Does Smart remind u of Artest or D Green

[Csfan1984]

I'm thinking Kawhi at PG.

Same. Especially bc kawhi wasn't a great scorer or shooter his first few years in the NBA either.

Eh, sorry, Leonard came into the league shooting .375 from three and never looked back. Not similar to Smart at all.

Did Kawai ever have to play half a season with a terrible ankle injury?   

Like Rollie said, we all give Jae the benefit of the doubt with regard to his injury & associated shooting-- so why not treat Marcus the same way?

come on now.
Smart: 33%, 25%
Leonard: 38%, 37%

not comparable.

Although you could make the argument Marcus could shoot much better if he took just 1.7 3s per game like Kawhi did his rookie year.

Nice taking this year's  #s for Smart only  Lets not forget Leonard got a ton of open looks early and still does in the Spurs system. Also  Leonard plays his actual position on offense also helps. But yeah we can ignore that and the injuries so you can hate on Smart.

I don't think pumping the brakes on a comparison to a 24-year-old 2 time DPOY, Finals MVP and budding superstar = hating on Smart.  He can be an excellent player without ever rising to Kawhi's level.

It's not about pumping the breaks. Saying they are not comparable is arguable is my point. Elite defense. Top 2 defensive foward vs top 2 defensive guard. Shaky offense. Better if not asked to score much but big in the clutch. If we ignore injuries teams and systems by just looking at numbers and Kawhi at age of 23 + 24 of course Smart will look bad to compare. But beyond the numbers it is there. The toughness, clutch and lifting his team.

[kozlodoev]

I think the last young guy I can remember having that kind of defensive impact and stepping up for his team on offense might be ... Paul George?

George was actually similarly inept on offense for the Pacers the first two playoff runs he was a part of.

The difference is that George had established himself as a productive player during the regular season. Smart pretty much picked up where he left off with his struggles.

[PhoSita]

I think the last young guy I can remember having that kind of defensive impact and stepping up for his team on offense might be ... Paul George?

George was actually similarly inept on offense for the Pacers the first two playoff runs he was a part of.

The difference is that George had established himself as a productive player during the regular season. Smart pretty much picked up where he left off with his struggles.

Definitely. Not saying Smart is on a similar trajectory.

I will be pleased if Smart can become something like a Pat Beverley / George Hill sort of player on offense.  Probably closer to the former than the latter.

[Ilikesports17]

I'm thinking Kawhi at PG.

Same. Especially bc kawhi wasn't a great scorer or shooter his first few years in the NBA either.

Eh, sorry, Leonard came into the league shooting .375 from three and never looked back. Not similar to Smart at all.

Did Kawai ever have to play half a season with a terrible ankle injury?   

Like Rollie said, we all give Jae the benefit of the doubt with regard to his injury & associated shooting-- so why not treat Marcus the same way?

come on now.
Smart: 33%, 25%
Leonard: 38%, 37%

not comparable.

Although you could make the argument Marcus could shoot much better if he took just 1.7 3s per game like Kawhi did his rookie year.

Nice taking this year's  #s for Smart only  Lets not forget Leonard got a ton of open looks early and still does in the Spurs system. Also  Leonard plays his actual position on offense also helps. But yeah we can ignore that and the injuries so you can hate on Smart.

What are you talking about man. Those are smarts 3 pt percentages his first two years next to Kawhi's.

In their rookie years one shot 38% on low volume while the other shot 33 on high volume. In their second seasons one shot 37% and one shot 25 on comparable volume. That is not a similar trajectory. Yes I understand injuries and other things are really relevant here. But when you make a comparison I don't think you can take a difference in 3pt % that's that big and blame it on circumstance.

And if you look at the body of my posts it's more than clear I am not a Smart hater.

[Csfan1984]

I'm thinking Kawhi at PG.

Same. Especially bc kawhi wasn't a great scorer or shooter his first few years in the NBA either.

Eh, sorry, Leonard came into the league shooting .375 from three and never looked back. Not similar to Smart at all.

Did Kawai ever have to play half a season with a terrible ankle injury?   

Like Rollie said, we all give Jae the benefit of the doubt with regard to his injury & associated shooting-- so why not treat Marcus the same way?

come on now.
Smart: 33%, 25%
Leonard: 38%, 37%

not comparable.

Although you could make the argument Marcus could shoot much better if he took just 1.7 3s per game like Kawhi did his rookie year.

Nice taking this year's  #s for Smart only  Lets not forget Leonard got a ton of open looks early and still does in the Spurs system. Also  Leonard plays his actual position on offense also helps. But yeah we can ignore that and the injuries so you can hate on Smart.

What are you talking about man. Those are smarts 3 pt percentages his first two years next to Kawhi's.

In their rookie years one shot 38% on low volume while the other shot 33 on high volume. In their second seasons one shot 37% and one shot 25 on comparable volume. That is not a similar trajectory. Yes I understand injuries and other things are really relevant here. But when you make a comparison I don't think you can take a difference in 3pt % that's that big and blame it on circumstance.

And if you look at the body of my posts it's more than clear I am not a Smart hater.

But if you agree there are other factors so why the push if not a hater? Did you simply want to pump brakes and water down our green Kool aid? That would be okay in regular season but C's and Smart coming off a big playoff game win, drink in!

[CelticGuardian]

actually, smart reminds me of smart more than anyone else. i dont think i have seen a player quite like him. not sure any sort of comparison would do justice to those of us trying to understand him as a player.

I agree with this. Smart is an enigma to us, really. His career is not projecting to anything that can be statistically comparable. He can be that true all around point guard, who doesn't shy away from taking up big man duties... a dude that can box out a bigman, bring the ball up, set up the play, either pass or score, then frustrate the other team's guards... that's just rare.

[Ilikesports17]

I'm thinking Kawhi at PG.

Same. Especially bc kawhi wasn't a great scorer or shooter his first few years in the NBA either.

Eh, sorry, Leonard came into the league shooting .375 from three and never looked back. Not similar to Smart at all.

Did Kawai ever have to play half a season with a terrible ankle injury?   

Like Rollie said, we all give Jae the benefit of the doubt with regard to his injury & associated shooting-- so why not treat Marcus the same way?

come on now.
Smart: 33%, 25%
Leonard: 38%, 37%

not comparable.

Although you could make the argument Marcus could shoot much better if he took just 1.7 3s per game like Kawhi did his rookie year.

Nice taking this year's  #s for Smart only  Lets not forget Leonard got a ton of open looks early and still does in the Spurs system. Also  Leonard plays his actual position on offense also helps. But yeah we can ignore that and the injuries so you can hate on Smart.

What are you talking about man. Those are smarts 3 pt percentages his first two years next to Kawhi's.

In their rookie years one shot 38% on low volume while the other shot 33 on high volume. In their second seasons one shot 37% and one shot 25 on comparable volume. That is not a similar trajectory. Yes I understand injuries and other things are really relevant here. But when you make a comparison I don't think you can take a difference in 3pt % that's that big and blame it on circumstance.

And if you look at the body of my posts it's more than clear I am not a Smart hater.

But if you agree there are other factors so why the push if not a hater? Did you simply want to pump brakes and water down our green Kool aid? That would be okay in regular season but C's and Smart coming off a big playoff game win, drink in!

haha more or less thats it.

I think the comp was bad. Leonard came into the league projecting as an offensive project, but due to good shot selection and surprisingly proficient shooting hes shot 37% since he got in the league with a down year being 35%.

Both players came into the league as bad shooters. Leonard shot 29% in college, Smart shot 30%. Since then Smart has faced a myriad of shot selection and consistency issues, turning in a career % of .296. Exactly where he was in college. Leonard on the other hand came in from day one and shot it at a high level from downtown.

In the sense that both were primarily defensive guys who have improved their offense, I like the comp, but I think their early career paths are too different to warrant a comparison.

How about Kyle Lowry for a comp as far as shooting progression goes? How about Ron Artest?

I just like those comps better.