Is Marcus Smart meeting expectations? Grade him here.

[Eja117]

Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?

To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.

He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.

I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.

He's nothing like that. He's just a  try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.

I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.

[mctyson]

Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?

To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.

He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.

I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.

He's nothing like that. He's just a  try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.

I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.

Can you please elaborate on the bolded statement?  Do you have inside information on what he was drafted to be? Were you in the draft room?  Do you know Brad Stevens or Danny Ainge? Or Mike Zarren? Or Ed Lacerte? Or anyone who works at TD Garden?

I voted but I don't take your comments very seriously. 

[Eja117]

Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?

To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.

He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.

I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.

He's nothing like that. He's just a  try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.

I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.

Can you please elaborate on the bolded statement?  Do you have inside information on what he was drafted to be? Were you in the draft room?  Do you know Brad Stevens or Danny Ainge? Or Mike Zarren? Or Ed Lacerte? Or anyone who works at TD Garden?

I voted but I don't take your comments very seriously.

Well I suppose it's possible the objective was to draft a backup with the 6th overall pick. If you were going to do that you could just trade down or something.

[Ilikesports17]

I dont think he met the expectations of 6th pick we tanked for in a "loaded draft". That expectation, or at least hope, was that he would turn into a borderline all-star point guard of the future type.

So in that sense he has not met expectations.

THat said, was he a good pick? Id say absolutely.

He was in a tier of players with Gordon, Exum, Randle, and Vonleh.

I get picking Gordon or Randle over him, but I for one, think Marcus is the best of the bunch. I think he was a good pick. The expectations for that whole draft were higher than they ever should have been.

Also, I think Smart is the best 6th man in the league, which isnt bad as a 23 year old kid.

[Ogaju]

Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?

To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.

He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.

I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.

He's nothing like that. He's just a  try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.

I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.

Can you please elaborate on the bolded statement?  Do you have inside information on what he was drafted to be? Were you in the draft room?  Do you know Brad Stevens or Danny Ainge? Or Mike Zarren? Or Ed Lacerte? Or anyone who works at TD Garden?

I voted but I don't take your comments very seriously.

I wonder if the OP knows that Avery Bradley was the best player in the country coming out of high school Why people think he is chopped liver I do not know. Avery Bradley put a hall of famer on the bench, why people think he is chopped liver I do not know. Did Kevin McHale not come off the bench at one point with the Celtics?

The NBA is a team game, I do not buy into this narrative that the starting five should necessarily look down at the 'bench' players. Every one is on the bench at some point in the game. The NBA is a team game made up of 12 player with a certain rotation pattern dictated by the coach. Obviously there is a rotation that starts the game, I do not necessarily believe that this rotation should be the same every game, but I also do not get paid millions to make these decisions.

[Eja117]

I dont think he met the expectations of 6th pick we tanked for in a "loaded draft". That expectation, or at least hope, was that he would turn into a borderline all-star point guard of the future type.

So in that sense he has not met expectations.

THat said, was he a good pick? Id say absolutely.

He was in a tier of players with Gordon, Exum, Randle, and Vonleh.

I get picking Gordon or Randle over him, but I for one, think Marcus is the best of the bunch. I think he was a good pick. The expectations for that whole draft were higher than they ever should have been.

Also, I think Smart is the best 6th man in the league, which isnt bad as a 23 year old kid.

You think Smart is better than Aaron Gordon and J Randle? 

He's not as good as Elfrid Payton (picked 10th) either.  I definitely take him over Vonleh and Exum.

[Eja117]

Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?

To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.

He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.

I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.

He's nothing like that. He's just a  try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.

I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.

Can you please elaborate on the bolded statement?  Do you have inside information on what he was drafted to be? Were you in the draft room?  Do you know Brad Stevens or Danny Ainge? Or Mike Zarren? Or Ed Lacerte? Or anyone who works at TD Garden?

I voted but I don't take your comments very seriously.

I wonder if the OP knows that Avery Bradley was the best player in the country coming out of high school Why people think he is chopped liver I do not know. Avery Bradley put a hall of famer on the bench, why people think he is chopped liver I do not know. Did Kevin McHale not come off the bench at one point with the Celtics?

The NBA is a team game, I do not buy into this narrative that the starting five should necessarily look down at the 'bench' players. Every one is on the bench at some point in the game. The NBA is a team game made up of 12 player with a certain rotation pattern dictated by the coach. Obviously there is a rotation that starts the game, I do not necessarily believe that this rotation should be the same every game, but I also do not get paid millions to make these decisions.

Avery Bradley isn't chopped liver. Avery is a far better player than Marcus Smart.

[jaketwice]

It's crazy, when you consider how many kids play basketball growing up - how relatively unlikely it is for the 6th pick to become a STAR in the NBA. Sixth seems high, right? But I looked it up.

Here's a list of historical 6th picks: http://www.mynbadraft.com/nba-draft-picks/6th-overall/60509/

I count Lillard, Brandon Roy, and our hometown favorite Antoine Walker as the best players in that group. A lot of those guys had nice, long, careers, and played meaningful minutes for their teams. Some of them flamed out.

Can we legitimately expect Smart to have a long career as an important contributor? I think so. A team will always need his team first attitude, tenacious defence, and heart. Will he be Damian Lillard? Well, there was 1 Damian Lillard in 30 years of 6th picks... ...so probably not, or at least I wouldn't expect as much. Or rather, that would not have been a fair expectation at the time the pick was made.

[BitterJim]

Have you looked at how #6 picks in the draft over the past 10 or so years have done? Lillard is the only one that is definitely better than Smart (Noel and Gallinari are arguable - I'd say yes for Noel and no for Gallinari), but the rest have been crap. 

So either 7/10 or 8/10 #6 picks over the past 10 years have failed to live up to expectations for a #6 pick, or your expectations are off. 

[BitterJim]

I dont think he met the expectations of 6th pick we tanked for in a "loaded draft". That expectation, or at least hope, was that he would turn into a borderline all-star point guard of the future type.

So in that sense he has not met expectations.

THat said, was he a good pick? Id say absolutely.

He was in a tier of players with Gordon, Exum, Randle, and Vonleh.

I get picking Gordon or Randle over him, but I for one, think Marcus is the best of the bunch. I think he was a good pick. The expectations for that whole draft were higher than they ever should have been.

Also, I think Smart is the best 6th man in the league, which isnt bad as a 23 year old kid.

You think Smart is better than Aaron Gordon and J Randle? 

He's not as good as Elfrid Payton (picked 10th) either.  I definitely take him over Vonleh and Exum.

I'll take "Opinions Even Homer Magic Fans Find Ridiculous" for 800, Alex.

[Ilikesports17]

I dont think he met the expectations of 6th pick we tanked for in a "loaded draft". That expectation, or at least hope, was that he would turn into a borderline all-star point guard of the future type.

So in that sense he has not met expectations.

THat said, was he a good pick? Id say absolutely.

He was in a tier of players with Gordon, Exum, Randle, and Vonleh.

I get picking Gordon or Randle over him, but I for one, think Marcus is the best of the bunch. I think he was a good pick. The expectations for that whole draft were higher than they ever should have been.

Also, I think Smart is the best 6th man in the league, which isnt bad as a 23 year old kid.

You think Smart is better than Aaron Gordon and J Randle? 

He's not as good as Elfrid Payton (picked 10th) either.  I definitely take him over Vonleh and Exum.

oh right now hes the best player of the bunch.

Gordon's got a higher ceiling, but Im not very confident he even approaches that ceiling.

Ill take Marcus.

[BCelticFanInLA]

Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?

To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.

He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.

I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.

He's nothing like that. He's just a  try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.

I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.

Can you please elaborate on the bolded statement?  Do you have inside information on what he was drafted to be? Were you in the draft room?  Do you know Brad Stevens or Danny Ainge? Or Mike Zarren? Or Ed Lacerte? Or anyone who works at TD Garden?

I voted but I don't take your comments very seriously.

I wonder if the OP knows that Avery Bradley was the best player in the country coming out of high school Why people think he is chopped liver I do not know. Avery Bradley put a hall of famer on the bench, why people think he is chopped liver I do not know. Did Kevin McHale not come off the bench at one point with the Celtics?

The NBA is a team game, I do not buy into this narrative that the starting five should necessarily look down at the 'bench' players. Every one is on the bench at some point in the game. The NBA is a team game made up of 12 player with a certain rotation pattern dictated by the coach. Obviously there is a rotation that starts the game, I do not necessarily believe that this rotation should be the same every game, but I also do not get paid millions to make these decisions.

Avery Bradley isn't chopped liver. Avery is a far better player than Marcus Smart.

Don't know about far better. A better shooter for sure, but you can't teach toughness. Smart is a player you go to war with. He's free throw shooting has improved and he does not hesitate to go to the basket.  Unless Danny has a shot at a Durant-like talent, Thomas, Horford, Bradley, and Smart are untouchable, imho.

[PhoSita]

Not as good a driver or finisher as I hoped he'd be. I also hoped he would have become a slightly below average spot up three point shooter by now.

If he did those things I think he'd be a solid to above average starter by now, which is meeting expectations for a top 10 pick.

He's still as flawed as he was his rookie year, but he's also a really valuable role player. He's not a bust. In fact he's an important part of the team. Still not as good as I hoped when he was drafted.

[ederson]

What you get with each pick depends on the draft class....  I don't think that at draft time there were much better options than smart. Today you could say about saric for example but that's a bit unfair......

[CelticsJG]

Nah. He should be at least Patrick Beverly good by now.