Marcus Smart's "after getting paid" regression

[celtics4ever33]

New member here.

Marcus got paid. His role obviously will be smaller, shots lower, as well as pretty much everything across the board.

He is a terrible offensive player in terms of with the ball and putting it in the basket. He can pass a little.

His value is obviously defensive and causing some havoc.

Danny Ainge has him basically to stop these huge runs the NBA elites seem to get, he can come in for 2 minutes, not score, but have a good chance of getting the opposing team out of rythym.


With that said, Rozier is looking at Smart and saying, this guy got 50 mil and is "garbage", and you can see Rozier trying to get his a bit

With that said, it seems like Ainge is 95% sure Rozier wont be here, and I think Rozier and his agent know this too now.

Ainge looks to be right in this decision? I think so, as bad and mediocre as Smart will be in terms of a pick,, seems like Ainge is taking this defensive gremlin over erratic rozier.

[jbpats]

Smart still looks like Smart to me.
Grindy player who can’t shoot but will dive at any lose ball to save or break a possession. That’s just who he is and I’m fine with it. I actually feel like he is shooting less this year so if that is part of his regression I’m all for it.
His defense is still solid but I do feel like the refs have been exceptionally obnoxious with foul calls all around this year so maybe that is taking something away from him.

All that said I still don’t know why Ainge bid himself up to resign him, there was limited interest and for whatever reason I think Ainge gave him an extra 3 mil per year for absolutely no reason.

[MattyIce]

one of the reasons was in the likely event that it’s what was needed to keep smart beyond this year (or have him available in a trade...not that i want him traded)

[JBcat]

He’s not just playing 2 minutes here and there.  He is still playing 23 MPG, and a big part of our number 1 defense in the league.  This team is perfect for him so he doesn’t have to overdo things out there on offense.

These type of players help out a lot for championship aspirations.

EDIT:

Just to give an example the Rockets lost Ariza and Moute in the off-season, and their defense has taken a hit and are off to a terrible start.

For a team like the Wizards they also probably don’t have enough defensive minded role players with guys like Rivers and Green in the mix.

[footey]

Smart’s value defensively is still there but given his lack of offensive production it feels like his contract is an overpay. May have been better with the QO.

[hpantazo]

His value is still there as high as it was before the contract. He is a critical part of us being a top defensive team. That has always been his value.

He is shooting less, which is good, but may give the impression to some people that he is doing less on offense.

He is excellent at running our offense and finding our centers with great passes when they cut to the basket.

My only complaint so far is that his no look over the shoulder passes are becoming too frequent, and are lackadaisical and slow.

[Chris22]

I am just glad he stopped shooting so many threes. He is much better driving inside.

[BitterJim]

I don't see how Smart has regressed. He's shooting less, but that's a good thing given how good the rest of the team is on offense. His 3pt shooting is down (15%), and his 2pt shooting is at a career high (56.3%), though the sample size for both is very small (20 3PA and 16 2PA).

If anything, it seems like Smart having a long-term contract is allowing him to forego scoring. As long as the shots he cuts out are the worst ones he takes, it's an improvement for the team

[jambr380]

I thought we overpaid by a couple million a year when he signed the contract and I still believe that to be true. As others have mentioned, it is a good thing that he is shooting less since he is so bad at it, but a guy making $13/yr on a long-term contract shouldn't be absolutely horrible at putting the ball in the hoop - especially since he isn't like a Mutombo or Ben Wallace big man.

I still think this is a try-out year for both Smart and Rozier. If Rozier outplays Smart, we will keep him and trade Smart to one of the many teams with cap space next summer. There is also a chance we keep both if Jaylen is sent out in a different trade - but I don't know what that trade would be and we would probably need Smart's salary for matching purposes.

Anyway, great to see this team playing so well after an iffy start. Hopefully Smart can grow into his contract [offensively].

[Kuberski33]

While I do think they overpaid I don't believe that Smart has regressed at all.  He's (wisely) being more hesitant to shoot because with Hayward and Kyrie back there are always better shooting options available when he's out on the court.

The point about the refs cracking down on him is a valid one I think, but like all 'points of emphasis' I expect this to loosen up once the season moves along and it should be a non-issue come playoff time.

I do think Rozier is done here after this season.  You can't keep both and given the choice - with that quality talent that surrounds them on the roster, I'll take the guy who can be a defensive game changer, much as I like Rozier.  Rozier gives you a little bit better shooting but he's still only 39% which isn't great for a guard in today's NBA.

[feckless]

While I agree Smart has a role and is unique on defense - but if Kyrie gets injured Smart cannot fill in ...Rozier is much more the viable fill in for Kyrie.

Both are needed but if we keep only one I keep Rozier.

[celticinorlando]

No issues with Smart. He does not need to carry the load on offense. Just needs to do his thing.

[hwangjini_1]

I am just glad he stopped shooting so many threes. He is much better driving inside.

yes, many posters on this board wanted smart to shoot less. now he is, so his points are down. but it also means some other celtics who shoot better are taking those shots....i hope. 

[tonydelk]

No issues with Smart. He does not need to carry the load on offense. Just needs to do his thing.

TP.  Agreed.  Marcus does not need to shoot at all.  He needs to play D, find open guys etc.  It was Marcus that drove to the hoop with the hockey assist against Detroit.  Fantastic Marcus Smart Winning play.  I'm glad Marcus isn't shooting a lot.  We have too many other shooters.  I am ok with Smart posting up and driving to the hoop all day.  I'm even ok with him hoisting up the open 3.  I just hate the Marcus Smart contested 3pt shot early in the clock.  Those seem to be limited this year.  At $13m per year it's not a lot for a role player.  I know people spent out of their minds but do you think that Portland would rather have Smart at 13m or Evan Turner at 20m. 

[td450]

I don't think he's regressed, but given that he has come into yet another season without improving his core flaws offensively, I think we have to give up on him becoming more than he is now.

I'm much more worried about Rozier, who has slipped back to where he was before his surge last year. I really thought he had taken a major step, but it doesn't look that way. It appears he needs major minutes to flourish, and that is unlikely to happen this year. The only source of minutes that was available was to sit Morris more, and instead, Morris has clearly won the competition for the 6th man bench scorer role.

Without some injuries, I think Rozier may be stunted in his growth, which is too bad. He's a solid player when he plays another 8-10 minutes.