How does Marcus fit in when he comes back?

[SHAQATTACK]

I'm thinking it maybe at least two weeks before he returns .  Maybe more to get him back into form.

Think it's going to be Late Dec or early Jan.

[Eja117]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

[Evantime34]

Smart as the sixth man makes a lot of sense to me. He can come in off the bench and really raise the intensity level.

Playing him as the sixth man also allows him to come in and run the offense, which is what the C's would like him to do long term.

[LarBrd33]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

Smart has played elite level defense, but he's also a lliability offensively.  9.8 points with 33%/24%/69% shooting.  That's atricious.  I'm not sure he'd start for most teams in the league right now.    Bradley is having a terrific season... 16.3 points with 46%/43%/78% shooting.  Hard to rationalize starting Smart over Bradley.  The only way it makes sense is if you are concerned about how small a backcourt of Bradley + Thomas is.   I've made that argument many times... but it's hard to keep making that argument when Boston has played this well with them in the back court.

Funny, because the first game Smart missed, they lost the game to Brooklyn... which had more to do with Boston falling asleep and not taking Brooklyn seriously.  But everyone jumped the gun about how the team was "doomed" without Smart.  I called "nonsense".   And now here we are... team has played better without Smart.   When he comes back, he should be used as a defensive specialist off the bench... and probably stay in that role until he develops some offensive efficiency. 

I still see Smart as our best trade asset.  I still think he's a fantastic defensive role player.  But I'm been very disappointed with his play since being drafted.  I expected more from him offensively.  I said it before, I expected Tyreke Evans on offense and instead we got  Rondo/Ricky Rubio without the passing gene. 

[Csfan1984]

Off the bench may be exactly what team needs. Smart will also match up easier for his own offense to get better. Said it since before year start let Smart be first guard off the bench.

[TA9]

Like a hand in a glove.
jk, I'd like to see him off the bench to begin with as Avery is playing ubelieveable at the moment. IMO Thomas should keep starting and the SG spot should be ocupied by either Avery or Smart depending on how they play.

[Vox_Populi]

Personally, I don't think it matters as much as some here think. The team played great basketball with Bradley off the bench, I'd assume they can play great with Smart off it.

That said, I do think Smart will eventually lead the team in minutes per game, before the season's over and assuming he comes back relatively soon.

[moiso]

And when is he going out again?

[wdleehi]

For the future of this team, starting pg.  He needs to continue to develop.

[hwangjini_1]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

and i am positive none of those people noticing bradley now were among those calling bradley a bust and wishing the celtics would cut him a few years ago. 

the cb board writ large is fickle sometimes.

[jpotter33]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

To be clear, I was specifically referring to people calling to trade him. I think it's smart to start him off of the bench, especially with how well we've been playing lately.

However, as someone said here previously, when we get into the playoffs and teams start seriously planning to play us, there's no doubt in my mind that our backcourt height issues will be exploited. Look what Cleveland did to IT last year in the playoffs. I don't think he's the long-term answer at point guard due to his height and questionable decision-making.

[Rondo9]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

To be clear, I was specifically referring to people calling to trade him. I think it's smart to start him off of the bench, especially with how well we've been playing lately.

However, as someone said here previously, when we get into the playoffs and teams start seriously planning to play us, there's no doubt in my mind that our backcourt height issues will be exploited. Look what Cleveland did to IT last year in the playoffs. I don't think he's the long-term answer at point guard due to his height and questionable decision-making.

Thomas is the Celtics only scorer, of course the Cavs honed on him and when what questionable decision making? So far Thomas is averaging a career high 6.7 assists and his turnovers are decent.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Bringing Smart back slowly from the bench is a great idea (for health reasons). Bringing Smart off the bench for an extended period of time may be an even better idea (for a potential long-term benefit). It'd be a mistake to disrupt team chemistry right now with the way they're playing, and more importantly, the "demotion" may motivate Smart to respond with improved offense, much like it did for AB.

[jpotter33]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

To be clear, I was specifically referring to people calling to trade him. I think it's smart to start him off of the bench, especially with how well we've been playing lately.

However, as someone said here previously, when we get into the playoffs and teams start seriously planning to play us, there's no doubt in my mind that our backcourt height issues will be exploited. Look what Cleveland did to IT last year in the playoffs. I don't think he's the long-term answer at point guard due to his height and questionable decision-making.

Thomas is the Celtics only scorer, of course the Cavs honed on him and when what questionable decision making? So far Thomas is averaging a career high 6.7 assists and his turnovers are decent.

He has questionable decision-making every game, whether it's stupid passes or stupid pull-up shots. Coming off of the Golden State game, I think we all can think of one really stupid decision he made to try and shoot a last-second three over a guy nearly a foot taller than him.

And the Cavs specifically put Shump on him, because IT struggles with guys defending him that are bigger, lankier, and have decent lateral quickness, especially due to his already lackluster size. Between Shump guarding IT and Zeller not spreading the floor enough to draw Mozgov out of the paint, they totally shut IT down.

[playdream]

Boy how short our memories are...

i know. look at all the threads that waxed orgasmically over smart and his defense and toughness and steal-of-the-draft and more.

now? trade him. bench him.

cb at its short-memory best. 

Maybe some of the people who aren't overatting Smart now are the same one who didn't overrate him before.

And maybe some people are noticing Bradley's play has become all-starish while Smart is still somewhat inconsistent and plays in a way that gets himself hurt frequently.

To be clear, I was specifically referring to people calling to trade him. I think it's smart to start him off of the bench, especially with how well we've been playing lately.

However, as someone said here previously, when we get into the playoffs and teams start seriously planning to play us, there's no doubt in my mind that our backcourt height issues will be exploited. Look what Cleveland did to IT last year in the playoffs. I don't think he's the long-term answer at point guard due to his height and questionable decision-making.

Thomas is the Celtics only scorer, of course the Cavs honed on him and when what questionable decision making? So far Thomas is averaging a career high 6.7 assists and his turnovers are decent.

He has questionable decision-making every game, whether it's stupid passes or stupid pull-up shots. Coming off of the Golden State game, I think we all can think of one really stupid decision he made to try and shoot a last-second three over a guy nearly a foot taller than him.

And the Cavs specifically put Shump on him, because IT struggles with guys defending him that are bigger, lankier, and have decent lateral quickness, especially due to his already lackluster size. Between Shump guarding IT and Zeller not spreading the floor enough to draw Mozgov out of the paint, they totally shut IT down.

Well to be fair IT did make stupid decisions
But AB made about twice when IT made one
And it's hard not to struggle when you are guarded by the whole team