Author Topic: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?  (Read 1870 times)

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How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« on: May 24, 2015, 03:07:04 PM »

Offline Timi093

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I would say: pretty good. I might be with Tommy on this but I've never seen a rookie playing defense that good. Especially post-ASG, he was beast. All deflections, steals, forced turnovers. Boxscores can't really reflect on everything he does. All this little things he's just incredible at. I find it amazing he is only 21 years and he already has instincts and timing soooo good. He plays like a veteran. In fact, he was second in the NBA (tied with Devin Harris) in offensive fouls drawn (52 overall, Kyle Lowry was first with 54). I even made a compilation with best offensive fouls/charges taken by him.

https://youtu.be/WnNT0Sy226w

Per36 minutes he was averaging 2.0 steals per game - other rookies to do that last couple of years were e.g. Wade, James, Iggy, Paul, Lowry, Rondo, Curry, Wall or Rubio. What is more, last season he was 6th among all players in percentage of keeping his opponent in front, 14th in deflections and 5th in turnovers forced per chance (all stats provided by our own Kevin O'Connor). And we are talking about rookie who is 21 years old. It's insane. He's learning so quick and month by month he is better defender, using his intellect and temper as a source of being fierce and competetive. He was progressing all season long, learning how to be more succesful, how to use his length and how to react on pump-fakes (at first, he'd commit too many fouls). He's a future all-defensive teamer for many years.

Being hard-worker can only help. I am very excited about his future with the Celtics and I think I am not the only one who says he has a chance to win DPOY some day.

What do you guys think? This is my first post here so I'll welcome any feedback.

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #1 on: May 24, 2015, 03:13:35 PM »

Offline greece66

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Smart is one of the key reasons that I project us to make more wins next year even if our roster stays basically the same.
You could literally see him improving month by month.

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #2 on: May 24, 2015, 03:18:50 PM »

Offline Csfan1984

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I'd give him 8 out of 10 on the defense scale.
10 being hall of fame level.
 9 being All NBA defense.
 8 is a player known for his good defense.

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #3 on: May 24, 2015, 03:44:20 PM »

Offline Maurice98

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http://youtube.com/watch?v=hmjli8hakJY

Giving an MVP candidate and one of the leading scorers fits.

Enough said.

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #4 on: May 24, 2015, 04:42:56 PM »

Offline Evantime34

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Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #5 on: May 24, 2015, 04:59:55 PM »

Offline makaveli

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the most impresive part of his game, i apsolutely loved it, makes you wonder what is his next level, and i know there is one for sure.
what doesn't kill you makes you stronger

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #6 on: May 24, 2015, 05:04:09 PM »

Offline Dedalus

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worth noting he received a few votes for All-Defense this season. Even if it was only one or two.

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #7 on: May 24, 2015, 06:43:37 PM »

Offline LGC88

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TP for the OP and your first post.
I had the same thought. He has a feeling for the game like a vet at 21, it's insane.
Can't wait to see him work on his offense.

Re: How good was Marcus Smart in defense last year?
« Reply #8 on: May 26, 2015, 10:23:42 PM »

Offline crimson_stallion

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TP from me too - nice job of pulling up those stats!!

At first I was wondering if he could be a Tony Allen level of defender, but he's a FAR better defensive player then Tony Allen was as a rookie.

So I'm wondering now - could he become an even better defensive player than Allen?  That would really be something, especially since his skills in every other facet of the game (ball handling, passing, shooting, finishing, etc) are already far above Allen's.