Help Fix Smart's Offensive Game

[KG Living Legend]

 Here's my advice to Marcus.

 First the ugly. He's shooting

 .313% from the floor
 .219% from three's.
 .681% FTS

 8.6 fga per game
 4.0 3pa per game!

 So 4 three point attempts per game is not Smart for a player shooting at the bottom of the entire league at .219%. Easy to agree here hopefully stop shooting so many three's.

 Bring your game inside 18 feet and keep shooting the Corner three's where he's been solid 37.5% from right corner and 40% from the left side three.

 The good news is when he does get all the way to the rim he's shooting 47.5% from the left side of the paint and 54.8% from the right side.

 Other encouraging numbers are that his rebounding   assists, and steals are all on pace to being where he was in college.

 College 33 mpg

 5.9 RPG   4.5apg   2.9 spg

NBA  he's playing 26 mpg. His per 36 stats are

 5.3rpg   3.9apg.  2.3spg only 11.3ppg per 36

 I think his ppg would increased if he starts shooting in places he's more comfortable and that's anywhere near the rim.

 My advice to him is this. We drafted you to be the point guard of the Celtics. We love your toughness, but we need to see if you can lead the offense, pass the ball, penetrate and create, or I may draft or sign another point guard.

 Watch Chauncey Billups another big bulky point guard with a slow first step and watch how he got into the paint.

 

[walker834]

The issue is we have Isaiah running hte offense 90 percent of the time.  Smart rarely has plays called for him ever.  He just brings it up and passes it off.

[jpotter33]

The issue is we have Isaiah running hte offense 90 percent of the time.  Smart rarely has plays called for him ever.  He just brings it up and passes it off.

Yep. Stevens is starting to have him run the offense more, and he's shown that he's got pretty good passing instincts. We've yet to see him get offensive calls for shots, though. We've played him mostly as a spot-up three point shooter, which he just really isn't.

[Future Celtics Owner]

You would need to hand over the pg spot to him, exclusively. That means trading IT and ET and possibly AB because Smart should be defending the other teams pg.

If he gets more reps then he will get better.

[Evantime34]

Tommy's comment about taking an extra dribble so he can take off closer to the hoop and get higher was a good one. If he could finish at the rim that would solve a lot of his problems. It might help if he could get a call when he goes to the hoop.

On his shot, he needs to make sure that his feet are set every time he shoots. Sometimes he spots up and decides he is going to shoot it even before he gets the ball, then if the pass is off he shoots it anyway. He needs to focus on being consistent with his release, specifically his feet.

[loco_91]

Tommy's comment about taking an extra dribble so he can take off closer to the hoop and get higher was a good one. If he could finish at the rim that would solve a lot of his problems. It might help if he could get a call when he goes to the hoop.

On his shot, he needs to make sure that his feet are set every time he shoots. Sometimes he spots up and decides he is going to shoot it even before he gets the ball, then if the pass is off he shoots it anyway. He needs to focus on being consistent with his release, specifically his feet.

I think this is spot on.

If his 3pt shot can improve, he'll draw harder closeouts and it will help his slashing game. He doesn't necessarily need to take fewer 3's, as I think his percentages have been affected by bad variance this year. I'd also like to see him in the PnR more frequently - it'll be an important area for his development. His post up game is something to keep an eye on, too - that could become a weapon to use in favorable matchups.

[jambr380]

Tommy's comment about taking an extra dribble so he can take off closer to the hoop and get higher was a good one. If he could finish at the rim that would solve a lot of his problems. It might help if he could get a call when he goes to the hoop.

On his shot, he needs to make sure that his feet are set every time he shoots. Sometimes he spots up and decides he is going to shoot it even before he gets the ball, then if the pass is off he shoots it anyway. He needs to focus on being consistent with his release, specifically his feet.

It's almost as if the refs absolutely assume Smart isn't going to get fouled rather than assuming he is (like many players who drive to the hoop). This isn't good for a guy who is so limited offensively. He needs a break (or just the correct call) sometimes.

[max215]

I think Smart is a very skilled passer. He needs to facilitate more, shoot less, and work on his shot selection. He also desperately needs to work on finishing at the rim.

[tarheelsxxiii]

I hate watching him play. The steals and defensive intensity are dandy. That's how I play now -- hard nosed old man basketball. Yayy. But that's not what I want from our "future."

The bricked 3 with 3:30 left, down 1 (I think) was a horrendous shot. His lazy inbounds pass for a turnover after that was even worse. Then, he got caught out of position, playing catch-up, and fouled Hill as he was penetrating middle -- I think that was the play resulting in the last steal and score. It was a no-call that easily could've gone the other way given a) he was outta position and b) his rep with refs sucks.

I hope he becomes a good player on both ends. He's very young, I don't doubt he can work out the boneheadedness he so often brings to the table. Offensively, I prefer to watch pick-up basketball at the Y if the alternative is Smart. But maybe that'll come around, too. For now, I'm calling Charter to see if they can quickly change the channel for brief intervals when he touches the ball.

[droopdog7]

My goodness gracious.  Those have to be some of be some of the worse offenisve numbers I have ever seen.  Downright disrespectful of the game.

Marcus' problem won't be fixed with advice.  His issue is he has below average basketball skills in facets of offensive basketball.  That isn't going to be fixed with a talking.  That isn't even going to be fixed with hard work.  Mostly that will not change regardless of what he does.

[Rondo9]

My goodness gracious.  Those have to be some of be some of the worse offenisve numbers I have ever seen.  Downright disrespectful of the game.

Marcus' problem won't be fixed with advice.  His issue is he has below average basketball skills in facets of offensive basketball.  That isn't going to be fixed with a talking.  That isn't even going to be fixed with hard work.  Mostly that will not change regardless of what he does.

Disrespectful? Smart has a great work ethic, he'll get better with time.

[SHAQATTACK]

He needs to manage his court minutes better. 

He needs relentless off season practice on shooting ......like AB has done

All he needs is a few GO TO shots like CP3 has .....those short medium range CP3 shots are all daggers he pulls at the end of the game.   

He needs to learn when to shoot the correct shot.

[LilRip]

I don't think Smart is being utilized properly on offense. His shooting numbers are horrendous, but I think that's because he's taking some pretty terrible shots.

Now this is me just going off complete speculation but Smart doesn't strike me as someone who you can plug in and expect to microwave (like an IT4). Smart needs reps and if you let him bring the ball up, pass it off and stand in the corner, he's not going to be very efficient. He needs more of a role and needs to be attacking more.

Now, I'm not advocating for CBS to hand over the keys to him. He probably hasn't earned that role and IT4 has been playing great this year. However, it will probably take eating stretches of bad offense (which will likely lead to losses) to speed Smart's development up.

[GreenWarrior]

while I acknowledge Smart's problems on the offensive end, I feel they are a bit overblown. he's taken some not-in-the-flow-of-the-offense-shots occasionally, but overall I've seen a lot of those with the shot clock running down and someone giving him the ball in awkward spots.

not to mention I've noticed just about every jumper he's shot after the injury is hitting the front of the rim. that tells me he's either tired or not fully recovered. if he's tired then that's an issue.

but I feel most of this being way overblown is due to where he was drafted than anything and the unrealistic expectations people have thrust upon him.

   

[littleteapot]

For the life of me I don't understand why people want Stevens to run plays for Smart right now.