Marcus Smart's Finishing

[Big333223]

There are guys that have been good finishers in the NBA that had no explosiveness off one foot. Chauncey Billups and Andre Miller come to mind.

Marcus just doesn't have the fundamental skills for it.

His number one problem is he does not have the ability to create space with a first step. Almost every other guard in the league has this skill.

He also doesn't have any other core skills to create space. No jab step, no bump and release move. No spin move.He doesn't have a reliable floater. He doesn't have a midrange shot off picks.

He doesn't pick his opportunities well. He's good with slow developing plays, but can't adjust to quickly developing openings at all.

He doesn't have footwork skills

He has a very poor sense of where the help angles are coming from.

His balance is poor.

He isn't able to soften up his shot, around the rim. He has no touch.

He doesn't know the help angles well.


These are all things that Kyrie or IT could teach a master class in, but Marcus rarely can pull off.

I was harping on this last summer. I think if improved his footwork his balance would be better and that could help both his finishing as well as his distance shooting if he just has his feet solidly underneath when he attempts shots.

[mctyson]

Why can't he finish inside?

What the heck? 

From my view it looks like he just doesn't have the touch that most guards do.  He front rims a lot of floaters, doesn't use the glass well, and doesn't have great body control in the air.

It also looks like he gets trapped between wanting to create space for a runner/floater and wanting to create contact to draw a foul.  I think this comes from the fact that he rarely gets any calls, largely because of how he plays defense.  He is never going to get the respect that IT got, for example.

I would like to see him improve his off-hand and also shoot more one-handed shots.  I think Kyrie could do him wonders by just showing him a couple up and under moves to work on.  Marcus seems like the type of guy who has too much pride to want help but he needs it on offense.  The ball is simply not going through the basket for him.

That being said, I don't really think he cares too much about any of this.  He would rather win games, box out, and fight 7-footers.

[mctyson]

These are some pretty dubious reasons. Smart does not lack length, he was elite length for his height (over 6'9" wingspan) and there are plenty of shorter players than Smart who finish well at the rim. Extreme examples are guys like Isaiah Thomas and Allen Iverson. but there are plenty of guards in the NBA today who are as short or shorter than Smart and finish well at the rim (Avery Bradley shot 62% inside of 3 feet last year, Victor Oladipo 61%, Goran Dragic 61%, Lou Williams 61%, Kyrie 60%, Mike Conley 60%, Eric Bledsoe 60%, John Wall 59%, Dennis Schroder 56%, Kemba Walker 55%).

Marcus shot 49% within 3 feet last year and is at only 41% this season.

There is no physical reason that I can see why Smart should not be finishing more than half of his attempts at the rim.

Yeah I agree with this, and it is not like you need to be a super athlete to be good around the rim.  I don't consider Tony Parker to be some amazing athlete but he certainly can make layups and floaters with the best of them.

[libermaniac]

It's funny, I was just thinking about this during last night's game.  It almost appears as if he's happy just getting the shot in the vicinity of the hoop, rather than a serious focus on making the shot.

[Dino Pitino]

Last night put a dent in my fanboy optimism. "It's a different me" is ringing hollow.

[vjcsmoke]

I honestly cannot explain how a player does not improve his shooting AT ALL in 4 years in the pros so far.  Does Marcus Smart just have terrible shooting form or is it a mental block?

Maybe he should consider learning the hop step jumper since he can't put enough power into his shot jumping off one leg?

https://youtu.be/uxkg9NJfBFo

Serious question -- has Marcus Smart never hired himself a shooting coach?

https://youtu.be/RDOQZJHecng

Smart's overall shooting percentage has dipped under 30% for the season and he is "holding steady" at 28% from 3 pt land.  But if anything his 3pt FGA per game has increased to 4.5.  Does Marcus just not realize that he's a BAD shooter?

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

[positivitize]

Smart's had 2 bad games out of 13. Both happened after our first/seond options went down and he was asked to shoulder more of the load on offense. I think what we're seeing is a Celtics team without Hayward, Horford, and Irving struggle to create offense. Smart's not used to this level of attention from opposing defenses and Tatum is a rookie and (as mature as he is for a rookie) cannot be relied on game in game out. Jaylen Brown is also not ready to shoulder the burden of our offense when his shot's not falling. So where does that leave us? Shane Larkin? Terry Rozier?

Smart's normally a spot up shooter / pressure release valve (in the first unit) when everyone's looking at Kyrie or a PnR operater in the second unit. When nobody can make their own shot out there consistantly, of course he's gonna shoot more. That's what a pressure release valve does--the more pressure on our offense, the more Marcus Smart Jumpers.

When people are healthy, he takes better shots, or limits his shots, unless he's feeling it. I hope his % has the effect of making him easier to retain this off-season. He's absolutly crucial to this team.

[KGs Knee]

Smart is going to end up having to play under the QO next season, at this rate, unless he's willing to sign for something cheap like 4 years $40mil. Even that much may be more than Ainge, or anyone else, is willing to pay.

[feckless]

I just see his problem, finishing and shooting, as primarily shot selection--choices--you guys want to fix his shot, he needs to make better decisions--he needs to take higher percentage shots in the flow of the game,  Not force shots when he has little chance of making it.   Think about the shots he does make, they are usually better percentage shots within the offense --the shots he misses are too often  hero ball shots--

[Dino Pitino]

Smart's had 2 bad games out of 13

From three he's had 2 out of 13 bad games. But on two point shots he's had several bad games.

[vjcsmoke]

I just see his problem, finishing and shooting, as primarily shot selection--choices--you guys want to fix his shot, he needs to make better decisions--he needs to take higher percentage shots in the flow of the game,  Not force shots when he has little chance of making it.   Think about the shots he does make, they are usually better percentage shots within the offense --the shots he misses are too often  hero ball shots--

If Smart's problem is 'hero ball' shots, then he is taking way too many of them.  When you shoot under 30% from both 2 point and 3 point land, that's a HUGE issue.  I really think he needs a personal trainer who can iron out his issues - both with his form and his shot selection.  He just does not understand how to maximize his shooting with the tools currently at his disposal.

Also, if Smart's shooting form hasn't gotten worse, how do you explain his FT shooting getting WORSE compared to his previous 2 seasons?  69% this year vs 81% last year and 77% his sophmore year.  There are no contests against Free Throws, so you can't explain this away with 'hero ball'.

[positivitize]

Smart's had 2 bad games out of 13

From three he's had 2 out of 13 bad games. But on two point shots he's had several bad games.

I'm looking at his +- and his overall contributions. Assists. Rebounds.

He's had 2 bad games so far this season.

[vjcsmoke]

We are talking specifically about his lack of shooting ability.  Everyone is well aware that Marcus contributes to the team or he wouldn't be seeing the court.  But his shooting weakness is so pronounced after 4 seasons in the pro, that it is very disappointing for a #6 overall pick.  Even Tony Parker, who was a bad shooter before the NBA, learned to shoot eventually.  But Smart has not.

Smart's had 2 bad games out of 13

From three he's had 2 out of 13 bad games. But on two point shots he's had several bad games.

I'm looking at his +- and his overall contributions. Assists. Rebounds.

He's had 2 bad games so far this season.

[positivitize]

We are talking specifically about his lack of shooting ability.  Everyone is well aware that Marcus contributes to the team or he wouldn't be seeing the court.  But his shooting weakness is so pronounced after 4 seasons in the pro, that it is very disappointing for a #6 overall pick.  Even Tony Parker, who was a bad shooter before the NBA, learned to shoot eventually.  But Smart has not.

Smart's had 2 bad games out of 13

From three he's had 2 out of 13 bad games. But on two point shots he's had several bad games.

I'm looking at his +- and his overall contributions. Assists. Rebounds.

He's had 2 bad games so far this season.

He's 23. He's got time.

[CelticD]

Smart's had 2 bad games out of 13. Both happened after our first/seond options went down and he was asked to shoulder more of the load on offense. I think what we're seeing is a Celtics team without Hayward, Horford, and Irving struggle to create offense. Smart's not used to this level of attention from opposing defenses and Tatum is a rookie and (as mature as he is for a rookie) cannot be relied on game in game out. Jaylen Brown is also not ready to shoulder the burden of our offense when his shot's not falling. So where does that leave us? Shane Larkin? Terry Rozier?

Smart's normally a spot up shooter / pressure release valve (in the first unit) when everyone's looking at Kyrie or a PnR operater in the second unit. When nobody can make their own shot out there consistantly, of course he's gonna shoot more. That's what a pressure release valve does--the more pressure on our offense, the more Marcus Smart Jumpers.

When people are healthy, he takes better shots, or limits his shots, unless he's feeling it. I hope his % has the effect of making him easier to retain this off-season. He's absolutly crucial to this team.

Your argument would be sound if Marcus Smart wasn't historically a trash shooter. He does not deserve the benefit of the doubt when he hasn't shown the ability to knock down shots consistently at respectable percentages no matter who he plays with.

He's shot 33% or below from the field in 8 out of 11 played games this season, so Smart should literally be the last player trying to shoulder a scoring burden. Its tough to make excuses for someone who has never shown he can shoot on an NBA level.