6'3" 230 Pound Point Guard. There is no comparison.

[dannyboy35]

I took the brain transplant myself as he doesn't have a high bbiq . He has to pull the ball out on a 3 on 2 break. He just hasn't shown the handle or awareness to play point.

[dannyboy35]

People have their binkies I understand. How bad has Kelly been bashed here at times? Ainge? He's ( IMO) easily our best asset and nobody takes a beating like he does on here. A lot of support, but also a lot of bad talk. It's a freaking fan forum .

[Big333223]

This part is hilarious, "This guy will guard one's two's and threes with his weight, length, quickness, and toughness." Come on man, threes? Can we all just say Smart can't guard threes, no offense to Smart or anyone but the man is not guarding Durant although it would be cool to see Durant put 100 points on Smart. Durant would be taking set shots as if Smart was a bug flying around his waist.

 Actually Danny Ainge And brad Stevens Disagree with you, Go to Celtics>com and listen to the interviews post draft. And who was probably the most successful guy in the playoffs guarding 6'10" Kevin Durant. If you guessed 6'3" Tony Allen than your right. Boom Eat crow.

Unless Tony Allen shrank, he's about 6'5 in shoes.

Just for accuracy: Daraftexpress has him at 6'3.5" out of shoes and 6'4.25" in shoes.

[green_bballers13]

People have their binkies I understand. How bad has Kelly been bashed here at times? Ainge? He's ( IMO) easily our best asset and nobody takes a beating like he does on here. A lot of support, but also a lot of bad talk. It's a freaking fan forum .

Olynyk is our best asset? I think the following are better assets: Smart, Thomas, Bradley, Jaylen Brown, and Jae Crowder

Just wondering, do you see Olynyk as a potential Dirk?

[CapnDunks]

People have their binkies I understand. How bad has Kelly been bashed here at times? Ainge? He's ( IMO) easily our best asset and nobody takes a beating like he does on here. A lot of support, but also a lot of bad talk. It's a freaking fan forum .

Olynyk is our best asset? I think the following are better assets: Smart, Thomas, Bradley, Jaylen Brown, and Jae Crowder

Just wondering, do you see Olynyk as a potential Dirk?

I think he was referring to Ainge. Not Kelly.

[feckless]

Maybe you thought the lower case joyce meyers would make it all right, but as I see it, the Mahatma, and joyce meyers, should never be in the same post.

no. a simple case of my source using meyers. if it is orginally from mahatma, then i stand corrected and thank you.

Sorry, I was trying to be sarcastic about the different level of earned respect, accomplishment, place in history--it seemed funny to me at the time--I guess it fell flat. Simply I meant joyce meyers is no Mahatma.

[feckless]

I took the brain transplant myself as he doesn't have a high bbiq . He has to pull the ball out on a 3 on 2 break. He just hasn't shown the handle or awareness to play point.

That is in fact what I meant--I do not believe Marcus has PG instincts--just as Avery  &  Tony Allen--do not.  His brain is not wired that way--he has many talents but I do  not see him becoming a quality Point.

And yes I do respect his game for his defense and intangibles.

[ThaPreacher]

Can't stay with pgs, can't drive with success, historically bad shooter with ( IMO) bad mechanics. Low iq , hero ball bad shot selection. Superb defense at the 2 guard. This to me is what smart has been.

Exactly right--he just is not a PG.  And without a brain transplant probably never will be.

this is a flagrant insult to a boston celtic baskeball player

You can't handle the truth.

No insult--he is not a PG, that is true ... and he has to earn respect --which he has in some areas and other areas he needs to work.

so needing a brain transplant and no bbiq is not an insult-
2 years into league about a quarter spent with serious injuries and the majority not 100%
marcus has earned my respect not for some abstract number that fans use to bludgeon a player that doesn't fit their expectations  as a fan --anybody, that has played the game has to respect marcus for his defense and intangibles-
he shot 33% his rookie year, while having no lift from serious high ankle sprain that kept him from driving
last years shooting, i believe suffered from 2 injuries
i think you have your brain in backwards and would rather attack than appreciate the talent marcus has

Rollie, I have to disagree with you.  Marcus Smart is in a key transitional year.  His shooting has to improve, otherwise I expect that either Avery Bradley will be moved. Paritally, because they are assets. But also because there limitations to their games. Its hard to have such an undersized backcourt. And at this juncture I.T. has more value to a Boston Roster. At the moment, Marcus is more Tony Allen than Rondo.  He cannot run an offense and is not a point guard. He is a hard nosed competitor. He is tenacious. But he is not a good passer nor is he a good playmaker. He is a role player.-a bulldog version of Tony Allen.

Now if he makes the improvements with his shooting and scoring, I think this will be a totally different conversation.

[KG Living Legend]

 Just to clarify, I love Smart, and even if he's a role player coming off the bench for the next ten years, I'd still love to have him here.

 He's everything that embodies true Celtic Character. The fact that he doesn't carry the burden of PG responsibilities, allows him to give even more energy on defense which is fantastic.


 It's just that Randle plays exactly like I do, I love PF Bully's that play like him, but his shooting% sucks for a PF. Still glad we have Smart.

[tarheelsxxiii]

In my opinion, Smart has demonstrated a consistent list of strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths:
*Extremely versatile and tenacious defender
*Above average court vision; high average capacity as a passer, but performing in the low average range due to weaknesses.
*Glue guy with above average intangibles -- would be well above average if he reduced the flopping and committed to making the right play on every possession.
*Offensive potential -- he has the ability to abuse smaller PGs in the post; he should be scoring more in transition, too, but needs to develop a euro-step and/or floater.

Weaknesses:
*Dumb fouls and bone-headed plays, in general, need to get worked out at this stage
*Well below average playmaker -- capable of making great passes, but struggles to create in iso and pnr.
* Not utilizing his strengths offensively. He has produced promising results when fed in the post against smaller PGs. I'm not sure if this is on coaching, Smart, or both (most likely).
*In general, obviously limited offensive ability -- can't shoot and his mechanics & hands need work imo; very limited in making plays for himself and others due to a) lack of a first step, b) low-below average handle for his position, c) struggle to finish at the rim, d) far less aggression on offense than defense


The cons don't outweigh the strengths-- every team wants and needs a guy like Smart to win a championship. I think his intangibles are top tier among all NBA players. But I also believe that if DA makes a big trade for a star happen, it'll include Smart -- due both to his weaknesses and his strengths.

[rollie mass]

the last three posts all make valid points about marcus and his point guard abilities without being insulting to a player who gives 100% and has work ethic-the fact danny drafted him at six and has more than lived up to his defensive reputation
i also sincerely believe injuries played a large part of delaying and lowering his 3 pt stats
i also believeplaying defense the way he does because it is so physical and intense that it leads to some bad offensive decisions in the heat of battle-
i don't label marcus a point guard because that label defines in the classic sense defines a different style that marcus does not fit
it is not marcus's fault he isn't stop on a dime ,shift to three different gears or shoot lights out and have the dribbling skills of a magician
one can dissect a players game without brutalization-i gave tps for last couple posts

[Celtics4ever]

he shot 33% his rookie year, while having no lift from serious high ankle sprain that kept him from driving
last years shooting, i believe suffered from 2 injuries

We have all seen guys who could still shoot with injuries.   It probably did affect his shot, but good shooters that have touch can often compensate for the lack of lift with their touch. 

I love Marcus, I think he brings an intensity to the game and provides solid leadership.   He is that rare player that can affect a box score in many other ways without shooting well.  That being said, he needs to improve on his shooting.  Everyone has stuff they can improve on and one expects a third year player to improve as well.  I think he is hard worker, and I hope this translates to an improved shot.   I hope he does not embrace the I was injured mentality, because he could fine tune in this area.   Projecting blame on other areas, when one has areas that one can improve on rarely helps a person improve.   It often becomes a rationalization, and an excuse that people use to not do the work to improve.

Curry shot 50% from the field in the regular season and 40% in the finals due to injury.   So realistically, can Marcus improve 10% injury free?   I would like to see it but I have my doubts because Curry is a better shooter to begin with.  But it probably have some effect.   I would be very happy if Smart shot 43% from the field.

[Moranis]

I'm not sure I would use the playoffs as an example, because pretty much everyone across the board shoots worse in the playoffs, now maybe not a full 5% worse like Curry did, but the prior year he dropped 2.5% of course the year before that he dropped 4.5% and his first year 5.5% (those are rough estimates).

That said Marcus Smart was only a 29.5% three point shooter in college.  This is not a guy that has ever shown a great shooting ability or touch.  It is unrealistic to expect a guy that couldn't shoot in college to learn how to shoot in the NBA.  Smart's offensive game has to be in spaces and taking it to the hole.  If he can't do that, he will always be a terrible offensive player.

[rollie mass]

 marcus smart shot .344 in playoffs up from .253 regular season and 2014-15 .335 from three
dislocated fingers that put you out have a way of hurting stats, a dislocated knee  that keeps you out till new years skews the stats coming back
  playing defense without crowder did not help his focus on offense
marcus doesn't make excuses-i was a shooter and know what a bad sprain does to your shot-
coming back after 18 games takes some time alone to get in game shape,throwing off stats
marcus picked it up in playoffs nearly .90 % points to .347
 his rookie year with further 3 pt lime he shot about .334
i expect any reasonable person would give a guy a pass after having two fingers ripped out of socket,or a dis located knee those are debilitating injuries
to quote poster "pretty much everyone across the board shoots worse in the playoffs-NOT MARCUS
crowder was badly effected by a slight high ankle sprain,rj benched himself with a sprained wrist
it is too soon to judge his offensive game an example is avery
crowder shot .282 and .336 in his two seasons from three and .244 in playoffs-

[trickybilly]

marcus smart shot .344 in playoffs up from .253 regular season and 2014-15 .335 from three
dislocated fingers that put you out have a way of hurting stats a dislocated knee  that keeps you out till new years skews the stats coming back and playing defense without crowder did not help focus on offense
marcus doesn't make excuses-i was a shooter and know what a bad sprain does to your shot-
coming back after 18 games takes some time alone to get in game shape,throwing off stats
marcus picked it up in playoffs nearly .90 % points to .347
 his rookie year with further 3 pt lime he shot about .334
i expect any reasonable perso would give a guy a pass on two fingers ripped out of socket,or a dis located knee those are debilitating injuries
to quote poster "pretty much everyone across the board shots worse in the playoffs-NOT MARCUS
crowder was badly effected by silght high ankle sprain,rj benched himself with a sprained wrist
it is too soon to judge his offensive game  an example is avery
crowder shot .282 and .336 in his two seasons from three and .244 in playoffs-

rollie,ya killing my effort to get people to think about the arbitrary writing style paradigm with your caps lock.but dayam,well said. these critiques of marcus can only help him. dudes a scrappy fighter.