First problem I have with his analysis is that Marcus is not a point guard. He's not quick enough. He gets flustered when he's pressured high and has no help. About the only thing he does well is take care of the ball but he doesn't create with the ball when pressured. He doesn't have that skill.
Second problem is that he hasn't shown consistency in his floater in a long time. It's premature to say he has this in his game. If he's going to be able to add a consistent floater, he's gotta get a better touch. He normally does a push shot or a flip. Not the most accurate.
Third problem I have is that Marcus gets plenty of opportunities to use his skills. There are always 3-5 minute stretches when he gets to run plays and the offense usually stutters. If he showed he can do it, he would get more primary touches in the offense.
You can't say a guy getting 28 minutes needs more opportunities. There are always moments in the game he gets his chances.
I agree 100%.
That's a bad sign. There's a chance that "TheTruth" is an intern hired by the Sixers or Bulls to help drive down the public perception of how valuable Celtics players are. He thinks Felger is a source of wisdom about basketball, unless that's part of the act, since that is such a ludicrous position.
Marcus Smart was a starter last year in the regular season and in the playoffs, and he's played starter minutes all of this season.
That's two full seasons at starter minutes - a hell of a lot more experience/opportunity than 90% of rookies from his draft class have had. In fact Wiggins may be the only rookie from that draft class who has gotten more total minutes in this league.
It's 123 games total, not quite "full". Full would be 150+ games. He's only started 51 of those 123. Smart is seventh in both total minutes and mpg from the '14 draft class, not second.
Totally understand if somebody argues Rozier / Mickey haven't had opportunity, but you absolutely cannot make that argument for a guy who has taken 939 FGA in 3,219 minute over 119 games - that's just silly.
You're both missing the point. What he's been missing has not been field goal attempts, it's been the opportunity to run the offense.
Smart has actually made very little progress, which is a little worrying to me. His shooting has gone downhill in a huge way.
Except for an 11 point improvement in his FT%.
His assist numbers have gone down, his assist:TO ratio has gone down.
Oh my god, BARELY. Are you for real? You actually looked up his stats and came away thinking that there was a difference in those things worth mentioning?
His foul rate has gone up and he seems to be getting on the nerves of referees more than ever.
Slightly true.
As a shooter his FG% around the basket (51%) and his three point percentage (25%) are both well beyond terrible, especially considering that both are down from his rookie year and that 74% of all his FGA come from those two areas.
Yeah, we know already. This isn't the tenth thread on Smart being a bad shooter, it's a thread about Smart being a good player despite being a bad shooter so far.
On the plus side his rebounding has improved slightly (from 4.4 Reb Per 36 to 5.6 Reb Per 36), his free throw rate has improved a lot (26% to 31%) and his free throw percentage has improved significantly (from 65% to 76%) which brings some hope he can improve as a shooter.
How in the hell are you going to cite the microscopic change in his assist stats as a bad sign but only say his rebounding has improved slightly? "Hope"? He did improve as a shooter, because free throws are a form of shooting.
He isn't without promise, but he needs to get his shot selection sorted first and foremost, because right now it is really hurting the team and is making him a major liability on offense.
If he were a major liability on offense then his Offensive Rating and ORPM would show that, and they don't.
He's averaging over five 3PA Per 36 Minutes which is way too high for somebody with his shooting ability. He needs to cut that in half to no more than about two 3PA per game, and he really should not be taking them unless he is dead set wide open with no better shot available.
Unless he rediscovers the groove he was in recently for a whole month where he was hitting over 40% of those five threes a game.
If Smart can get his shot selection under control then I don't mind having him on the court because of all the other good things he does with his hustle and his defence, but as long as he's chucking 4 treys a game @ < 30% shooting I would honestly rather just bench him and play Rozier.
You think you are smarter than Brad Stevens.
YOU ARE NOT.
YOU ARE NOT SMARTER THAN BRAD STEVENS.
He also needs to get his temper/attitude under control, but I'm more concerned about the shooting at this point.
I think he'll be fine and will develop into a nice player, but I don't think he'll ever be a star. I think he can be a solid-to-good starter though. I think if he ends up as good a two-way player as Avery Bradley, then I'll be pretty happy with that at this point.
People put a lot of dirt on Bradley, but Bradley is an above average player on both ends of the court who has elite intangibles (motor / hustle / work ethic) with none of the temperament (anger, arguments, constant complaining) that usually goes along with that. That's a hard package to find in a player (Rozier seems to have it too), and I hope it rubs off onto Smart. Considering where Bradley was drafted, he really was a steal.
Bradley has a way below average basketball IQ. You should be worrying that maybe Smart committing more inadvisable fouls this season is the result of Avery's influence. ZERO stats, advanced or otherwise, indicate that Bradley is above average on both ends. But thanks for revealing the source of your bias. You're partial to Bradley, so you unfairly criticize Smart.
Not at all getting why you are getting so uptight and taking this so personally to be honest.
1. Once again, you can go nitpicking all you want...he's played 123 games and over 3,000 minutes in a
KEY ROLE as a professional basketball player. To argue that he hasn't had an opportunity is utterly ridiculous. He has had more than enough opportunity to show what he is capable of. He's played comparable (or greater) minutes to guys like Aaron Gordon, Julius Randle, Zach Lavine and Jabari Parker - all of whom have shown greater flashes of potential in their time so far. You can put on your green glasses and sugarcoat it all you like.
I was at least as much in favour of the Smart pick as anybody on this board, and I have been on his side from day one...I was one of the first people insisting that I thought he had potential to be a borderline All-Star. But now I'm starting to second guess my initial instincts, because he's just not showing any even close to the potential I thought I saw in him. I'm sorry if my objectivity (and my refusal to carry a pro-Celtics bias) offends you. I'm just saying it how I see it, and you don't have to agree.
2. He has done poorly. Or at least he sure as hell has not done well. Turner was never seen as much of a playmaker or ball handler before he came here. Last year he was an absolute turnover magnet every time he played the PG spot, and he STILL got the playmaking responsibilities over Smart most the time. This year Turner has improved his handle a lot and has become much more steady - but he is not a natural PG any more than Paul Pierce was a natural PG. He's just a swingman who has some solid PG instincts. Smart is supposed to be a natural PG, yet he isn't being given playmaker minutes because he's buried in the role behind Isaiah Thomas (who, before coming to Boston, was known as a chucker and offensive black hole) and Turner (who before Boston was known as a bust swingman).
I've already noticed that Rozier is spending roughly half his time as the playmaker when he is on the court, wheras Smart is spending maybe 20% of his time as the playmaker if that. Why do you think that is? It's because Rozier can handle the ball, can pass the ball, and has some semblance of proper PG skills...while Smart at this point really doesn't. He's a combo guard by nature, and we all HOPE he can one day develop the skills to become a PG..but he hasn't done it yet.
3. I said it was nice that Smart improved his FT% as much as he did. What else do you want me to say about a PG who is shooting 76% from the line? Do you want me to get down on my knees and worship him as the next great Ray Allen? Smart is shooting 76% from the free throw line which is what any average skilled Point Guard prospect SHOULD be shooting. Am I supposed to be excited because Smart upgraded from being a TERRIBLE free throw shooting guard to an AVERAGE free throw shooting guard? Is that supposed to leave me chirping about his incredible potential as a shooter? Really?
Should I then rave about Avery Bradley's ball handling and passing because he has improved those so much since he was a rookie? Of course not, because he still isn't actually good at them - just passable. Must like Smart as a free throw shooter. He is no longer terrible - yay.
4. Once again, he's had PLENTY of opportunity to be a PG. Thomas has been mostly playing between 28-32 minutes a game since he came to Boston - last year he was BACKING UP Marcus Smart, and this year Smart is backing up Isaiah. Evan Turner is our only logical backup at the SF spot - this is why Turner is filling in at SF for an injured Crowder, not Smart.
Smart is so medicore as a playmaking that Stevens is taking our ONLY backup Small Forward, and is giving him the ball handling duties over Smart. Do you not grasp what that implies? It implies that Stevens does not have confidence in his BACKUP PG to be able to function as a playmaker.
Why is it that Smart almost NEVER plays without either Thomas or Turner on the court at the same time? For the exact same reason.
Why is it that when Rozier and Smart are both on the court, Rozier is given the task of being the ball handler? For the same reason.
You said yourself - I am not Smarter than Brad Stevens. You are not smarter than Brad Stevens. Brad Stevens specifically chooses NOT to use Smart in a ball handling role most of the time he's on the court. Going by your own logic, you should trust in Brad.
Also, how the hell am I being dishonest? Smart's assist rate has dropped from 16.3% to 14.7% despite the fact that his usage rate has increased from 15.1% to 17.8%. Granted his turnover rate has also dropped (from 14.4% to 11.0%) which is nice - but that doesn't change the fact that Smart is getting less assists despite more touches.
Is it by a huge margin? No. Didn't say it was. But it's not by an irrelevant margin either. Averaging 4.1 assists per 36 minutes is borderline acceptable for a PG. Averaging 3.7 assists per 36 minutes is utterly woeful for an NBA PG. His assist Percentage in general is well and truly in combo guard territory - in fact Jared Sullinger's assist percentage (15% ) this year is higher than Smart's. How can you try to argue that Smart's Assist rate is anything but woeful if he's not generating assists at any higher a rate than your Starting C? Granted Sully's usage rate is much higher, but he's playing center for goodness sake.
One look at Evan Turner (24.2%) and Isaiah Thomas (33.1%) should give you some idea of the type of assist percentages you should expect from an NBA PG. Even Elfrid Payton has averaged a 32% assist rate over his first two seasons despite a usage rate being only slightly higher.
Smart has shown no improvement (in fact slight regression) as a passer as he has gained experience, which is somewhat concerning. It's not dramatic (like his passing has dropped off a cliff) but it's a decline none the less and demonstrates the complete opposite of progression.
But yeah, I'm dishonest - sure. *sigh*
6. How is it only SLIGHTLY concerning that Smart's quantity of technical fouls is tied with Draymond Green / Dwight Howard and only slightly below Demarcus Cousins??? Three guys who are considered some of the biggest whingers in the NBA?
At least those three guys are All-Stars or former All-Stars so they have earned the right to have a childish-brat ego. Smart has earned nothing in this league and he already racks up technical with the best of them. I'm sorry, but that is deeply concerning to me for a second year player of Smart's age. I hope he can get it under control, and I feel he probably will - I assume he is just a bit overzealous because he's trying to prove himself and earn respect. Lets hope that's true.
7. But he isn't good despite bad shooting. Marcus Smart is not a good player. Marcus Smart is a decent player who has the potential to hopefully one day become a good player. He's not a good player. If he was such a good player he'd be starting - he isn't.
8. Why am I ridiculous? I have acknowledged that Smart has improved his rebounding. I've acknowledged that the improvement is significant - indeed significant enough to be worth mentioning. His total rebounding has gone up by 20% - that is significant enough to be worth mentioning.
Smart's rebound % has gone up from 6.7% to 8.3% - an increase of 1.6 percentage points. His assist rate has gone down from 16.3% to 14.7%, which is a reduction of 1.6 percentage points.
His assists have essentially declined just as much as his rebounding has improved - which is why I mentioned both as being significant changes. I don't get where your concern lies.
9. What, you mean like that time when Marcus Smart fouled Demar Derozan on a three point heave from 1/4 court with 0.01 seconds on the clock in crunch time? PLEASE I challenge you to find me a more idiotic foul then that one.
10. We'll see.
11. No, he doesn't. Bradley doesn't commit "dumb fouls" any more than any other Celtics player does. Every player makes bad plays sometimes, but Smart takes it to a whole other level.
12. Yeah, who cares about technical fouls. It's not like they hurt the team. I mean all they do really is give the other team:
1) A free throw
2) Freedom to CHOOSE who shoots the free throw (i.e. their best shooter)
3) Possession
It's only a potential four point swing in the opponents favour every time you commit one, that's all.
Short of a flagrant foul, there is just about NO foul in the game that is more stupid then a technical foul. You give your opponent an almost guaranteed point AND a possession...and it's completely unnecessary and entirely avoidable and has ZERO positive impact for your team. Great one there.
13. You said yourself - Brad Stevens is Smarter then we are. So why is Bradley starting over Smart? Why did Brad so quickly abandon his idea of starting Smart over Turner? Why did Brad give up on his idea of stating Smart over Thomas?
Why is it that Smart managed to lose his starting PG spot, his starting SF spot AND hasn't been able to take over Bradley's starting SG spot? You insist Brad knows best, so if Smart is better than Bradley what's the explanation?
Bradley is a former All-Defensive team selection (something Smart cannot yet claim), he's been a starter for something like four or 5 years running (a role Smart has been unable to earn), and he's a legitimate #2 - #3 scoring option who can give you 15 PPG whole shooting quality numbers from three, from midrange, and at the basket.
But you claim Smart is the better player. Sure, you run with that. Keep telling yourself that Smart (who is averaging 9.3 / 4.3 / 2.8 and shooting 34% / 25% / 76%) is better than Bradley (who is averaging 15.1 / 2.8 / 2.1 and shooting 45% / 36% / 81%).
I will try to my best to respect your opinion and not laugh hysterically.
