ESPN ranked Smart 114th best

[chilidawg]

Smart is even better on D this year then last year. I could see him making All NBA defense if he keeps this up.

No way he's not in the top 70 if he continues to impact games like he is.

Where would you put Horford, Thomas, Bradley, and Crowder then?  I'd put all of them ahead of Smart.

[tankcity!]

Smart is even better on D this year then last year. I could see him making All NBA defense if he keeps this up.

No way he's not in the top 70 if he continues to impact games like he is.

Where would you put Horford, Thomas, Bradley, and Crowder then?  I'd put all of them ahead of Smart.

I personally have Smart over Bradley and Thomas on D.

[celticsclay]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

[CelticGuardian]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

What's that have to do with Smart's trajectory? He had historically bad shooting numbers, that means Artest numbers can not serve as a precedent... There really aren't many guys that can shoot below 35% and still have a job in the NBA team, luckily Smart is almost like our Goon, we just have to live with the heatcheck 3's in exchange for all of his dirty work..

[green_bballers13]

I get the logic of many Smart critics.... the past determines the future.

I just disagree with this. I believe in change. People can improve or get worse. Smart's future isn't determined b/c he has sucked at shooting in his first 142 games. He might get worse, but I think he will improve. After watching his shot, I don't see anything that is broken. I think he will spend more time working on his craft, esp. as it comes time for a second contract. If he doesn't improve his shooting, he will be much less expensive (which isn't bad for the Celtics).

Knowing that none of us can predict the future, I believe that one's take on Smart is almost an indicator of whether you are a Celtics optimist or pessimist.

[tankcity!]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

Yeah I've read your counter and I don't agree. Sorry man, Smart's stats look worse to me if you compared their first two years.

[tankcity!]

I get the logic of many Smart critics.... the past determines the future.

I just disagree with this. I believe in change. People can improve or get worse. Smart's future isn't determined b/c he has sucked at shooting in his first 142 games. He might get worse, but I think he will improve. After watching his shot, I don't see anything that is broken. I think he will spend more time working on his craft, esp. as it comes time for a second contract. If he doesn't improve his shooting, he will be much less expensive (which isn't bad for the Celtics).

Knowing that none of us can predict the future, I believe that one's take on Smart is almost an indicator of whether you are a Celtics optimist or pessimist.

Sure, would be awesome if he improved.

[Moranis]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

The thing is Peace was a 36% shooter in college and a 31% as a rookie.  He did go down to 29% his second year but was right back up 31% in year 3.  He was also shooting only around 2 three's a game until his third year when he added 1 to shoot 3.1.  Peace was also better from 2 point range and got to the line a good deal more.  Peace was never even close to being under a point per shot. 

I get that Smart was a respectable enough outside shooter as a rookie, but he was just so bad last year it can't be overlooked and he isn't much better this year.  He was also under 30% in each of his two college seasons, so there isn't a pedigree to fall back on.  Smart's TS% has gone down every year in the league.  That is never a good sign.  He is a terrible shooter, who keeps on doubling down by shooting more and more shots.  At some point he just needs to stop shooting.  I mean as much crap as Sullinger got for taking terrible shots, Sully only shot 1.3 three's a game last year.  Smart is at 4.9 per game thus far this year. 

[LarBrd33]

I get the logic of many Smart critics.... the past determines the future.

I just disagree with this. I believe in change. People can improve or get worse. Smart's future isn't determined b/c he has sucked at shooting in his first 142 games. He might get worse, but I think he will improve. After watching his shot, I don't see anything that is broken. I think he will spend more time working on his craft, esp. as it comes time for a second contract. If he doesn't improve his shooting, he will be much less expensive (which isn't bad for the Celtics).

Knowing that none of us can predict the future, I believe that one's take on Smart is almost an indicator of whether you are a Celtics optimist or pessimist.

I still think Smart can develop into a star.  Not that worried about his flaws yet.  He still has time.

[celticsclay]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

The thing is Peace was a 36% shooter in college and a 31% as a rookie.  He did go down to 29% his second year but was right back up 31% in year 3.  He was also shooting only around 2 three's a game until his third year when he added 1 to shoot 3.1.  Peace was also better from 2 point range and got to the line a good deal more.  Peace was never even close to being under a point per shot. 

I get that Smart was a respectable enough outside shooter as a rookie, but he was just so bad last year it can't be overlooked and he isn't much better this year.  He was also under 30% in each of his two college seasons, so there isn't a pedigree to fall back on.  Smart's TS% has gone down every year in the league.  That is never a good sign.  He is a terrible shooter, who keeps on doubling down by shooting more and more shots.  At some point he just needs to stop shooting.  I mean as much crap as Sullinger got for taking terrible shots, Sully only shot 1.3 three's a game last year.  Smart is at 4.9 per game thus far this year.

I don't get why we can't let the guy play 25 games this season before jumping all over his stats.

[guava_wrench]

I can't believe they have Randle 30 spots ahead and Rodney Hood 50 spots ahead of Smart.

Tons of other head scratchers.

Hopefully Smart uses this as motivation to continue playing great this year.

Looks like they had Smart 30 spots ahead too last year when he was 85. I imagine slow development has dropped him.

[tankcity!]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

The thing is Peace was a 36% shooter in college and a 31% as a rookie.  He did go down to 29% his second year but was right back up 31% in year 3.  He was also shooting only around 2 three's a game until his third year when he added 1 to shoot 3.1.  Peace was also better from 2 point range and got to the line a good deal more.  Peace was never even close to being under a point per shot. 

I get that Smart was a respectable enough outside shooter as a rookie, but he was just so bad last year it can't be overlooked and he isn't much better this year.  He was also under 30% in each of his two college seasons, so there isn't a pedigree to fall back on.  Smart's TS% has gone down every year in the league.  That is never a good sign.  He is a terrible shooter, who keeps on doubling down by shooting more and more shots.  At some point he just needs to stop shooting.  I mean as much crap as Sullinger got for taking terrible shots, Sully only shot 1.3 three's a game last year.  Smart is at 4.9 per game thus far this year.

I don't get why we can't let the guy play 25 games this season before jumping all over his stats.

What's the point of this blog then? Is it too much to hold french fries, aka tubby accountable? Why can Rozier improve his shot and this guy can't? Are we not allowed to question his work ethic?

[celticsclay]

Most non Celtics fans are only looking at the box score. Smart is a fighter who wants to win, he is fearless out there.

then why is he taking nearly 5 three pointers a game when he can't even hit them at 30% or 5.5 two point attempts when he is under 42% on them?  Smart is a fighter and a very good defensive player, but he is one of the worst offensive players in basketball, yet keeps shooting the [dang] ball.  That doesn't strike me as a guy that wants to win, more like a selfish me-first type offensive player who unlike many others of those has never shown the ability to take over a game offensively.  I mean we aren't talking about a guy that is in a slump because those are around his career averages.  He is just awful and needs to stop shooting.

Randle, a big man who cannot stretch the floor or protect the rim, is not as valuable as a fearless elite permiter defender in today's NBA.

Smart will develop his jump shot, just look how far he has come ball handling and passing from the pick and roll. Ainge made the right choice.

what does that have to do with my post?

And what evidence do you have that Smart will develop a jump shot?  He was a poor outside shooter in college and had the worst 2 year start shooting of anyone in NBA history.  Smart is not going to develop a jump shot.  He is hurting the team with his shooting.  When will people stop giving him a pass.  Smart is so bad he makes Sullinger look like Ray Allen from beyond the arc.

Facts don't apply to Smart fanatics. They're living in fairy world where Marcus Smart is the next Ron Artest even though Artest freaking scored 20 points a game is a taller player.

At this point, it's fair to say Tony Allen in his prime is better.

funny thing is smart and artest had very similar numbers in their second year. Artest developed further lets see if smart does also. Don't make yourself foolish like this.

The thing is Peace was a 36% shooter in college and a 31% as a rookie.  He did go down to 29% his second year but was right back up 31% in year 3.  He was also shooting only around 2 three's a game until his third year when he added 1 to shoot 3.1.  Peace was also better from 2 point range and got to the line a good deal more.  Peace was never even close to being under a point per shot. 

I get that Smart was a respectable enough outside shooter as a rookie, but he was just so bad last year it can't be overlooked and he isn't much better this year.  He was also under 30% in each of his two college seasons, so there isn't a pedigree to fall back on.  Smart's TS% has gone down every year in the league.  That is never a good sign.  He is a terrible shooter, who keeps on doubling down by shooting more and more shots.  At some point he just needs to stop shooting.  I mean as much crap as Sullinger got for taking terrible shots, Sully only shot 1.3 three's a game last year.  Smart is at 4.9 per game thus far this year.

I don't get why we can't let the guy play 25 games this season before jumping all over his stats.

What's the point of this blog then? Is it too much to hold french fries, aka tubby accountable? Why can Rozier improve his shot and this guy can't? Are we not allowed to question his work ethic?

Lol smart is fat guy now? You have nicknamed him french fries? I am not sure why you would question his work ethic. Has the staff or writers said anything about this? We have had heard this about other players before. Where are you getting any of this?

[spikelovetheCelts]

I get the logic of many Smart critics.... the past determines the future.

I just disagree with this. I believe in change. People can improve or get worse. Smart's future isn't determined b/c he has sucked at shooting in his first 142 games. He might get worse, but I think he will improve. After watching his shot, I don't see anything that is broken. I think he will spend more time working on his craft, esp. as it comes time for a second contract. If he doesn't improve his shooting, he will be much less expensive (which isn't bad for the Celtics).

Knowing that none of us can predict the future, I believe that one's take on Smart is almost an indicator of whether you are a Celtics optimist or pessimist.

I still think Smart can develop into a star.  Not that worried about his flaws yet.  He still has time.

If you take AB's growth and put it with Smart you will see what he can become. His work ethic is great. If Jason Kidd can learn to shoot. I don't see Smart not getting there. His stroke is way better than Kid at his age.

[TrueFan]

I can't believe they have Randle 30 spots ahead and Rodney Hood 50 spots ahead of Smart.

Tons of other head scratchers.

Hopefully Smart uses this as motivation to continue playing great this year.

Looks like they had Smart 30 spots ahead too last year when he was 85. I imagine slow development has dropped him.

Hes a much improved playmaker. His defense is even better. He's hitting the boards harder. These are all things he has improved on.