he starting off shooting poorly, watched everything crumble down around him, and became really assertive on both ends. Exactly what we need from him.

[esel1000]

I think this was Smart's best game as a pro namely because he had those stats when shooting 1-5 on threes. For once when the threes weren't falling he actually took it inside and looked for his offense. He plays like that every game on top of the already elite d and we'll be talking about him as an all star someday.

It's a good sign that he did this against this Spurs frontline as well. Should give him confidence moving forward.

P.S- I love that he had a knack for hitting the big shot in crunch time.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I love the kid!

[manl_lui]

I noticed this too, I was criticizing Smart for going back to a three point guy the first two games when I knew and saw he is capable of driving per the pre-season

Today I saw some of those flashes. The floater, the baseline drives...I was happy to see that...he is a bit too trigger happy on the 3 though

I still wish he had the driving ability of IT though...if he can drive the way IT can, he is a guaranteed star!

[LarBrd33]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends. 

[max215]

I'm being careful not to raise my expectations too much, but he was awesome and thoroughly outplayed the reigning DPOY IMO.

[jpotter33]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

[LarBrd33]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

He played really well.  Almost as good as Julius Randle tonight.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

He played really well.  Almost as good as Julius Randle tonight.

Smart actually played both sides of the floor. Nothing against Randle, I don't need to dislike him because he is a Laker, not liking the lakers is good enough for me.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

He played really well.  Almost as good as Julius Randle tonight.

Lol. Fine exchange.

[chambers]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

He played really well.  Almost as good as Julius Randle tonight.

lol zing.

Look at our sophomore bringing everyone together.

[LarBrd33]

But for real... great effort out of Smart tonight.  I liked what I saw in him in Game 1 as well.  He's definitely a player. 

[jpotter33]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

He played really well.  Almost as good as Julius Randle tonight.

Took Smart three fewer shots to reach 17 points, and as a forward Randle is averaging three times as many TOs as the point guard Smart. In fact, outside of fg% and rebounds Smart has superior averages across the board so far. Booyah - cherrypicking stats for the win!   

[LarBrd33]

Liked seeing the aggressiveness out of him on both ends.

LarBrd33 complemented Smart in a non-snarky/backhanded way!

He played really well.  Almost as good as Julius Randle tonight.

Took Smart three fewer shots to reach 17 points, and as a forward Randle is averaging three times as many TOs as the point guard Smart. In fact, outside of fg% and rebounds Smart has superior averages across the board so far. Booyah - cherrypicking stats for the win!   

Yeah, but the game wasn't over yet...

Smart = 17 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block (7-12 shooting) in 39 minutes
Randle = 22 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals, 1 block (9-17 shooting) in 34 minutes.

Randle did more in less time.