OMG marcus can play defence

[rollie mass]

drew a charge down the middle,mauled the ball away attacking from weakside and drew illegal screens multiple times disrupting denvers offence and attacked the rim looking for putbacks-
when he came back from injury he was overweight and recovering
now he is back to a trim 240lbs
this kid is 21 with a hampered rookie season and again with injury this year
his stats will be skewed all season from that recovery period, anybody that posted marcus a bust
ought to post a retraction and as to injry prone this guy plays with abandon a true force
best defencive guard i have ever seen

[Celtics17]

How many years have you watched the NBA? I am just asking because I don't have cable and living in the midwest I don't get to see many games.Is he really the best you have seen?  I have noticed from the box scores though that when Marcus plays the Celts seem to be in most games.

It seems that most people discount great defensive players too. You hear about them but it's not like people make comments about how great a player they are like they do great offensive players. Mutombo  comes to mind. Anyway, was just curious about Marcus?

[loco_91]

I'm not sure how Smart stacks up against the great defensive players just yet. He's extremely good, but he does sometimes have trouble against really quick PG's, and his help defense isn't pristine as he tends to leave shooters open when help isn't needed. I think CP3 is still a better overall defender, though he doesn't put as much effort on that end due to his offensive responsibilities, and he's much less versatile. However, Smart is still a 2nd-year pro and he does have a chance to become the best defensive PG since Gary Payton, which would be reallllly fun to watch.

[rollie mass]

How many years have you watched the NBA? I am just asking because I don't have cable and living in the midwest I don't get to see many games.Is he really the best you have seen?  I have noticed from the box scores though that when Marcus plays the Celts seem to be in most games.

It seems that most people discount great defensive players too. You hear about them but it's not like people make comments about how great a player they are like they do great offensive players. Mutombo  comes to mind. Anyway, was just curious about Marcus?

for his age-alot of good defenders were the bradley type smooth,some very good defenders you did not see like marcus,some didn't have his disregard for his body- i think someone should do an article with tapes showing best pg defenders-i agree with tommy  but admit to not following in the past other pg defenders-in the past it seemed rim defenders got the attention-

[CroCorvus]

Generally speaking, people who never played basketball, or any other similar team game, doesn't have a clue how his plays and his presence overall affects his team's play and his teammates. Just wow. Hope he never changes, only to get better, and stays with us for many more years.

[rollie mass]

i played for rollie massimino whose trademark was defence- pressure man to man help  defence -to me smart has the hands and lower body strength to get over screens and,timing-he is just a once in awhile player-everybody wants to play offence very few play d like mike tyson
rollie learned from the best east coast college coaches  going way back to his new jersey roots-when the NIT was the tournament
the celts have the best 123 perimeter defence in the league and is winning without a rim protector-24 turnovers and i thought the celts played iffy,it seemed they didn't go inside enough
i tend to watch defenders like jerebko because he is important in his ability to cover multiple players ,i like the way he moves his feet-very underated for brads style of ball-
turner is another ainge /brad creation and playing good d while rebounding

[DefenseWinsChamps]

If I counted right, Marcus drew 4 offensive fouls last night.

4.

He had 5 fouls, but he drew 4 offensive fouls, on top of 4 steals.

He had 8 forced turnovers last night.

8.

That is spectacular.

[fubar089]

Smart is a very good defender but atm I think he gives up too much basket penetration to be considered elite. I see him get beat a good amount against quicker PG's, which is obviously no crime, the NBA is full of great athletes so its gonna happen but I think he needs to clean up his D in certain areas a bit and with time I think he will.

[CelticPride2016]

Rollie is more often correct than wrong. He has a leg up on most of us because he played with Rollie Massimino.

Marcus Smart is incredible on defense. It's just not as glamorous as the things players do on offense.

I recall one of those Miami teams maybe around the time we first got KG/Ray. They didn't have a dominating center either but showed what feisty team defense can accomplish.

I think in football there was a Baltimore Ravens team that won it all. They were putrid on offense, but it didn't matter. They only had to score a certain amount.

That is our team if we can add a younger version of an Amir Johnson. We are stacked at the 1, 2, 3 on defense as someone above said. It makes me think of that Miami Heat team. I remember that specifically. I thought, wow, they have no center, yet it doesn't seem to matter. Then on offense, Wade was in his prime.

Crowder is on his way to being a two-way player and I have confidence Marcus Smart is on the same trajectory. He's young and Rollie is correct injuries skew stats.

It's a team game with half of it played on defense. Smart is the team's best player with the most potential. He should not be traded under any circumstances unless it is an Al Jefferson for KG type of trade.

[rollie mass]

how about a sort of forgotten dave cowens wouldn't he just fit in-he went to the floor like marcus ,i had never seen a center so tenacious-
hey celtics getting a little concerned with rj's shooting but as usual a couple nice passes -last night he hit jerebco with a pass at an angle that didn't seem possible for the dunk-
remember danny he had trouble with getting over the top -he would bounce off those screens-rj looked quite thin last night,i was hoping boston restaurants might bulk him up-my favorite for a long time was mistral------------

[Snakehead]

How many years have you watched the NBA? I am just asking because I don't have cable and living in the midwest I don't get to see many games.Is he really the best you have seen?

I've seen a ton of basketball and yeah he's as good as anyone I have seen, just about.  He is a lot different than Gary Payton but he is that kind of dominant on the perimeter.  The game was so much different when Payton played it too.  If Marcus could handcheck right now, imagine that.

The fact that Smart is this dominant in his second year with the rules how they are is extremely impressive.  And unlike many guards who are lauded for defense by just gambling for steals and not actually physically checking their man or playing soundly, Marcus doesn't even gamble often when he goes for steals.  His positioning, like someone previously mentioned, makes him not look glamorous as far as his defense goes but it is why he is so special.

As far as last night, between steals and offensive fouls, I would say he is responsible for a good 10 turnovers or so from Denver.  Crazy.

[j804]

I love how he predicts exactly what the offensive players gonna do. It could be a fake pass or the guy just bringing the ball up over his head to survey the court for a pass and he just times it all ball and rips it away. His instincts are crazy for just a second year player.

[rollie mass]

How many years have you watched the NBA? I am just asking because I don't have cable and living in the midwest I don't get to see many games.Is he really the best you have seen?

I've seen a ton of basketball and yeah he's as good as anyone I have seen, just about.  He is a lot different than Gary Payton but he is that kind of dominant on the perimeter.  The game was so much different when Payton played it too.  If Marcus could handcheck right now, imagine that.

The fact that Smart is this dominant in his second year with the rules how they are is extremely impressive.  And unlike many guards who are lauded for defense by just gambling for steals and not actually physically checking their man or playing soundly, Marcus doesn't even gamble often when he goes for steals.  His positioning, like someone previously mentioned, makes him not look glamorous as far as his defense goes but it is why he is so special.

As far as last night, between steals and offensive fouls, I would say he is responsible for a good 10 turnovers or so from Denver.  Crazy.

 tp tp tp you made an incredible point the old hand checking-his hand check would be like a steel bar-
i was surprised the refs let him get away with so much last year remember when a rookie pd his dues
it was like the refs   had been mandated  with  let this kid play play-a sort of chosen one for the celts rebuild-and a reflection of his time with team usa like this kid has got IT

[Snakehead]

How many years have you watched the NBA? I am just asking because I don't have cable and living in the midwest I don't get to see many games.Is he really the best you have seen?

I've seen a ton of basketball and yeah he's as good as anyone I have seen, just about.  He is a lot different than Gary Payton but he is that kind of dominant on the perimeter.  The game was so much different when Payton played it too.  If Marcus could handcheck right now, imagine that.

The fact that Smart is this dominant in his second year with the rules how they are is extremely impressive.  And unlike many guards who are lauded for defense by just gambling for steals and not actually physically checking their man or playing soundly, Marcus doesn't even gamble often when he goes for steals.  His positioning, like someone previously mentioned, makes him not look glamorous as far as his defense goes but it is why he is so special.

As far as last night, between steals and offensive fouls, I would say he is responsible for a good 10 turnovers or so from Denver.  Crazy.

 tp tp tp you made an incredible point the old hand checking-his hand check would be like a steel bar-
i was surprised the refs let him get away with so much last year remember when a rookie pd his dues
it was like the refs   had been mandated  with  let this kid play play-a sort of chosen one for the celts rebuild-and a reflection of his time with team usa like this kid has got IT

That might be it but frankly I think it is a bit just he is so physical and they can't whistle him every play.  It's kind of like the Seattle Seahawks secondary.  They play so physically because they know the refs can't penalize them constantly and if they are consistent they can establish the tone of the game.

I thought Scalabrine was right on last night saying Smart would be extremely hard to officiate for with how the rules are now.   He is just constantly fighting for position.  He fights through every screen like it's the last play of the game.

And some games you do see him get whistled a lot but overall I think refs respect that he is in position very often and he isn't hacking guys for steals.  He isn't hand checking.  But yeah, if he could with his strength, he would be amazing in that era of basketball.

[kozlodoev]

Generally speaking, people who never played basketball, or any other similar team game, doesn't have a clue how his plays and his presence overall affects his team's play and his teammates. Just wow. Hope he never changes, only to get better, and stays with us for many more years.

Oh thank you for enlightening us, the mere mortals. His presence overall is so impressive that he has to start every game on the pine.