Smart's offensive identity

[loco_91]

Smart has deservedly drawn praise for his D this preseason. Offensively, he's threatening to be this year's Jared Sullinger. It doesn't bother me that he isn't shooting well: that I expected. What does bother me is the volume that he's shooting at. He is 3/16 from 3 in three games, including 1/7 vs the Raptors. More encouraging, he had 7 assists and shot 8 FT's vs the Raps; it is clear that his offensive calling card is driving to the paint and either dishing, scoring or drawing the foul. At this point, he should not be shooting 3's except at the end of the shot clock-- closer to 1 attempt per game than 5.

Smart can practice his 3's in practice. In games, he should practice rational shot selection.

[letsgoblue86]

He's taking his open shots, and who knows if he is feeling hesitant to be more aggressive on offense.  I am ok with what is happening.

He will develop.

[DarkAzcura]

I don't think people here really expected this, which surprises me. Smart's calling card in college was either driving to the rim or shooting 3s (despite ~30% FG from here). Nothing in between, and the Celtics have made it clear they are actually ok with him shooting those 3s because it is beneficial for his development in the future. They've also commented that he has the "arc" to become a relatively successful 3PT shooter.

He had a 40-45% 3Pr in college, meaning 40-45% of his FGA attempts were from 3. On the other side, something like 45% of his attempts were at the rim. It is what it is, and I'm okay with it. ~30% from 3 is like 45% from 2. Seeing as he probably won't be able to hit 45% of his 16-23 foot shots, he probably has a better chance at hitting 30% of his 3s from a little further out, which has the side effect of spreading the offense quite a bit more.

This is why Sully and Smart (Rondo soon also probably) will continue to shoot 3s even if they are hovering around sub 30%. I've noticed a lot of people think shooting 3s at ~30% at higher volumes is bad shot selection. It really isn't honestly. Would you say 45% FG on your 16-23 foot 2PT jumper is inefficient? Probably not, right? That's why it's alright to step out a few feet and take the hit on your percentage. The bad side effect of shooting 3s despite their higher efficiency is more missed shots = more potential fast breaks. I'm honestly not sure how high the impact is here, though. You probably see one or two fast breaks a game based off of missed 3s. Even then, I feel like longer rebounds tend to go to the offensive team more often than the defensive.

This is also pre-season so I don't really expect Smart to have something like a 90% 3Pr like he did last night.

[Csfan1984]

My thoughts on his offense so far.
The 3: Too many bad 3s taken. Surprisingly if he makes sure they are at the line and open looks he seems to be a decent shooter.

Driving: May pass too soon when driving.  I'd like to see him a few times make a help defender commit more to open up his teammates better.  If not teams will scout and ignore his drives.

Mid-range: He seems okay but would like to see more body control when shooting off motion. Basically square up more.

Finishing: N/A because he draws fouls or passes most of the time so far. Not bad things.

Passing: All good.  He gets the ball moving quick. He drives right away or gives it up and moves.

Off ball: Tries to be open and alert. Runs hard and sells the play. Makes me believe he could play with Rondo (but I feel we don't need him to with AB, Thornton,  Turner, Young).

He may be a streaky shooter or he may just suffer from bad shot selection at times. It's preseason so perhaps he is simply trying to prove he is a decent 3 point shooter.

[Sketch5]

I don't think he's taken that many bad shots, no more than any one else right now. It's the preseason, players are trying to gauge were they are. Most of Smarts shots have come with in the flow of the offense and most of them are open shots. Thorton has had a lot of shots that would be considered bad, but he's also has made a bunch of them.

If you want Smart to be a good shooter, he can't just shoot in practice, and not in games. This is why we are having an other low win season, develop the young guys and let them play and get a feel of the game. KO didn't look nearly as good in the beginning of the season as Smart does. And I don't mean shooting wise, but how he doesn't look like a deer in head lights. The pace doesn't seem too fast for him, and he's catch on pretty well.

He's made some really nice passes to, last nights left handed bounce pass in traffic to Wallace was nice to see if he's the PG of the future. He really plays in control to.

[aingeforthree]

As a PG, he's really impressed me with how he runs and sees the floor.  Obviously his defense is top notch right off the bat, but the PG skills are extremely impressive.  Did not know he had that type of game.  The guy can be an assist machine in the league.

I personally don't want him taking a 3, unless it's a corner 3.  He's too quick, strong, & big to sit outside.  Take your man in a bit and hit a 15-18 footer off the dribble, or take it strong to the rack.

[manl_lui]

I agree to disagree

I agree that he is a great offensive weapon for driving in, but the shots he missed were all open shots. As most people already said, the kid has good form. It's not like Bradley came out shooting great from his rookie year either

Give him time. I think his rookie year will be something like 10-12 ppg from driving, FTs and a few jump shots here and there...

I do however expect him to be a 16-18 ppg the next year. As said in numerous posts, I have very very high hopes for this kid.

His D and passing in my opinion are elite and above average respectively. Also, not sure if anyone mentions this, this kid can rebound the ball. I see him box out even bigs getting rebounds in the raptors game and NY game...that was impressive

[aingeforthree]

I agree to disagree

I agree that he is a great offensive weapon for driving in, but the shots he missed were all open shots. As most people already said, the kid has good form. It's not like Bradley came out shooting great from his rookie year either

Give him time. I think his rookie year will be something like 10-12 ppg from driving, FTs and a few jump shots here and there...

I do however expect him to be a 16-18 ppg the next year. As said in numerous posts, I have very very high hopes for this kid.

His D and passing in my opinion are elite and above average respectively. Also, not sure if anyone mentions this, this kid can rebound the ball. I see him box out even bigs getting rebounds in the raptors game and NY game...that was impressive

His defense and passing attributes aren't something you see out of most rookies when they come into the league.  It's refreshing to see a PG this ready at this stage of his game.  And at his age to boot.

Pretty unique talent.  It's going to be fun to watch the development.

[loco_91]

I don't think people here really expected this, which surprises me. Smart's calling card in college was either driving to the rim or shooting 3s (despite ~30% FG from here). Nothing in between, and the Celtics have made it clear they are actually ok with him shooting those 3s because it is beneficial for his development in the future. They've also commented that he has the "arc" to become a relatively successful 3PT shooter.

He had a 40-45% 3Pr in college, meaning 40-45% of his FGA attempts were from 3. On the other side, something like 45% of his attempts were at the rim. It is what it is, and I'm okay with it. ~30% from 3 is like 45% from 2. Seeing as he probably won't be able to hit 45% of his 16-23 foot shots, he probably has a better chance at hitting 30% of his 3s from a little further out, which has the side effect of spreading the offense quite a bit more.

This is why Sully and Smart (Rondo soon also probably) will continue to shoot 3s even if they are hovering around sub 30%. I've noticed a lot of people think shooting 3s at ~30% at higher volumes is bad shot selection. It really isn't honestly. Would you say 45% FG on your 16-23 foot 2PT jumper is inefficient? Probably not, right? That's why it's alright to step out a few feet and take the hit on your percentage. The bad side effect of shooting 3s despite their higher efficiency is more missed shots = more potential fast breaks. I'm honestly not sure how high the impact is here, though. You probably see one or two fast breaks a game based off of missed 3s. Even then, I feel like longer rebounds tend to go to the offensive team more often than the defensive.

This is also pre-season so I don't really expect Smart to have something like a 90% 3Pr like he did last night.

All good points. I wouldn't be too mad to see him taking 40%3Pr, but last night he took 100%3Pr, going 1/5 from 3 with 0 2pt attempts and 2 fta. He also had 1 assist I think, and this is in like 30 mins. I wouldn't be happy with him shooting a bunch of 40% midrange jumpers either, I just think he should be driving to the basket whenever he can. If the result is more turnovers and blocked shots, I'd rather see that than badly missed 3's.

[Celtics4ever]

Right now, offense is not a strong point for him.  Skills can always be developed though.

[coffee425]

chillax people.
it's obvious the rookie can't shoot yet... but shooting's the skill that develops pretty easily for guys willing to work for it. At least he's only taking open jumpshots right now. Shot selection isnt my concern yet.

Just for comparison's sake, Westbrook shot  41% and 27% his rookie year. Look at how far he's come since then. Not to say that he's a good shooter now, but it's there.

[biggs]

He's taking his open shots, and who knows if he is feeling hesitant to be more aggressive on offense.  I am ok with what is happening.

He will develop.

Well said

[manl_lui]

I agree to disagree

I agree that he is a great offensive weapon for driving in, but the shots he missed were all open shots. As most people already said, the kid has good form. It's not like Bradley came out shooting great from his rookie year either

Give him time. I think his rookie year will be something like 10-12 ppg from driving, FTs and a few jump shots here and there...

I do however expect him to be a 16-18 ppg the next year. As said in numerous posts, I have very very high hopes for this kid.

His D and passing in my opinion are elite and above average respectively. Also, not sure if anyone mentions this, this kid can rebound the ball. I see him box out even bigs getting rebounds in the raptors game and NY game...that was impressive

His defense and passing attributes aren't something you see out of most rookies when they come into the league.  It's refreshing to see a PG this ready at this stage of his game.  And at his age to boot.

Pretty unique talent.  It's going to be fun to watch the development.

in my opinion, if Smart had a great jump shot, he would've contended for the #1 pick with Wiggins and Parker easily, the fact that his shot isn't as smooth as their's makes him a #6, but that's ok, cuz we got him

I honestly believe his shot will develop. This is Sully's 3rd year, and look at his improved shot from year 1.

[jr_3421]

If you have a good work ethic, shooting is something that is easiest to improve (see Bass and to some extent Bradley).

The hardest aspect of your game to improve on is your feel for the game and PG skills IMO (again see Bradley). Smart seems to be able to run the offense much better than the average rookie PG which bodes well for his future. Along with his defense, I think he'll be fine especially if Young turns out to be a player and we can pair Smart with elite shooting.

[Donoghus]

He cant shoot worth a [dang] right now but I like most everything else I've seen out of the kid already.

He's a rookie.  Things will improve.  It'll just take time and I think he'll experience some growing pains with his shooting but he'll improve. How much? No idea but I like his attitude and he seems to be pretty skilled in other aspects of the game for a kid his age.