The sad but best comparison to Marcus Smart

[Granath]

KC Jones. Tough, scrappy defender.

'Nuff said.

[PhoSita]

Disagree.

My best possible outcome for Smart is either Kyle Lowry or Chauncey Billups.

Worst possible outcome I'm not sure.  If he never gets better than he is now, he's still a valuable defensive role player who can hit a three.


It's too early to say what the "best comparison" is for Smart.  I'm pretty confident it's not Lindsay Hunter.

In his 4th season, Hunter was a pretty good player.  14 pts, 1.6 stl, 2.8 reb, 1.8 ast, decent shooting.  Smart is already better on the boards and is a better playmaker.  He could easily average 5 reb and 5 ast if given the minutes.   With a larger role in the offense, I think he can easily get to 12-14 points.


Hunter was also shorter and had less bulk.  Smart's a more useful player simply because he can cover both guard positions and also switch onto wings.

Chauncey Billups?? They are nothing alike.

How so?

Chauncey was also a beefy point guard / undersized shooting guard who started his career shooting at or below 40% from the field.  Was always willing to take lots of shots from deep, which was a blessing and a curse for his team.  Known for having a lot of confidence and being a major leader on the floor.

Tenacious defender, good but not great playmaker, better dribbler than Smart is or may ever be, but still, I think Smart can play a similar role and have a similar impact, given the right situation.

[BDeCosta26]

Lyndsay Hunter

Let us all jump for joy. Maybe he can live up to Lyndsay Hunter and exceed expectations.

But he plays a lot like Lyndsay Hunter did.

Hunter was actually more athletic too. A mix between Tony Allen and Marcus if you will.

Good defender, bad shooting. Shot the three ball decent.

When you look at the stats.....I could see Marcus putting up similar stats in hunter's good years.

Before you go crazy, this is just a scenario where the worst might become possible to what Celtic Bloggers think Marcus's ceiling might be.

Take a look at the video and tell me this did not look a lot like Smart in his season, strips, all out hustle, blocks from out of nowhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzO1NRoKjLg

I don't see how you can say "My Lindsay Hunter comparison is a worst case scenario thing" in one breath, and then absolutely rip apart other posters for making comps to guys like Payton and D-Will that are clearly best-case scenario. Especially when the biggest factor that goes into whether or not a guy reaches his full potential or not is mindset, drive and work ethic. Which by all accounts, Smart seems to have in spades.

There's more reasoning behind a comp to a guy like Gary Payton than Hunter. Payton and Smart have specific skills that are VERY similar. Payton was an elite defender who just straight beat on dudes, but it took him a few years to really develop his complete game. Very similar situation with Smart. There's nothing like that with Smart and Hunter. I get your trying to temper what you see as "unrealistic" comps for Smart around here, but at this point your Lindsay Hunter comparison has just as much, if not less, than a Gary Payton one, and it would be better to treat it as such.

My question though is, how come that for all the time I spend here, the only times the name "Celtics2030" is in a threat about Smart, a thread you created about Smart, or a game thread talking about Smart. I'm starting to think your really Noah Vonleh and your awful sore about the C's not picking you.

[droopdog7]

In terms of comparisons, I wouldn't call it best case or worst case scenario.  I'd say it feels about right.  Of all the the names I have seen thrown out there, I would say this is the most accurate one to date.

Good job.

[KG Living Legend]

Lyndsay Hunter

Let us all jump for joy. Maybe he can live up to Lyndsay Hunter and exceed expectations.

But he plays a lot like Lyndsay Hunter did.

Hunter was actually more athletic too. A mix between Tony Allen and Marcus if you will.

Good defender, bad shooting. Shot the three ball decent.

When you look at the stats.....I could see Marcus putting up similar stats in hunter's good years.

Before you go crazy, this is just a scenario where the worst might become possible to what Celtic Bloggers think Marcus's ceiling might be.

Take a look at the video and tell me this did not look a lot like Smart in his season, strips, all out hustle, blocks from out of nowhere.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzO1NRoKjLg

 Dude relax and get ready to watch a talented kid play his second season.

[BballTim]

Disagree.

My best possible outcome for Smart is either Kyle Lowry or Chauncey Billups.

Worst possible outcome I'm not sure.  If he never gets better than he is now, he's still a valuable defensive role player who can hit a three.


It's too early to say what the "best comparison" is for Smart.  I'm pretty confident it's not Lindsay Hunter.

In his 4th season, Hunter was a pretty good player.  14 pts, 1.6 stl, 2.8 reb, 1.8 ast, decent shooting.  Smart is already better on the boards and is a better playmaker.  He could easily average 5 reb and 5 ast if given the minutes.   With a larger role in the offense, I think he can easily get to 12-14 points.


Hunter was also shorter and had less bulk.  Smart's a more useful player simply because he can cover both guard positions and also switch onto wings.

  Also consider that Hunter was 3 years older than Smart when he was a rookie, and Smart's still fairly comparable to him. I think this is the "if Smart never improves a lick from his rookie year" comparison, more a floor than a good expectation.

[hwangjini_1]

Disagree.

My best possible outcome for Smart is either Kyle Lowry or Chauncey Billups.

Worst possible outcome I'm not sure.  If he never gets better than he is now, he's still a valuable defensive role player who can hit a three.


It's too early to say what the "best comparison" is for Smart.  I'm pretty confident it's not Lindsay Hunter.

If Lyndsay Hunter is not close

than what do you call , Gary Payton , Wade, or Deron Williams comparison's?

the ones that 95% of Celtics Bloggers give to us?

When I look at Lynday's style of play, how he was used, some of his game footage, what he was known for and lastly his statistics which resemble Smart's almost to a tee.....

He is very much like Hunter,,,,,,im not saying that Marcus can become better or way better...but this comparion even with stats looks good a the moment.


Would you like me to compare Smart with Eric Snow?

Lyndsay guarded bigger guards too, but wasnt strong enough for the 3 positions on defense...

Snow was built more like Smart.

i dont follow your argument here. i am at a loss as to how others being incorrect automatically means your comparison is correct. it could very well be that you have simply joined that other crowd by providing one more poor comparison.

pho above stated very well why this is a questionable comparison at best.

[CFAN38]

I have another take on how to look at player comps.

Marcus Smart has a specific skill set that fill specific roles when he is on the court, Hunter is an example of a player who had a similar set of skills. I would say there is a clear comparison in the roles that these players and the skill sets they posses but the difference is how great of an effect they have on the game (ie how dominant they are). I would say a better way to describe my thought would be to say they are similar style players who fall on different positions on a dominance scale.

Lets say 1 is just barely playing/staying in the league, 5 is high end bench player/fringe starter, and 10 is a super star. I would say Smart is currently a 5 and Hunter in his prime was a 5. Smart will improve from their. Looking at other players I would say Lebron, Pippen and Turner are all players who can be placed on the same scale based on skill and roles. Obviously Turner is way behind the other two but all 3 are point forwards who can fill a stat sheet.   

[jayk009]

Most people's comparisons of Marcus Smart are what they "project" him to be. Not where he was in his rookie season or even what he is now. Obviously we are all very optimistic and want the best from him and we are presuming he will make huge strides every year. We are Celtics homers and we can't help it.

Seriously though..Smart is a much better shooter and much better passer then people give him credit for. Seriously, looking at 1 year of shooting %'s doesn't write the book on his career. I see no reason why he can't be an average to above average 3 point shooter. Right now he is being brought along very slowly as he improves his ball handling and learns the intricacies of the PG position, and he is "smart-ly" playing within the role that's given to him which I think is clouding people's judgements. Right now he's able to play as an effective defensive role player but we will slowly see him show more and more as he improves his bball IQ of the PG position.

[GratefulCs]

Marcus banks 2.0


But seriously. I like the kc jones comparison. What about dj? Not the best shot but tough defender and tremendous competitiveness

[GreenFaith1819]

Marcus Smart is gonna be Marcus Smart, which means "great defender, constantly improving offensive player, and better than most of his draft class."

I like this.

Plus, I'd be hesitant to try to compare him to anyone, yet - because of THIS guy:



Coach Brad Stevens is continuing to mold Marcus, and he stands the best opportunity of maximizing his potential under CBS.

I believe the ceiling is higher than Lindsey Hunter, whom is a good player btw.

[CelticsFanFromNYC]

With only one season under his belt, I think it's way too early to make a  definitive comparison for Smart. Every comparison is just a best guess based on very limited information.

I Honestly  feel  Smart is in a style of his own. You always hear hes a "stronger" version of or "better" defensive version of someone. That alone puts him in his own category. Noone   ever saw a player and quickly just thought "He's just like Lindsey! I feel Smart plays with a unique mentality and has the "potential" to be the guy others get compared to

[littleteapot]

I Honestly  feel  Smart is in a style of his own. You always hear hes a "stronger" version of or "better" defensive version of someone. That alone puts him in his own category. Noone   ever saw a player and quickly just thought "He's just like Lindsey! I feel Smart plays with a unique mentality and has the "potential" to be the guy others get compared to

He's either a bigger, stronger version of [insert point guard who got a steal once here] or he's a less athletic version of [insert superstar guard here].

[walker834]

Lindsay Hunter is a terrible comparison.  So are most that I've read.  Marcus is his own player.  He has some westbrook to him.  He has some DJ to him.  Mark jackson.  I think he's a cross between Mark Jackson and Dennis Johnson personally.

[Bdiddy]

Bledsoe and Lowry. That is the floor for Smart. To judge him based on last year's stats is foolish as he was basically playing off the ball and spotting up for 3's which is not his game. If he is made a "real" PG he will easily average 18, 7 and 5 given true starters minutes. He may never shoot above 42% from the field but he will score when he starts attacking the rim as he did in college.