Marcus Smart's defense

[LarBrd33]

It's widely acknowledged around here that Marcus Smart is a top-tier defender, but just how good is he?  I know he passes the eye test, but I'm curious if anyone has dug into some advanced defensive stats at all.   I'd be curious to see how Smart stacks up in various statistical rankings compared to other players.   Does he project as an all-defense selection?  What kind of measures are used to determine all-defense selections? 

Let's build Smart's case for the All-Defense team this year.

[RockinRyA]

hmm Im not good in these but I read that the Celtics are 3 pts per possesion better with him defensively.

[jambr380]

With so many missed games, he would really have to have a killer year to make even the 2nd team. Cs players last year were pretty disgusted when Bradley didn't make it last year and the Cs ended the season on a pretty awesome streak. With superstars usually headlining both teams, a player really needs to stand out if he isn't one (ie, Tony Allen, Bruce Bowen, etc). I think he will have to continue to pay his dues.

On another note, I think Crowder actually has a better chance than Smart. He certainly is trending right now.

[Denis998]

Im not going to use this season numbers due to various injuries; as it shows his defensive impact is in the negatives (probably due to a low sample size i guess). As of a full sample from last season he ranked 6th among point guards in defensive RPM. Quite impressive for a rookie.
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/year/2015/sort/DRPM/position/1

[MJohnnyboy]

This article from a few weeks back explains Smart's impact.

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/2015/12/23/what-the-celtics-are-missing-without-marcus-smart/WcmvR6C1syFbBmfO8fvMrL/story.html

The stats definitely back up Smart's case for one of the best guards in the league defensively.

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

Im not going to use this season numbers due to various injuries; as it shows his defensive impact is in the negatives (probably due to a low sample size i guess). As of a full sample from last season he ranked 6th among point guards in defensive RPM. Quite impressive for a rookie.
http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/year/2015/sort/DRPM/position/1

can you please change your picture on the bottom, it freaks me out

[ThePaintedArea]

It's widely acknowledged around here that Marcus Smart is a top-tier defender, but just how good is he?  I know he passes the eye test, but I'm curious if anyone has dug into some advanced defensive stats at all.   I'd be curious to see how Smart stacks up in various statistical rankings compared to other players.   Does he project as an all-defense selection?  What kind of measures are used to determine all-defense selections? 

Let's build Smart's case for the All-Defense team this year.

Not there yet.  But he was sixth among point guards last year, if you use Real plus/minus.  This season has been disrupted by injury, and he's still a net minus on D by that measure (13th, not that it matters much at this point).  He was a modest plus at both ends last year, so there's all sorts of reason to anticipate a surge as the season progresses.

Team defense is a lot more important than individual defense; Smart is still on a learning curve with the higher level stuff.

The old conventional wisdom is that players come of age in their third seasons.  Marcus Smart is on schedule, and if he can stay healthy you'll really see him emerge next season.

[BudweiserCeltic]

One thing he needs to stop doing is over playing while defending. Sometimes he gets a bit too aggressive with his anticipation and gives the offensive player the lane he needs and he gets bit. So a bit more discipline on that regard and he'd be more than Aces... and he's Aces already.

So in all, he's very good. Still has some discipline issues to get through, in particular learn when to give certain players a cushion and when to stick to his man, but he has all the tools and instincts to be just awesome at it.