Marcus reminding me of Dennis Johnson

[walker834]

Except a much bigger physical defender. This is really where he can come in and affect games is with his physical defense wreaking havoc on opposing teams but on offense how he appears to be moving in slow motion but still manages to get to the basket is reminding me of that.  DJ was pretty smooth though.  With Isaiah here the 3 headed monster of Isaiah, Smart and Rozier can work. Plus AB is handling the ball more.  As well as Jaylen we've gone some possessions where whoever is just bringing it up and we share the ball.  The oldschool celtics were like this though where we had so many ball handlers and versatile players.

i guess that makes Isaiah Tiny Archibald and Bradley Sam Jones.  Not sure who Rozier is yet but that dude can flat out score.

[JaylenBrown7]

Yep, I just hope marcus becomes a clutch shooter like DJ I'm nearly sure he can become close to as good a defender as him and his will to win

[SHAQATTACK]

Smart is my favorite Celtic.

But sometimes when I see him and he has the gotee and the belly ...... I always think of my favorite comedian / actor ...Red Foxx.    " Fred Sanford ".   I see Marcus looking like that at 75 ....LOL

[Neurotic Guy]

Smart is wider/stronger but DJ had great size too.  DJ was so smart and so clutch.  Marcus is also a very smart player - and  DJ was probably a senior at Pepperdine at 22 so hard to compare their bbiq at equivalent age.   Would be great to see Marcus continue to focus on 'D' and just develop his shot so that when it's needed, it's there.  DJ's star really shone when he took/accepted the complimentary role.  Hope we get a couple of superstars to team with Marcus!

[walker834]

I like that we don't have a true pg in ways although what even is that?  Marcus is becoming that in ways.   He settles the offense down does good things that way.  Jaylen as he develops is also going to handle the ball more and more where we want the ball in multiple guys hands.  Jaylen is going to be a catalyst as a scorer and point forward though as his role expands through experience.  He is going to be the guy in ways.  Horford also  passes and handles the ball more.   We really have  a lot of guys who can do that.  Even Amir was trying to and was caught out of position at times.

Isaiah is really the catalyst on this team but the combination of Smart, jaylen and Rozier along with James young  and guys like that is interesting.

[walker834]

the way we play it is about hustle and playing off the ball too. Jaylen does so many things off the ball as much as he does with it.  Marcus does as well.  I love these guys. They are just really good basketball players. Marcus is so unselfish at times offensively. All these guys can play though.

[GreenWarrior]

Marcus reminding me of Dennis Johnson

mixed with some Dennis Rodman.

[nickagneta]

I seem to remember a completely different DJ when he was young. DJ was a Michael Jordan, high flyer type with excellent athletism. The DJ in Boston was a 30 year old DJ with a more cerebral and grounded, like Smart is now as a young man.

[walker834]

I seem to remember a completely different DJ when he was young. DJ was a Michael Jordan, high flyer type with excellent athletism. The DJ in Boston was a 30 year old DJ with a more cerebral and grounded, like Smart is now as a young man.

Yeah Rozier is more like DJ with how fluid an athlete he is.  DJ was strong defensively with just a brick layers mentality on defense. He was just solid and a wall in ways.

Marcus is more a defensive force and athlete in different ways where he can be really dominant with his size and cobra mentality.

I just think Marcus with his size and how he uses it on offense without a ton of speed reminds me of DJ.

Doc Rivers was kind of this as well.  Just smart offensive players.  DJ more had to take a backseat to bird and guys like that. Smart might have to do that with Jaylen though ultimately although that tandem has me excited.

[mr. dee]

i guess that makes Isaiah Tiny Archibald and Bradley Sam Jones.  Not sure who Rozier is yet but that dude can flat out score.

Dee Brown.

[feckless]

You guys do know that Dennis Johnson sat the bench on a team that lost 17 of their first 22 games but when DJ became a starter they then made it to the NBA finals.  The next year they won the title, his third year in the NBA, he was named the finals MVP.  He was such a devastating defender that it seemed like he would get into some quality shooting guards heads so much that they simply could not play against him.  Larry Bird called him the best player he ever played with.

At this point almost nothing about Marcus Smart reminds me of Dennis Johnson. He has potential but you guys inflate where he is and what he has accomplished while overlooking his glaring flaws. 

Please do not insult the great Dennis Johnson this way.

[2short]

I was thinking that some the other night but more in terms of smarts position.  A guard.  Dj was our point guard but we really had a pair of combo guards.  Granted danny or gerald sr were better shooters.  Clutch time it was bird and dj.
So smart is showing dj leadership already.  His defense is spot on with young dj who was more athletic than celtics dj (any old guys out there, supersonics!).  As strong as smart is I'd say dj might have been stronger at least backing guys into post.
I think ultimately smart will be the better defender, all nba level, he seems to hit the shots when it matters (clutch) but I'd hope he improves % during game time something dj was average at but never upped it.  Likewise if smart can upgrade to kidd or rondo level shooting  but do everything else at what we expect I'll be happy.

Final thought....our backcourt of smart, bradley and rozier wow, defense +++++

[Celtics4ever]

I have to question how many of you seen DJ play.   I think Smart brings toughness like DJ had but that main similarity I see.  Defensively, Smart is more physical, they both have good anticipation.  I call an age check on this thread, come on fess up you would have to be over 40 to know DJ's play well.

[walker834]

I have to question how many of you seen DJ play.   I think Smart brings toughness like DJ had but that main similarity I see.  Defensively, Smart is more physical, they both have good anticipation.  I call an age check on this thread, come on fess up you would have to be over 40 to know DJ's play well.

I'm 43 and think you are reading too much into what I said. What did I actually say?

People and their ego's on the internet.....  yippee.

[Granath]

I have to question how many of you seen DJ play.   I think Smart brings toughness like DJ had but that main similarity I see.  Defensively, Smart is more physical, they both have good anticipation.  I call an age check on this thread, come on fess up you would have to be over 40 to know DJ's play well.

I easily qualify and enjoyed watching DJ. There are some things I see in Smart that I saw in DJ. Both are physical defenders who are a bit thicker than many other types of players (though Smart has an overall bigger frame). They're both instinctive defenders who seem to know when and how to double team. They're both not pass-first PGs. Both guys can win the game without the ball in their hands.

With that said, DJ was a far more accomplished scorer. DJ on a PER 36 basis averaged around 16 ppg per 36 from the start of his career until he was in his 30s. Smart is nowhere near that right now but then again DJ came into the league at the age Smart is now.

But I don't like to compare players at such an early age if I can help it. Smart isn't going to be DJ. I just want Marcus Smart to be what I hope he can be, which is a total shutdown defender and a 15/5/5 guy on offense. If he can do that then he's going to be a critical component in the building of a championship team.