Why I don't like M Smart any more for the foreseeable future.

[BitterJim]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

He can't "defend four positions at a high level". He can defend Paul Millsap. For a 10 minute stretch. Try putting him on LaMarcus Aldridge or Dirk Nowitzki and see how that's going to work out.

He guarded Porzingis for a 10 or so minute stretch, too, and that went pretty well

[Snakehead]

Even the most fervent anti Marcus Smart poster still enjoyed watching him play last night right?

I worry that some of you are so concerned with being right about Smart, that they can't even enjoy watching him succeed.

So much they were daydreaming about his trade value now.

I mean these are people that won't even give him his passing skills so they have already made up their mind about him.

And Smart's versatility is great, but knocking him for not being able to guard 6'10" and up players is pretty silly when you would never expect your guard to be able to guard any PF (No matter an All Star that he managed to shut down).  He's just a great perimeter defender that doesn't gamble like many considered great, and he's highly physical so he can play SFs and some PFs.

[Roy H.]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

Lebron
Iguodala
Kawhi
Dray Green
MKG
George
Middleton

PS. No "haters" talk. It undercuts your point.

[jpotter33]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

Lebron
Iguodala
Kawhi
Dray Green
MKG
George
Middleton

PS. No "haters" talk. It undercuts your point.

Granted, all of those guys are forwards or big guards that are at least three inches taller than Smart. Being 6'4" and doing that is much more impressive than those guys doing it, which should've been in the conditions.

[Evantime34]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

Lebron
Iguodala
Kawhi
Dray Green
MKG
George
Middleton

PS. No "haters" talk. It undercuts your point.

I agree with everyone but Middleton. I have seen him guard 2-3 but never 1 or 4.

Still that is a great group for Smart to be in, pretty much all those guys are max level players.

[kozlodoev]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

He can't "defend four positions at a high level". He can defend Paul Millsap. For a 10 minute stretch. Try putting him on LaMarcus Aldridge or Dirk Nowitzki and see how that's going to work out.

He guarded Porzingis for a 10 or so minute stretch, too, and that went pretty well

Porzingis is a 220 lbs rookie. Again, he's not going to defend an established, regularly sized PF full time. This argument is silly.

[Roy H.]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

Lebron
Iguodala
Kawhi
Dray Green
MKG
George
Middleton

PS. No "haters" talk. It undercuts your point.

I agree with everyone but Middleton. I have seen him guard 2-3 but never 1 or 4.

Still that is a great group for Smart to be in, pretty much all those guys are max level players.

Middleton guards a lot of PG. He played there a lot before the Giannis move.

He guards PFs because Monroe and Parker can't guard anyone. Middleton and Giannis pretty much take the top two non-center options.

[BitterJim]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

He can't "defend four positions at a high level". He can defend Paul Millsap. For a 10 minute stretch. Try putting him on LaMarcus Aldridge or Dirk Nowitzki and see how that's going to work out.

He guarded Porzingis for a 10 or so minute stretch, too, and that went pretty well

Porzingis is a 220 lbs rookie. Again, he's not going to defend an established, regularly sized PF full time. This argument is silly.

Of course he cant, but the argument you made is that the only PF he can guard is Millsap, which isn't true

[kozlodoev]

Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

He can't "defend four positions at a high level". He can defend Paul Millsap. For a 10 minute stretch. Try putting him on LaMarcus Aldridge or Dirk Nowitzki and see how that's going to work out.

He guarded Porzingis for a 10 or so minute stretch, too, and that went pretty well

Porzingis is a 220 lbs rookie. Again, he's not going to defend an established, regularly sized PF full time. This argument is silly.

Of course he cant, but the argument you made is that the only PF he can guard is Millsap, which isn't true

No, I made the argument that "defending Paul Millsap for a 10 minute stretch" does not equate to "defending four positions at a high level". I will try to be more literal next time.

[The One]

I hope there's a Celtics future with Marcus in it.

[Eja117]

People on the trade Marcus wagon irk me. They watch one end of the floor, because defense isn't flashy. It's grit. It's dirt. It's grind. It's positioning your body to outwit screens and keeping a lid on Korver in the first half. Its buckling down and muscling up against an out of the box Millsap down on the block and holding him to 1 for 5, when he was literally destroying all other Celtics. Its nailing a 3 on the offensive end, hustling back to get a block, starting transition... and knocking down ANOTHER 3 to bring your team back into it. I was at the game last night. This kid is magic in bottle, and his lid is starting to blow. He is too strong, too fierce a competitor to lose. Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

Ok, but I challenge you to name one player who is a worse shooter.  That's great that he does all this. But he does it every 6th game. Not good enough.

[Timdawgg]

People on the trade Marcus wagon irk me. They watch one end of the floor, because defense isn't flashy. It's grit. It's dirt. It's grind. It's positioning your body to outwit screens and keeping a lid on Korver in the first half. Its buckling down and muscling up against an out of the box Millsap down on the block and holding him to 1 for 5, when he was literally destroying all other Celtics. Its nailing a 3 on the offensive end, hustling back to get a block, starting transition... and knocking down ANOTHER 3 to bring your team back into it. I was at the game last night. This kid is magic in bottle, and his lid is starting to blow. He is too strong, too fierce a competitor to lose. Haters, I challenge you to name 5 players in the NBA not named Marcus Smart that can defend 4 positions at a high level...

Ok, but I challenge you to name one player who is a worse shooter.  That's great that he does all this. But he does it every 6th game. Not good enough.

Brandon Jennings

[Hank Finkel]

I loved watching Smart last night.  He is still a work in progress but he is a great competitor and was outstanding last night.  I don't see DA trading Smart anytime soon.  He needs to find a big man who competes and defends like Smart. 

[Eja117]

The way the Smart apologists were talking after the last game I thought Saint Smart was gonna show up tonight on one of the 4 horses of the apocalypse and kill all the Hawks shooting lightning from his eyes.

What happened? Regressed down to the mean?

[mrceltics2013]

it's so funny how he had 1 decent game and everyone was talking about him like hes the GOAT. Sorry I still will never give him praise with all his dumb 3 pointers.