ET experiment playing at the point should continue or stop?

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

It could be by design but I have noticed and commented before that Marcus is invisible on offense when playing the off guard next to Turner. I have not liked that pairing. Marcus should be manning the point when in the game. Not concerned with who is starting at this point.

I agree on this point. I don't like to say it b/c it will seem as though it's just my bias for AB LOL. It isn't, I just like it when Smart is in control and not taking a backseat, waiting for the ball to find him. He looks so much better at controlling the game over the last month or so.

[SHAQATTACK]

I think many people were thinking Smart would be the point guard , after Rondo was traded, just a matter when is all.

I guess they are grooming him slowly .  No rush to hand the keys to Marcus, with ET needing to polish up his game , so Danny can flip him for more draft assets.

It all pretty much on schedule .....as those in charge see it 

[2short]

Move him to SF to allow Smart to start.  Have the two of them share PG duties, slowly shifting more and more of the responsibility onto Smart.

smart pg
thornton (yeah i said it) sg
turner sf
sully pf
zeller c

tp to your idea, turner plays a paul pierce point forward role, this strengthens your bench unit
bradley, crowder, ko, bass

[tstorey_97]

Simply put, Turner isn't a point guard. College PG career or not, having watched all his Celtics games I arrive at..."not a point guard."

Looks like a two really.

If Evan Turner was traded away tonight, would anyone actually notice?

Do the Celtics "need" Turner now? No, but, in the conspiracy department we have Danny acquiring Turner with this in mind.

Ainge:"He's just like Jordan Crawford...perfect! Start him at PG where he doesn't really belong, he'll be good enough to make sense but, not good enough to screw up my lottery pick."

Welcome to Evan Turner, the man helping the Boston Celtics get a good draft pick....if he starts to rain 29.8 ppg and the Celtics go 8-2 the next ten? He gets traded.

[greenhead85]

A lot of positives with ET at PG. He could eventually alternate with a true star material PG when the team finally acquires/finds (among the current players)  one.

Ron Harper did a great job at the point with LAL. Pair ET with a bonafide scorer SG or SF and it would create positive outcomes. His size is undeniably a plus factor on both ends of the floor.

[crimson_stallion]

Just a statistical PG observation for the month of January.

Turner 28.5mpg 10.3pts 5.9ast 5.7rb 0.8stl 2.5to

Rondo 30mpg    8.5pts  6.6ast  5.3rb 1.5stl 2.8to

Smart  25mpg    7.7pts 4.3ast  2.4rb 1.1stl .9to


I think at this point his production makes this less of an experiment and more a utilization of talent with Turner. In College he was a PG and he was very effective. This lead to him being drafted #2. He is a player who needs the ball to be effective. The Cs have realized this and put him in a position to thrive. While this has come at the experience of Smart getting 100% control of the PG duties I don't think its a bad thing. Marcus is still getting his minutes and producing.

I think the problems here are two fold:


Turnovers (in January)

Marcus Smart = 4.8 ast/to
Evan Turner = 2.3 ast/to

A rate of 2.3 assists per turnover is not reflective of a starting calibre NBA PG - much more 'combo guard' territory. 

Marcus Smart's average of 4.8 ast/to over that stretch is, however, exceptional...especially for a such a young rookie that isn't known for being a natural playmaker.


Defense
Marcus Smart has been so good defensively that he is starting to make Avery Bradley look bad...and that is a hell of a feat.  As great as Bradley is with his agility and tenacious work ethic, Smart's superior size and strength combined with surprising lateral quickness) has made him IMHO the better defender.

Then to add to this, Smart is currently shooting 38% from three - despite the fact that he's actually taking a pretty significant 6 attempts per-36 minutes.  I expected him to become a solid outside shooter in time, but not this quickly.  I don't think anybody expected it this soon...

His FG% has also jumped up to around the 40% mark - a big jump up from earlier this season.  Still leaves a lot to be desired, but the important thing is it's improving consistently. 

In 14 games through January Smart is averaging  14.5 points, 8 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and only 1.7 turnovers per 48 minutes...while shooting 42.4% from the field, 44.4% from three and (not so crash hot) 64% from the line.

Like Turner's energy on offense because he's always running, always active, always making things happen.  What I don't like though is that his approach to offense is "just put your head down and drive in to the defence - if the defence collapses we will figure it out when the time comes".   Then when the time does come he gets stuck, dazed, confused and very visibly does not know what to do.  Then he either tries to do something too fancy (like a behind the back dribble) and bounces it off his foot, or he passes it to an opponent.   

I like him at the PG for a few minutes here and there just to boost the offense if I becomes stagnant, but I don't think he works as a permanent solution there.  Just too turnover prone, too unstable.   

[rollie mass]

Turners rebounding is quite an asset and his height causes mis matches

[crimson_stallion]

I think his height at the PG sport (while beneficial) is highly overrated in it's importance.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter how big you are if you aren't have a net positive impact on the team. 

His height is theoretically a big advantage because it allows him to see over the defence to make easier passes - but what is the benefit of this if he's not taking advantage of that?

Most of his passes come when he's tried to drive, got stuck in a double team (or mid-air), and trying to throw a confused pass in traffic, which often leads to a turnover.  Or else they come when he's driven in to the defence, run straight in to a trap, then tried to do a fancy dribble move and bounced it off his foot (to the defence). 

At the end of the day all of the height advantage in the world means nothing if you are turning the ball over once for every two assists you make?

Add to that the fact that he's a pretty terrible defender (so he also allows more points) and the whole hight advantage becomes pretty meaningless.

A quick look at the +/- stats tell a nice story. 

Evan Turner has an on/off stat of -7.4, meaning the team is being outscored by 7.4 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.

Marcus Smart has an on/off stat of +6.9, meaning the Celtics are outscoring their opponents by 6.9 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.

This is despite the fact that Turner spends most of his time with the starting line-up, which if anything should make his +/- look better then it really is.

It's hard to argue really.  When Smart steps on the court, he tends to have a positive impact on the game, and the team tends to play better.  Maybe it's because he rarely turns the ball over, maybe it's because of his touch defence, maybe it's his hustle in diving after every loose ball...whatever it is, it's winning stuff.

I haven't checked all the players yet, but I would hazard a guess that Smarts +6.9 is probably one of the highest on/off numbers of anybody on this team. 

[clover]

I think his height at the PG sport (while beneficial) is highly overrated in it's importance.

At the end of the day it doesn't matter how big you are if you aren't have a net positive impact on the team. 

His height is theoretically a big advantage because it allows him to see over the defence to make easier passes - but what is the benefit of this if he's not taking advantage of that?

Most of his passes come when he's tried to drive, got stuck in a double team (or mid-air), and trying to throw a confused pass in traffic, which often leads to a turnover.  Or else they come when he's driven in to the defence, run straight in to a trap, then tried to do a fancy dribble move and bounced it off his foot (to the defence). 

At the end of the day all of the height advantage in the world means nothing if you are turning the ball over once for every two assists you make?

Add to that the fact that he's a pretty terrible defender (so he also allows more points) and the whole hight advantage becomes pretty meaningless.

A quick look at the +/- stats tell a nice story. 

Evan Turner has an on/off stat of -7.4, meaning the team is being outscored by 7.4 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.

Marcus Smart has an on/off stat of +6.9, meaning the Celtics are outscoring their opponents by 6.9 points per 100 possessions when he is on the court.

This is despite the fact that Turner spends most of his time with the starting line-up, which if anything should make his +/- look better then it really is.

It's hard to argue really.  When Smart steps on the court, he tends to have a positive impact on the game, and the team tends to play better.  Maybe it's because he rarely turns the ball over, maybe it's because of his touch defence, maybe it's his hustle in diving after every loose ball...whatever it is, it's winning stuff.

I haven't checked all the players yet, but I would hazard a guess that Smarts +6.9 is probably one of the highest on/off numbers of anybody on this team.

I would think ET's time with the starting lineup would be offset by generally at that time facing starting lineups, and more specifically for the C's be a disadvantage, given how the C's have a bad starting lineup but decent bench, relative to the rest of the league.