36.7 % , 29.0 % , 62.5 %

[mmmmm]

Avery Bradley at 22 in his third year was shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and playing a much less significant role in the offense.  Marcus is also shooting almost twice as many threes as Avery was at the same age.

Marcus has shot the ball badly, especially from three, but that's being exaggerated by how Stevens is using him.  Part of it is that Stevens has a lot of confidence in Marcus and is playing him a lot but part of it is also Stevens' stubborn insistence on putting Marcus off the ball and telling him to jack up threes.

Chauncey Billups at 22 in his second year in the league shot 39% from the field and 36% from three, by the way.

Mike

Avery Bradley was returning from double shoulder surgery in his 3rd year.  His shot was awful at first but gradually got better.  By March and April he was shooting 34.4% & 34.8% on threes.

He shot 40% the prior year and 39.5% the year after.

[nickagneta]

This is my first time commenting on the Marcus Smart is a bad offensive player subject. I was really hoping that by now, Smart would have learned to shoot better but there has been little to no improvement in his shooting percentages.

But Smart is a heck of an all around basketball player. He is one of the best defenders in the league and he does a lot of things offensively that are good. He is an under rated passer. I think he has plus floor vision. I also think he could be a great rebounding guard. He has a high bbiq.

But....

He has to shoot a lot less and concentrate on doing the things offensively that will make him better. He has to pass more and seek out the open man more. He has to commit to being a great rebounder. He has to drive the lane more and create offense that way.

Some of this stuff is on him. Other things is on Stevens. They both have to change how Smart plays and is utilized to maximize what Marcus can give this team. Smart has had his chance to shoot his way into better shooting numbers. Its not happening. Its time to slow down on the shooting and time to concentrate on doing the things Marcus is great at to get the most of him as a player

[MBunge]

Avery Bradley at 22 in his third year was shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and playing a much less significant role in the offense.  Marcus is also shooting almost twice as many threes as Avery was at the same age.

Marcus has shot the ball badly, especially from three, but that's being exaggerated by how Stevens is using him.  Part of it is that Stevens has a lot of confidence in Marcus and is playing him a lot but part of it is also Stevens' stubborn insistence on putting Marcus off the ball and telling him to jack up threes.

Chauncey Billups at 22 in his second year in the league shot 39% from the field and 36% from three, by the way.

Mike

Avery Bradley was returning from double shoulder surgery in his 3rd year.  His shot was awful at first but gradually got better.  By March and April he was shooting 34.4% & 34.8% on threes.

He shot 40% the prior year and 39.5% the year after.

The year before he averaged less than one 3-point attempt a game.  The year after, he still averaged fewer three attempts a game than Marcus is this year.

Mike

[MBunge]

Avery Bradley at 22 in his third year was shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and playing a much less significant role in the offense.  Marcus is also shooting almost twice as many threes as Avery was at the same age.

Marcus has shot the ball badly, especially from three, but that's being exaggerated by how Stevens is using him.  Part of it is that Stevens has a lot of confidence in Marcus and is playing him a lot but part of it is also Stevens' stubborn insistence on putting Marcus off the ball and telling him to jack up threes.

Chauncey Billups at 22 in his second year in the league shot 39% from the field and 36% from three, by the way.

Mike

Bradley also shot over 40% from three his second year and was a  37.5% shooter from three in college and was to that point a career FT shooter of well over 75%.

Smart was below 30% from three in both his years in college and is coming off the worst first 2 years of shooting in NBA history.  He isn't a guy that has shown the ability to shoot the ball well at any point in his recorded history. 

It is nice to think that Smart could become Bradley, there is just no evidence that can realistically lead anyone to that conclusion.  Unfortunately we can't just wish it so.

The point isn't that he will become Bradley or Billups or that Smart will ever become a great shooter.  The point is that just as those players improved, Smart still can improve.  The point is also that Smart's biggest problem is that he's a terrible three point shooter AND HIS COACH IS TELLING TO KEEP JACKING UP THREES.  What would Tony Allen have looked like if Doc told him to park behind the arcs and let him repeatedly go 1-8 and 0-5?

There's no denying that if Smart doesn't improve on offense, he'll never be better than a role player.  But he's 22, at least 2 or 3 years away from even entering his prime and is right now a better overall player than Avery Bradley was at the same age.

If this team becomes a legit contender and Marcus still sucks this bad offensively, that's when we'll need to be concerned.

Mike

But Smart wasn't a great shooter in college and has just continued that trend in the NBA.  Will he get better, probably, I mean he can't really get worse, but he will never be even a good shooter unless his entire history to this point has been a lie. 

and I'm not sure why keep mentioning Billups.  He shot 33% as a rookie and 36% in year two.  In his 13 games in year 3 he was terrible, but went up to 38% in year 4 in a full season.  Billups was never a terrible shooter and wasn't killing his team when he was shooting the 3 ball.

I bring up Billups because he's a player that most fans and multiple teams gave up on, then went on to have a great career.  I also bring him up because you can make a very strong argument that Smart is better at everything except shooting than Billups at the same age.

If Marcus were averaging one 3 attempt a game instead of over four, he'd be much closer to a mediocre offensive player than a horrible one.

Mike

[TrueFan]

He's in his 3rd year and he's an All NBA first team defender.
He is literally one of the best 5 defenders in the NBA right now. He guards multiple positions, he forces turnovers, creates havoc for opposing teams star wings and is slowly developing his offensive game.

Marcus Smart is still improving and the guy works harder than 90% of the NBA player pool. Its the guys like Marcus that develop shooting ability and win championships.
I agree his shooting is awful, but he's working on it and bisndribble control and pick and roll offense is becoming VERY good overall.

You're also sadly not giving enough credit to the importance of defense if his shooting has younready to give up on him innhis 3rd year.

Patience much?

Are you kidding me, I gave him a lot of credit for his defense and I give him a lot of credit for his hard work.

It is you who is not criticizing or giving the realistic outlook on his abilities. Which is what most Celtics fans do on here, when they can't justify a player, they use words like, hustle, heart, and hard work.

As a guy who loves players that want to win, i love marcus, the guy is not lazy and hes not a punk. Who doesn't love a guy like that? If im a guy at the gym , im picking Marcus as my first pick over any hyped up baller because I know hes gong to get the job done.

I really want Smart to be a star. He is an intelligent player , he has IQ, I just think he sometimes ends up looking dumb and stupid because hes trying hard to do things that can bring him to that next level and the team to the next level, but it's not in his makeup to be able to do those things.

He is not only shooting 36.7 percent because he can't shoot. He is shooting that percentage because he cannot do the other things on offense.

Smart is on track to be a future first team or second team all NBA defender so it's confusing how you give him credit for his defense but then discredit his overall value to the team.

Another point you are missing is Smart's passing ability. He has improved dramatically at creating shots for his teammates.

No need to hit the panic button yet.

[TrueFan]

Avery Bradley at 22 in his third year was shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and playing a much less significant role in the offense.  Marcus is also shooting almost twice as many threes as Avery was at the same age.

Marcus has shot the ball badly, especially from three, but that's being exaggerated by how Stevens is using him.  Part of it is that Stevens has a lot of confidence in Marcus and is playing him a lot but part of it is also Stevens' stubborn insistence on putting Marcus off the ball and telling him to jack up threes.

Chauncey Billups at 22 in his second year in the league shot 39% from the field and 36% from three, by the way.

Mike

Bradley also shot over 40% from three his second year and was a  37.5% shooter from three in college and was to that point a career FT shooter of well over 75%.

Smart was below 30% from three in both his years in college and is coming off the worst first 2 years of shooting in NBA history.  He isn't a guy that has shown the ability to shoot the ball well at any point in his recorded history. 

It is nice to think that Smart could become Bradley, there is just no evidence that can realistically lead anyone to that conclusion.  Unfortunately we can't just wish it so.

The point isn't that he will become Bradley or Billups or that Smart will ever become a great shooter.  The point is that just as those players improved, Smart still can improve.  The point is also that Smart's biggest problem is that he's a terrible three point shooter AND HIS COACH IS TELLING TO KEEP JACKING UP THREES.  What would Tony Allen have looked like if Doc told him to park behind the arcs and let him repeatedly go 1-8 and 0-5?

There's no denying that if Smart doesn't improve on offense, he'll never be better than a role player.  But he's 22, at least 2 or 3 years away from even entering his prime and is right now a better overall player than Avery Bradley was at the same age.

If this team becomes a legit contender and Marcus still sucks this bad offensively, that's when we'll need to be concerned.

Mike

But Smart wasn't a great shooter in college and has just continued that trend in the NBA.  Will he get better, probably, I mean he can't really get worse, but he will never be even a good shooter unless his entire history to this point has been a lie. 

and I'm not sure why keep mentioning Billups.  He shot 33% as a rookie and 36% in year two.  In his 13 games in year 3 he was terrible, but went up to 38% in year 4 in a full season.  Billups was never a terrible shooter and wasn't killing his team when he was shooting the 3 ball.

I bring up Billups because he's a player that most fans and multiple teams gave up on, then went on to have a great career.  I also bring him up because you can make a very strong argument that Smart is better at everything except shooting than Billups at the same age.

If Marcus were averaging one 3 attempt a game instead of over four, he'd be much closer to a mediocre offensive player than a horrible one.

Mike

Good point.

Also.

Is there a stat out there for last second desperation shots?

I don't think it would make more then a 1 or 2 percentage point difference but it would be nice to know what his field goal percentage is minus those shots.

[liam]

I love Smart, warts and all. Hard-nosed player that keeps his head up and gives 100% whenever he's in the game. He's still young and improving. I believe he's a starting caliber player on a lot of teams.

[Moranis]

Avery Bradley at 22 in his third year was shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and playing a much less significant role in the offense.  Marcus is also shooting almost twice as many threes as Avery was at the same age.

Marcus has shot the ball badly, especially from three, but that's being exaggerated by how Stevens is using him.  Part of it is that Stevens has a lot of confidence in Marcus and is playing him a lot but part of it is also Stevens' stubborn insistence on putting Marcus off the ball and telling him to jack up threes.

Chauncey Billups at 22 in his second year in the league shot 39% from the field and 36% from three, by the way.

Mike

Bradley also shot over 40% from three his second year and was a  37.5% shooter from three in college and was to that point a career FT shooter of well over 75%.

Smart was below 30% from three in both his years in college and is coming off the worst first 2 years of shooting in NBA history.  He isn't a guy that has shown the ability to shoot the ball well at any point in his recorded history. 

It is nice to think that Smart could become Bradley, there is just no evidence that can realistically lead anyone to that conclusion.  Unfortunately we can't just wish it so.

The point isn't that he will become Bradley or Billups or that Smart will ever become a great shooter.  The point is that just as those players improved, Smart still can improve.  The point is also that Smart's biggest problem is that he's a terrible three point shooter AND HIS COACH IS TELLING TO KEEP JACKING UP THREES.  What would Tony Allen have looked like if Doc told him to park behind the arcs and let him repeatedly go 1-8 and 0-5?

There's no denying that if Smart doesn't improve on offense, he'll never be better than a role player.  But he's 22, at least 2 or 3 years away from even entering his prime and is right now a better overall player than Avery Bradley was at the same age.

If this team becomes a legit contender and Marcus still sucks this bad offensively, that's when we'll need to be concerned.

Mike

But Smart wasn't a great shooter in college and has just continued that trend in the NBA.  Will he get better, probably, I mean he can't really get worse, but he will never be even a good shooter unless his entire history to this point has been a lie. 

and I'm not sure why keep mentioning Billups.  He shot 33% as a rookie and 36% in year two.  In his 13 games in year 3 he was terrible, but went up to 38% in year 4 in a full season.  Billups was never a terrible shooter and wasn't killing his team when he was shooting the 3 ball.

I bring up Billups because he's a player that most fans and multiple teams gave up on, then went on to have a great career.  I also bring him up because you can make a very strong argument that Smart is better at everything except shooting than Billups at the same age.

If Marcus were averaging one 3 attempt a game instead of over four, he'd be much closer to a mediocre offensive player than a horrible one.

Mike

and if pigs could fly they'd be called birds.  Smart is the worst shooter in NBA history, yet he keeps right on shooting.  That arrogance and stubbornness will turn him into Rondo, who at least had enough sense to know he wasn't a very good shooter and not shoot so much. 

People didn't give up on Billups because he couldn't shoot, they gave up on him because his full game wasn't coming together like they wanted or hoped it would.   Smart is much better defender than Billups was, without question.  He is a better rebounder as well.  But Billups was a significantly better passer and obviously a significantly better shooter and he always was.  The comparison doesn't work, because of the reasons Billups bounced around.  If Billups was bouncing around because he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 5 feet away, that would be one thing, but that wasn't Billups.

[celticsclay]

How many threads over the course of a season do we need to discuss his shooting? Perhaps an official thread is neccceaaru at this point

[wayupnorth]

Again, for the people critical ofor Brad's playing of Smart...Do you really think you know better than Brad on how to utilize him?

Dude is 23 years old and already on of the best defenders in the game, that plays with all heart, passion and grit.

He doesn't shoot 35% from three point land. Boo Hoo.

It sucks reading all the negativity surrounding him here, and look forward to the day when all the detractors change their tune.

It reads like many of you here would rather have Jamal Crawford.

[PickNRoll]

Smart has conveniently taken exactly 100 3's now and made 29 for 29%.  He's probably taken 10 shots from beyond half court.  I couldn't care less at this point if Smart makes 29% or 35%.  He's the heart and soul of the team and Stevens knows it.  He plays every critical minute of every game.

[CFAN38]

We are all well aware of Smart shooting issues. For what its worth he is a streak shooter who has shown the ability to get hot and this at least prevents the Rondo/Rubio sag style defensive tactic.

In the long term I really hope we see an improvement and he becomes can put up mediocre shooting numbers but if he cant he is still very valuable. Aside from IT creating on offense is there another player on this roster who you would rather have on the court in the waning minutes of a close game? He simply makes winning plays. Even if we are seeing the plateau of his development he is a very valuable 6th man and a player I want to see on this team for a long time.   

[CFAN38]

Smart has conveniently taken exactly 100 3's now and made 29 for 29%.  He's probably taken 10 shots from beyond half court.  I couldn't care less at this point if Smart makes 29% or 35%.  He's the heart and soul of the team and Stevens knows it.  He plays every critical minute of every game.

agreed

[nickagneta]

Again, for the people critical ofor Brad's playing of Smart...Do you really think you know better than Brad on how to utilize him?

Dude is 23 years old and already on of the best defenders in the game, that plays with all heart, passion and grit.

He doesn't shoot 35% from three point land. Boo Hoo.

It sucks reading all the negativity surrounding him here, and look forward to the day when all the detractors change their tune.

It reads like many of you here would rather have Jamal Crawford.

Do I think I know more than Stevens about basketball or Smarts game? No. But that doesnt mean that people are wrong about how Stevens is usung Smart. 2.25 years of allowing one of the worst shooters in league history to shoot at will hasnt made Smart a better shooter and has not had a positive impact for the teams offense. Its time to limit his shots.

[BitterJim]

Avery Bradley at 22 in his third year was shooting 40% from the field, 32% from three and playing a much less significant role in the offense.  Marcus is also shooting almost twice as many threes as Avery was at the same age.

Marcus has shot the ball badly, especially from three, but that's being exaggerated by how Stevens is using him.  Part of it is that Stevens has a lot of confidence in Marcus and is playing him a lot but part of it is also Stevens' stubborn insistence on putting Marcus off the ball and telling him to jack up threes.

Chauncey Billups at 22 in his second year in the league shot 39% from the field and 36% from three, by the way.

Mike

Bradley also shot over 40% from three his second year and was a  37.5% shooter from three in college and was to that point a career FT shooter of well over 75%.

Smart was below 30% from three in both his years in college and is coming off the worst first 2 years of shooting in NBA history.  He isn't a guy that has shown the ability to shoot the ball well at any point in his recorded history. 

It is nice to think that Smart could become Bradley, there is just no evidence that can realistically lead anyone to that conclusion.  Unfortunately we can't just wish it so.

The point isn't that he will become Bradley or Billups or that Smart will ever become a great shooter.  The point is that just as those players improved, Smart still can improve.  The point is also that Smart's biggest problem is that he's a terrible three point shooter AND HIS COACH IS TELLING TO KEEP JACKING UP THREES.  What would Tony Allen have looked like if Doc told him to park behind the arcs and let him repeatedly go 1-8 and 0-5?

There's no denying that if Smart doesn't improve on offense, he'll never be better than a role player.  But he's 22, at least 2 or 3 years away from even entering his prime and is right now a better overall player than Avery Bradley was at the same age.

If this team becomes a legit contender and Marcus still sucks this bad offensively, that's when we'll need to be concerned.

Mike

But Smart wasn't a great shooter in college and has just continued that trend in the NBA.  Will he get better, probably, I mean he can't really get worse, but he will never be even a good shooter unless his entire history to this point has been a lie. 

and I'm not sure why keep mentioning Billups.  He shot 33% as a rookie and 36% in year two.  In his 13 games in year 3 he was terrible, but went up to 38% in year 4 in a full season.  Billups was never a terrible shooter and wasn't killing his team when he was shooting the 3 ball.

I bring up Billups because he's a player that most fans and multiple teams gave up on, then went on to have a great career.  I also bring him up because you can make a very strong argument that Smart is better at everything except shooting than Billups at the same age.

If Marcus were averaging one 3 attempt a game instead of over four, he'd be much closer to a mediocre offensive player than a horrible one.

Mike

Good point.

Also.

Is there a stat out there for last second desperation shots?

I don't think it would make more then a 1 or 2 percentage point difference but it would be nice to know what his field goal percentage is minus those shots.

Basketball Reference has "heaves", and has Smart at 5 for the season (as compared to 4 for each of the last two seasons), although you should take their shot location data with a pinch of salt.  Without those 5 (which again, may not be accurate) he's shooting 30.5%, which is still bad

It's at least encouraging that his 3 point shooting has improved from last year's truly awful 25.3%.  Hopefully he can get closer to his rookie season shooting of 33.5% and then improve again next year