Take It to the Hoop, Marcus!

[jmen788]

Marcus Smart was so good at college since he took it to the hoop - that's how he did his major scoring. Against the Mavs he took it to the hole instead of just hucking 3s and he had a great game and made some really good shots (like tough floaters) and he did this once or twice against the Raptors.

He shot well (compared to what was expected) his first year from 3, but he never took it to the hoop. This year he's shooting much worse and still rarely taking it to the hoop.

Why is he not taking it to the hoop more?! Has anyone else noticed this/been frustrated by it?

[Csfan1984]

Pretty much everyone has said it in the fix Smart's offense thread. Lots of people saying get inside. Play more like Kyle Lowry. Post a bit more like Billups. If shooting the 3 do it only when open and while set (don't rush it). And be aggressive on offense.

[Celtics4ever]

His first step was adequate in college in the pros not so much.

[rollie mass]

without looking at stats, i thought marcus is going to hoop more and posting up even though coming back from that knee--

[Otsje P]

My eyes told me that Marcus has been really attacking the rim a lot more, the last couple of games. He shot his awful 3 pointers less, and posted up more.

I've been critical of Smart, his shot selection and his shooting stroke. But I'm the first to admit that I really like what I saw the last few games.

Keep this up Marcus!!

[Chief]

He needs the ball to take it to the hoop. That would require Evan Turner to pass him the ball.

[Yenohb]

Also noticed him using this move a couple of times:

https://youtu.be/vDDzUzz62ys?t=86

Did Isaiah thought him this?

[Sketch5]

He needs the ball to take it to the hoop. That would require Evan Turner to pass him the ball.

This.

He plays a lot with Tuner and IT and rarely brings the ball up and when he gets it, it's usually with time running out at the 3 point line. Some times theres 4 or 6 seconds left, but he hasn't adjusted to how much time that actually is.

I think last year they wanted him to shoot it from 3 every time because thats what he needed to get good at. Yeah, it drove people nuts, and they said he should be practicing them in, well, practice. Except practice and game time are two different monsters and when you're not playing for anything, use games to work on things.

He shot better than expected last season. In SL he was pretty good, dominated guys he should, which is encouraging.  The knee injury hurt, but he's starting to come around, he hits tough shots when he needs to, which makes me think he can be a decent outside shooter, and if he can will open up his drives more.

He still needs work on his form. DA needs to bring in Price for him. He seems to fade back a lot, not sure if he's worried about getting blocked, but with those long arms should make up for the lack of lift he some times gets.

The thing is he does so man good things out there it's hard to keep him off the floor, but he just needs to get the ball more often.

[coffee425]

Regarding the Evan Turner issue,
My logic is that CBS is using easing Marcus into the primary ballhandler role, while also managing his defensive energy. Let's face it, Marcus' value on defense is still greater than his value on offense. So being the genius that he is, I'm sure that CBS would rather Marcus use 70% effort on defense and 30% on offense.

Just a stat to compare...
Boston's attempting 89 shots a game. Marcus attempts 8.9 a game; 5th on the team. No chance that he's the offensive focus at this stage in his career.

[jmen788]

He needs the ball to take it to the hoop. That would require Evan Turner to pass him the ball.

Brad should not be playing these two together - agreed. Let Marcus take it up the court, and if he can't, then move him to the 2. None of this have it both ways garbage!

[guava_wrench]

Marcus Smart was so good at college since he took it to the hoop - that's how he did his major scoring. Against the Mavs he took it to the hole instead of just hucking 3s and he had a great game and made some really good shots (like tough floaters) and he did this once or twice against the Raptors.

He shot well (compared to what was expected) his first year from 3, but he never took it to the hoop. This year he's shooting much worse and still rarely taking it to the hoop.

Why is he not taking it to the hoop more?! Has anyone else noticed this/been frustrated by it?

The competition in college is horrible.

[jmen788]

Marcus Smart was so good at college since he took it to the hoop - that's how he did his major scoring. Against the Mavs he took it to the hole instead of just hucking 3s and he had a great game and made some really good shots (like tough floaters) and he did this once or twice against the Raptors.

He shot well (compared to what was expected) his first year from 3, but he never took it to the hoop. This year he's shooting much worse and still rarely taking it to the hoop.

Why is he not taking it to the hoop more?! Has anyone else noticed this/been frustrated by it?

The competition in college is horrible.

Umm... Since being on the Cs, when Marcus takes it to the hole (which has been very rare, especially last year), he has pretty good results and looked special.