Marcus Smart - that important to the team

[mr. dee]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

[droopdog7]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

Thats hardly compelling evidence.

[mr. dee]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

Thats hardly compelling evidence.

Maybe but the team's body language is different without him.

[LarBrd33]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

Thats hardly compelling evidence.

Maybe but the team's body language is different without him.

I think they dogged it in the second game against Brooklyn, got kicked in the teeth, and their "body language" responded appropriately. 

They didn't take Brooklyn seriously and had their most humiliating loss of the season.  How do you expect them to react to that?... smiles and swagger?

[Ilikesports17]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

Thats hardly compelling evidence.

Maybe but the team's body language is different without him.

I think they dogged it in the second game against Brooklyn, got kicked in the teeth, and their "body language" responded appropriately. 

They didn't take Brooklyn seriously and had their most humiliating loss of the season.  How do you expect them to react to that?... smiles and swagger?

anger and hunger

I think Smart would have provided more than they showed

[LarBrd33]

I'm actually curious... do any advanced stats (defensive rating?  +/- ? PER?  etc) actually back up the idea that Marcus Smart is the key difference between being a world-beater and a team that barely defeats Philly?

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

I'm with you on this one. Smart is a legitimate defensive stud. He has defensive quarterback potential as 1, or a 2. Freakish stuff. He might be the second coming of Ron Artest at the guard spot. But there's only so impactful one can be if they're so poor offensively. Smart has had one special offensive night, a couple of other good offensive performances, and the rest of his games consist of ice cold nights or missed games.

I'm not personally down on Smart, I think he has All-Star potential. Offensive consistency will come with time. Don't get it twisted though. We had one good quarter against Brooklyn, as CBS said, and one good quarter against Dallas. That's 6 out of Smart's last 8 quarters before going down that Boston was playing bad basketball.

That reminded of Westbrook.

I assumed it was intentional and gave him a TP

[LarBrd33]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

Thats hardly compelling evidence.

Maybe but the team's body language is different without him.

I think they dogged it in the second game against Brooklyn, got kicked in the teeth, and their "body language" responded appropriately. 

They didn't take Brooklyn seriously and had their most humiliating loss of the season.  How do you expect them to react to that?... smiles and swagger?

anger and hunger

I think Smart would have provided more than they showed

Alright.  I'll give you this...

Smart played 21 minutes in a 25 point blow-out against Brooklyn in which he had the lowest +/- of any starter... a game in which Avery Bradley dominated off the bench.  Smart gets injured in that game...

I don't know what goes on behind closed doors... maybe this team is so emotionally fragile that a 2-6 week injury to Marcus Smart shattered their confidence and they came into game 2 tear-soaked and rattled. 

Perhaps that's why they fell down 17 points in the first half... they were too busy weeping over the loss of their defensive leader.   Or more likely, they just came into that game having beaten Brooklyn by 25 and figured they could dog it.  Lopez was better.  Bargs was on fire.  Brooklyn's bench gave them trouble.  Nonetheless, Boston eventually cut the lead to 4 before losing. 

Everyone naturally blames that loss on Smart's absence...  I'm not buying it.  If the rest of the players dogged it like that, they would have fallen down double digits in the first half with or without Smart.  Brooklyn has played some tough games all year.   Boston didn't take them seriously and paid the price.   Plus, Boston has dropped 5 games already this year.  WE're a borderline playoff team with or without Smart.   Let's not act like we just removed an MVP candidate from a contender.

Losing to Brooklyn was unquestionably the most humiliating loss of the season given the circumstances.   The previous game fans were chanting "Brooklyn draft pick!"... It stung double-worse because of the draft pick situation that nobody will let these players forget about.  I suspect those bad vibes carried over into the next game... where they got steamrolled by a quality Atlanta team.  Don't forget that Atlanta won 60 last year.  Atlanta was likely winning that game with or without Smart.  Remove Smart and dish up a Boston team with a wounded ego and it shouldn't shock anyone that we got dropped by 24.

Brad rips into the team.  The effort is questioned.   They execute poorly against Philly and barely win.   

I hope they enjoy their Thanksgiving and come back with some renewed energy.  I'm not blaming this 3 game stretch on Smart being gone... I think it more comes down to effort, focus and execution.  We don't have the talent on this team to coast.  We need to go 110% at all times and that's a hard thing to keep up when you take some hits emotionally.

[Monkhouse]

I don't think people don't understand the Eastern Conference just got a lot stronger, and even bad teams will capitalize on your mistakes. As Larbrd33 said, we didn't take Brooklyn that serious, and if we did, we would've expected a blow out, or a obvious win, which all of us were clamoring was simply put, an 'easy,' one.

[mr. dee]

We were 7-5 with him.  1-2 without him.  I get that the timing suggests his absence is the main reason we started struggling... is  there anything that backs it up beyond bad timing?

All of our lose prior to Smart's injury are close games. Remove him and presto, we have both our worst loss and worst win in the season.

Thats hardly compelling evidence.

Maybe but the team's body language is different without him.

I think they dogged it in the second game against Brooklyn, got kicked in the teeth, and their "body language" responded appropriately. 

They didn't take Brooklyn seriously and had their most humiliating loss of the season.  How do you expect them to react to that?... smiles and swagger?

anger and hunger

I think Smart would have provided more than they showed

Alright.  I'll give you this...

Smart played 21 minutes in a 25 point blow-out against Brooklyn in which he had the lowest +/- of any starter... a game in which Avery Bradley dominated off the bench.  Smart gets injured in that game...

I don't know what goes on behind closed doors... maybe this team is so emotionally fragile that a 2-6 week injury to Marcus Smart shattered their confidence and they came into game 2 tear-soaked and rattled. 

Perhaps that's why they fell down 17 points in the first half... they were too busy weeping over the loss of their defensive leader.   Or more likely, they just came into that game having beaten Brooklyn by 25 and figured they could dog it.  Lopez was better.  Bargs was on fire.  Brooklyn's bench gave them trouble.  Nonetheless, Boston eventually cut the lead to 4 before losing. 

Everyone naturally blames that loss on Smart's absence...  I'm not buying it.  If the rest of the players dogged it like that, they would have fallen down double digits in the first half with or without Smart.  Brooklyn has played some tough games all year.   Boston didn't take them seriously and paid the price.   Plus, Boston has dropped 5 games already this year.  WE're a borderline playoff team with or without Smart.   Let's not act like we just removed an MVP candidate from a contender.

Losing to Brooklyn was unquestionably the most humiliating loss of the season given the circumstances.   The previous game fans were chanting "Brooklyn draft pick!"... It stung double-worse because of the draft pick situation that nobody will let these players forget about.  I suspect those bad vibes carried over into the next game... where they got steamrolled by a quality Atlanta team.  Don't forget that Atlanta won 60 last year.  Atlanta was likely winning that game with or without Smart.  Remove Smart and dish up a Boston team with a wounded ego and it shouldn't shock anyone that we got dropped by 24.

Brad rips into the team.  The effort is questioned.   They execute poorly against Philly and barely win.   

I hope they enjoy their Thanksgiving and come back with some renewed energy.  I'm not blaming this 3 game stretch on Smart being gone... I think it more comes down to effort, focus and execution.  We don't have the talent on this team to coast.  We need to go 110% at all times and that's a hard thing to keep up when you take some hits emotionally.

You underestimate the presence Smart gave. Sure, he just played 21 minutes in a blowout game. But his energy already rubbed on the team before he went out with injury. Hitting everything also helped them gain confidence to crush the nets during that night. Just look at KG is doing with the Wolves right now. His stats are not that great and his minutes are low, right? He must also not having impact on that team too.

[Moranis]

Boston is now 3-3 without Smart and 5-4 without him.  Doesn't appear he makes much of a difference.

[pokeKingCurtis]

Boston is now 3-3 without Smart and 5-4 without him.  Doesn't appear he makes much of a difference.

Way to gloss over...everything.

Struggles against the Sixers, Hawks and the G.D. Nets.

Versus when Smart was here, we blew out some talented (though admittedly some were struggling) teams. Even the losses were close when Smart was here.

[GreenFaith1819]

Marcus is our Defensive Identity, and evidently has developed into a leader on this team, which doesn't surprise me at all.

Looking forward to his return.

[CelticPride2016]

Marcus Smart is that important to the team. It's very early in the season and Brad Stevens is still figuring out which combinations work. Smart is basically one less headache for Coach.

He provides Hall-of-Fame defense. He is young. As is Olynyk. That guy is still figuring out that he is tall. Sully came in ready made. If Sullinger ever got into shape, he'd be borderline all-star. That's a big if. How long has he been dieting?

Amir is in KG territory. He is a seasoned vet, but the eye test says manage his minutes.

David Lee should be at the end of the bench in the Gerald Wallace role. Maybe Zeller needs more practice. He is very fast. There is no reason to believe Lee is better than him. Back to Smart. Our identity is defense. Isaiah is great, but unless he gets more efficient, he is a mixed bag.

Rozier doesn't seem ready to be the third pg. I thought we should have kept Pressey. That dude always accepts peanuts for a contract. He never complains about getting splinters in his butt. He is the perfect 15th man off the bench and 3rd pg, unless one doesn't value those.

The C's have to get back to the non-traditional pg style getting assists by running and passing. Then they can run other teams into the ground. But right now Zeller is useless because he's out of the mix too much. David Lee was never good at defense. I'm not saying bench him for good. But I am seeing great potential for Zeller within the Brad system. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be great at defense. Olynyk is becoming a great player. People seem very impatient with him, as with Smart on offense, and they are missing out on appreciating the kid's ongoing, quality development. So what if Kelly is a late bloomer missing a couple potential years of career like a James Young? Olynyk is producing. His deer in the headlight games seem to be diminishing.

We haven't gelled yet. We have had ups and downs. I am enjoying every second of most games. I wish I could say the same about fan forums.

[SHAQATTACK]

They look LOST without their leader....

The team "reacts " to Marcus being on the floor .   He is the ONLY Celtic that has this "Ulitmate Warrior" factor ......All the players trust and react to his court presence.

And also......the other team know the way Marcus plays , they respect that, maybe even let him get in their heads a little .....worried about his defense pressure.

How many times have we seen Marcus STOP a big or frustrate them .   And he literally will just take the ball away from anybody on the court .   He is so strong .....he just takes the ball from bigs or guards .

Most important is his instinct to play the passing lanes and disrupt the other teams flow .   Nobody plays this element like Marcus.

He fires up his teammates and disrupts to what the other team is trying to do.   

Marcus does not have to score many points to completely change how a game is being played.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Marcus Smart returning to the court in two weeks is “very optimistic” I’m told. He’s on crutches now along with wearing a leg brace.
21 hours ago – via Twitter SherrodbCSN

Not the best of news. May be a while till he's back, especially if its a chronic issue.