marcus and the next step-it might include defense

[loco_91]

i believe last years 3 pt shooting the result of injuries ,recovery time that skewed stats,chrowder injury,along with kelly and the inability of jerenko and kelly to jack up shpots with time running down--so i expect him to hit36%-he shot 34% his rookie year-i think he will get to foul line more ,he will post up and go to the hoop more,his assists will go up with horford playing
for him to come into training camp uninjured will be a big boost and with no david lee and remember he was out all the way to dec 31 with a dislocated knee

On the whole, I agree.  I don't expect 36% from deep; but anywhere north of 33% would make a big difference.

Some year 1/2 improvements that I don't hear anyone mentioning here: 1) he drastically reduced his turnover rate, even as his usage rate increased; 2) he drastically increased his FT rate, even as he went from a D-plus FT shooter to a B-plus; 3) he got to the rim substantially more often.

Interesting, TP--can you post a link to the splits?

[CelticPride2016]

I think some underestimate how great Marcus Smart is. Maybe a lot of us are taking a leap of faith, but it feels like he will be at least a Dennis Johnson. He may not figure it out like Avery did, but Marcus does hit free throws and has on occasion lit it up. If he was completely incompetent at shooting, he never would have had those monster offense games against Washington and Oklahoma.

I also think he is solid at driving to the hoop and the only reason he didn't in year one was the ankle injury.

Finally, Marcus Smart has the winner gene. He is not bad at passing and rebounding.

He has looked pitiful at shooting. He might need to shoot less and figure it out that way. A lot of times if he had just stopped jacking them up when he was cold and dribbled and passed more, we wouldn't even notice he was a bad shooter.

Bradley used to be painful to watch. Then defying our criticism, he became an above average shooter.

Maybe Smart will never become better than an average shooter. He just needs to not become a dark hole, a Rondo other teams used to back off of. At least Marcus can hit free throws. He needs more strategy on offense, to use his winner gene on offense, to rely on his BB IQ proving he is a natural and then he'll be fine.

It can get bizarre at times watching guys like Jerebko and Olynyk passing on open shots. The wrong guys can get greedy. So have the ones with too much unearned confidence shoot less with the altruistic, ultimate team players shooting more. Otherwise, nothing makes sense.

Jerebko made a step by the end of last year.

Olynyk is like Smart and has an incomplete due to all the lost games and nagging injuries. If they step up (big ifs but not impossible), we could have the best team even better than Golden State and Cleveland.

We don't have to win 70 games. We just have to be healthy and have momentum at the right time.

Our goal should be the 2nd seed and to reach at least the ECF.

Maybe for once the Celtics will win games at the beginning of a Brad Stevens year. That would help, to get out of the gates fast and never look back.

The rebuild is over.

[ThePaintedArea]

i believe last years 3 pt shooting the result of injuries ,recovery time that skewed stats,chrowder injury,along with kelly and the inability of jerenko and kelly to jack up shpots with time running down--so i expect him to hit36%-he shot 34% his rookie year-i think he will get to foul line more ,he will post up and go to the hoop more,his assists will go up with horford playing
for him to come into training camp uninjured will be a big boost and with no david lee and remember he was out all the way to dec 31 with a dislocated knee

On the whole, I agree.  I don't expect 36% from deep; but anywhere north of 33% would make a big difference.

Some year 1/2 improvements that I don't hear anyone mentioning here: 1) he drastically reduced his turnover rate, even as his usage rate increased; 2) he drastically increased his FT rate, even as he went from a D-plus FT shooter to a B-plus; 3) he got to the rim substantially more often.

Interesting, TP--can you post a link to the splits?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

Every year is posted for every stat, so you can easily compare.

For ft%, look under "Totals";

For ft rate, turnover rate and usage, scroll down to "Advanced";

For % of shots at the rim, look under "Shooting".

I think that you keep him if you can.

[Beat LA]

I think some underestimate how great Marcus Smart is. Maybe a lot of us are taking a leap of faith, but it feels like he will be at least a Dennis Johnson.

I made that same mistake prior to his rookie year, iirc (brb, performing search ), so I'm going to have to stop you right there, lol.  The only thing they have in common is their height, and maybe size.  DJ was a great athlete, rebounder, and passer, and had a decent, albeit spotty, big games aside , jump shot, who also never had a problem getting to the basket nor finishing once he got there, nor was he ever a flopper.  Sorry, man, but there's just no comparison between the two, imo, unfortunately .

[ThePaintedArea]

Jerebko made a step by the end of last year.

Yes, but he had an awful first half, so when he upped it it looked more dramatic. Nevertheless, he's an outstanding 10th man on a minuscule contract. Was at his best in the playoffs, gives you leadership, great team defender, everything outside the box score, coach on the floor.

Our goal should be the 2nd seed and to reach at least the ECF.

Bingo.

The rebuild is over.

Definitely, when you sign a max guy who's over 30. But I would argue that it was over a year ago.

[inverselock]

Bradley used to be painful to watch. Then defying our criticism, he became an above average shooter.

Excluding 162min and 67 shots taken in his rookie yr.   AB has never been a bad shooter.   Ainge has said this too.   Look at his shot charts each year.   AB has always had a jumpshot. 

[rollie mass]

please correct me if wrong
i believe that smarts physical defense,his aggressiveness spills over into his shot selection and possibly his 3 point shooting-just imagine at 22 and guarding on successive nights harden,lliliard mcollum,westbrook,durant,korver,milsap all while fighting over screens-defense as smart plays it is not finesse,avery is a pickpocket and darts and slides over screens a different approach than smart
avery seems to shoot better in beginning of games and tails off
i think these two put alot of energy and adrenilin into defence

and TP to poster that reiterated that kelly and jerebko play hot potato with clock running down

[Beat LA]

please correct me if wrong
i believe that smarts physical defense,his aggressiveness spills over into his shot selection and possibly his 3 point shooting-just imagine at 22 and guarding on successive nights harden,lliliard mcollum,westbrook,durant,korver,milsap all while fighting over screens-defense as smart plays it is not finesse,avery is a pickpocket and darts and slides over screens a different approach than smart
avery seems to shoot better in beginning of games and tails off
i think these two put alot of energy and adrenilin into defence

and TP to poster that reiterated that kelly and jerebko play hot potato with clock running down

Then perhaps he needs to learn how to calm down and rest on offense, lol . He's a defensive role player, right now, so I don't see how that should impact his shot selection, which was always atrocious to begin with, and I wouldn't be surprised to see stats that reflect Bradley's shooting tailing off the longer the game goes on because of his defense, as you said, which is all the more reason for him to learn how to dribble with his left hand and get to the basket, lol . Ugh.

[Maurice98]

The funny thing about Marcus is that is one of the few guys in the league that can have an impact without having a flashy box score. He averaged 27 minutes on a 48 win team with only 9pts while being inefficient. I mean this guy is special because he can contribute without scoring or distributing at a high level, albeit I think he's an underrated passer. I can assure you that Red would have loved to have this guy on the team and he would have had him play the KC Jones/Satch Sanders role where he would have an impact without touching the ball that much.

And of course I forgot to mention his unreal defense. He is tone of the few guys in the league that can guard 3 positions effectively (decent at defending the 4) due to his combination of strength, lateral quickness, IQ and competitiveness. He knows where the offensive player wants to move that's why he draws charges and offensive fouls at a high level. On D, he reminds me of a less athletic Scottie Pippen.

Overall, I am happy with the development of Smart as he has the potential to be one of the best defensive guards of all time. Also, I expect him to be better offensively where he can handle the ball more, by increasing his usage (17% last year) and another important factor would be that he will be healthy entering training camp. He will definitely average double figures with good assist numbers and elite rebounding numbers for a guard.

People say that ET has hindered the development of Marcus Smart and I disagree with it because he was also another useful player who is a better ball handler than Marcus so he was better for Brad to use him as a primary ball handler for the bench. I think this shows that Brad wants Marcus to be a player who can play on and off the ball offensively which would make Marcus more of a threat. I know that Marcus is already a decent on the ball player which was his role at OK State so improving his off ball ability can making him even better.

This summer will be key for Marcus where he can focus on his shooting and I have no doubt his shooting will improve next season. Last season he showed that he has improved his pick and roll ability while also increasing his ft rate and % and driving to the rim which is a positive sign for his development. However, this season I want to see him play more to his strengths more than his weaknesses.So I want him to post up more as he already showed that on the defensive end where few guards could post him up effectively as he is has an exceptional upper and lower strength body.

For me, he has the potential to be either the next Dennis Johnson/Sidney Moncrief type of player with less scoring and athleticism or even a mini Ron Artest.

I am so excited for the next season for Marcus or even guys like Jaylen and Terry who also have high ceilings.

[rollie mass]

just every once in awhile i would like to see smart,avery chrowder,horford and amir
-now wouldn't that be a lock down defense-i'll never forget the night they stole the ball four times to win the game-

[Celtics4ever]

Marcus is a unique player  and a gifted defensive player but if his shooting does not improve he is going to get labeled as a one-way player.   Don't kid yourself with all this hyperbole, he needs to improve in this area to take the next step forward.

[LilRip]

Honestly can't wait for the season to start. Despite Brown's eye popping athleticism, I'm looking forward to watching Marcus Smart the most.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I've mentioned this before.

I want Marcus Smart to defend Jaylen Brown all the time in practice. If Brown could learn from Mahcus, and see how tenacious he is on the defensive side, and inherits it, boy will we have a duo that would cause havoc on opposing teams,

Also, what better way to learn and sharpen your offensive arsenal than to have Smart defend it?

I can't wait until these two guys go out at the same time and just be outright disruptive on all spots on the court. There maybe a bit a shooting problem together, but hey, they will be a nightmare vs opposing teams.

[loco_91]

i believe last years 3 pt shooting the result of injuries ,recovery time that skewed stats,chrowder injury,along with kelly and the inability of jerenko and kelly to jack up shpots with time running down--so i expect him to hit36%-he shot 34% his rookie year-i think he will get to foul line more ,he will post up and go to the hoop more,his assists will go up with horford playing
for him to come into training camp uninjured will be a big boost and with no david lee and remember he was out all the way to dec 31 with a dislocated knee

On the whole, I agree.  I don't expect 36% from deep; but anywhere north of 33% would make a big difference.

Some year 1/2 improvements that I don't hear anyone mentioning here: 1) he drastically reduced his turnover rate, even as his usage rate increased; 2) he drastically increased his FT rate, even as he went from a D-plus FT shooter to a B-plus; 3) he got to the rim substantially more often.

Interesting, TP--can you post a link to the splits?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html

Every year is posted for every stat, so you can easily compare.

For ft%, look under "Totals";

For ft rate, turnover rate and usage, scroll down to "Advanced";

For % of shots at the rim, look under "Shooting".

I think that you keep him if you can.

Sorry, I was confused - thought you were talking about first half of the year vs 2nd half

[Ed Hollison]

I've mentioned this before.

I want Marcus Smart to defend Jaylen Brown all the time in practice. If Brown could learn from Mahcus, and see how tenacious he is on the defensive side, and inherits it, boy will we have a duo that would cause havoc on opposing teams,

Also, what better way to learn and sharpen your offensive arsenal than to have Smart defend it?

I can't wait until these two guys go out at the same time and just be outright disruptive on all spots on the court. There maybe a bit a shooting problem together, but hey, they will be a nightmare vs opposing teams.

Major TPs for this comment.

One thing about having a guy like Smart on the team is that it instills a sense of defensive responsibility on everyone. Not just the effort, but the techniques. If Brown is going to fulfill his potential as a defender, Smart's a great person to learn from.