Who is expecting a leap from Marcus Smart in year 3?

[PaulP34]

Marcus Smart was a busted pick. Danny Ainge could of got more value at #6

[rollie mass]

i believe marcus was terribly hampered in his rookie season with first step and elevating
-along with revolving door of players
-look how a slight high ankle sprain hindered and effected chrowders shot
-then you had 2nd season two dislocated fingers  not good for your shooting touch and then a dislocated knee how about that altering stats
-its not just time off but recovery time on the court
-a severe high ankle sprain,dislocated fingers and knee those are serious injurys for a rookie and 2nd year player
-even averys jumper betrays him after playing tough d all game -and marcus when chrowder went out had a run og great quards and even durant-hardi,derozan lliiard,westbrook,chris paul rose-
marcus gets all the clock running down shots that kelly or jerebko don't take-
no wonder his three point shooting suffered-
stat wise we have not seen marcus--but the playoffs did

[Fafnir]

I hope he will, if we move on from Turner I hope we force Marcus to handle/create more. He did some really good things in the playoffs at times, try and build off that.

[MikeB12]

As a Smart doubter from day 1, I doubt he will ever be an effective jump shooter.  Hate his shooting percentage...good defender.  Hope Cs got some offense in the draft which is their biggest need.

Mike = Celtics fan since the '60s

[Granath]

I do. I think Smart will impress this year.

[The One]

The term "leap" is subjective so I hope I'm not setting myself up here.

But I do expect a lot of progress, especially if he is injury free and Turner does not come back.

The kid works at his game...no doubt about it.

[chiken Green]

Marcus is going to have a bunch of Folks opening mouth and inserting foot before it's all said and done..   He has things that you cant teach and the things he struggles with Many Many now great players have struggled with in their first 3-4 years in the League..
Takes time..
He has played in the playoffs every year of his NBA career.  Because of this everything he does is under a microscope.. But Despite that he continues to be a MAIN cog in the Reason why We win games.  You cant find that on a stat sheet..  They said when they drafted him that he was a winner and he has done nothing to disprove that.
In games he may miss a ton of 3's but If you truly watched every game, you will find that he always hit the 3ball when The team needed it most.. He is fearless and without question he Definitely has the Clutch gene..  He helps us in ways that you cant find in %'s or Pure Numbers.. 

You guys can keep your meaningless James Harden stats that = nothing.. Give me a player who actually affects winning.. Both sides of the Ball.

Some of you guys should watch more of the games and less of the box Scores.

[ZoneD]

Statistically his progress will have a lot to do with his role. If Turner isn't retained I expect smarts minutes to increase above 30mpg and he and Rozier will be given more primary ball handler duties. In that role I predict a playoff like 32mjn 12pt 4.5rb 4ast per game season.

That is absolutely pathetic for the 6th overall pick, but I suppose it's what we have come to expect from him. Oh yeah. And he plays great defense. Whoop...de....doooooooooo.

Oh yeah, he's completely dominant in a whole half of the game. Whoop de doooo?

Smart had been a positive contributor for us since the moment he stepped on in Celtic green. He'll continue doing that no matter what.

I know defense isn't sexy, but you can't brush it off. If Smart becomes A decent player on offense (certainly possible, maybe even likely), he'll be a HUGE asset. Kid has DPOY potential.

Not exactly something to sneeze at.

Given the little he's shown, offensively, despite two years of receiving plenty of minutes, I wouldn't count on it, and, unfortunately, history tells us that we should probably stop holding out for him to suddenly become even an average scorer.  As a senior in high school, he averaged 15.1 points 9.2 rebounds, and 5 assists, and was ranked as the number 1 shooting guard and 10th best player overall in his class.  15.1 points!?  And he was a top ten player, nationally?  The shooting guards that year most have really sucked, lol .

Basketball isn't just about scoring points and counting stats B.LA. Much as you'd like to think so.

Your the guy who was saying "Let's trade Smart to Philly for two late 1sts!", so I'm not gonna pretend like you haven't already come to your own conclusions but c'mon man.

At the VERY least, Smart will be a Tony Allen like player. Superb defensively, and majorly limited offensively. But a DPOY candidate none the less. Let's remember that during our championship runs and in Memphis' playoff runs, Tony Allen was considered as valuable as anyone becAuse of his insane defensive ability. Smart has that gene. Even if he's JUST that, he's a very valuable player.

You constantly seem to ignore the fact that Marcus has been contributing to success since the moment he came into the league. Did you watch the playoffs at all? Outside of IT, Marcus is the main reason we were in that series to begin with after we lost AB. This dude has such a strong motor he can guard PF's at 6'3.

The kid shot 34% from 3 on a lot of attempts his rookie year. Now, I'm not discounting last year stats, but let's not pretend like his shooting %'s last year is the only thing we have to go on.

Considering how much he contributes on the defensive side of things, if Smart can become TA with a better shot and ball-handling ability, that's a dang good player. Considering the improvements we saw last year in terms of driving/ball-handling, as well as passing and court vision, I expect he'll be more than that.

I could understand being a little disappointed with that considering he was the 6th overall pick, but knowing you, you'd rather we play that kid we just drAfted at the end of the 2nd round over Smart. Which makes ZERO sense in just about every way. At least Marcus had proved he can contribute to a winning team with or without breaking out offensively.

I'm well aware of that, and that's not how I view the game, at all.  Hustle and effort matter - always have and always will - but for some reason that seems to be more important than having actual skills, nowadays.  I recently watched some clips on csnne after the draft, and Scal said that all you have to do to play for Stevens is defend your position, get out in the open floor, try to run off of Avery Bradley's and Marcus Smart's steals, and finish in transition.  Umm, that's it?  You don't have to be able to shoot, pass, dribble, move without the ball, post up, run off picks, etc.?  If that's the case, then anyone on this site can play in the NBA.  That's why we can't score in the halfcourt, because guys like Smart just flat out don't know how to play - they're all will and no skill.

As for Tony Allen, I hated that guy and was ecstatic when he left.  As much as he helped defensively, he gave almost all of it back on offense because the guy is a bonehead who plays completely out of control, can barely dribble, and is a horrible decision maker.  There was a reason why many on here called him 'Tony the Turnover' , and if that's all that Smart is, then that is an absolute failure for a 6th pick, imo.  You can find guys like that all the time as undrafted free agents or second round picks almost every year, so it's not like Smart is a one of a kind player, unless you count his propensity for flopping .  As an example, you only need to look back at last year's draft to find two better players than Smart in the second round in Josh Richardson and Norman Powell.  Not only are they better athletes, but they have brains and actually know how to play.  Richardson, for example, at 6'6 200 lbs is so quick, athletic, and tenacious that he is often tasked with guarding the opponents' point guards, and he does an incredible job.  Isaiah and Lowry, for example, couldn't score against the guy, but then on offense, but Powell and Richardson can not only shoot, but can also get to the basket, and they don't have Smart's horrible shot selection.  Coming into the league, for example, Richardson was known to have a great midrange game and the ability to create his own shot, in addition to his defense and passing skills.  The difference between guys like Powell and Richardson, as opposed to Smart, is that those guys are two way players, whereas Smart is simply a defender.  Who would you rather have?

Finally, I realize that I am ridiculous most of, if not all of, the time , but Demetrius Jackson is no ordinary 45th pick.  Have a look at the highlights of his 24 point 4 assist performance at Duke.  Not only is he the far superior athlete to Smart, but Marcus can only dream of being able to shoot, pass, handle, and create his own shot like Jackson can, and he has a far better chance of being an all star than either Smart or Rozier, and yes, I would start him over IT, because he's a better defender, ball handler, passer, and shooter (both on and off the ball) than all of our point guards put together.  That is a two way player, not Smart, IT, nor Rozier, but you don't have to take my word for it .  Watch footage of Jackson on YouTube and then try and tell me that you don't think he's better than Smart.  I'd also like to point out that guys like Jackson, Dunn, and Gary Payton II have far more potential than Smart, and it's not because of their athleticism, quickness, and other physical gifts - it's because of their skills, and we could have had them all on Thursday.  Ugh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmdXw7OJjZs   

Speaking of two way players, I'd rather have Malcolm Brogdon than Marcus Smart.

Lol you really just said to watch YouTube clips to see how much better Demetrius Jackson is than Marcus Smart? I will no longer respect your POV sir.

[hpantazo]

I think Smart has the tools and the work ethic to be a great player. The only two things that concern me are his short fuse/over aggressive attitude at times, which will get him a bad rep with refs, and that his reckless style of play increases his propensity for injuries, which we have seen already. Bradley had that reckless abandon on defense early in his career too, and he learned how to reign it in and harness it to preserve his long term career. I hope Smart can do the same.

[Denis998]

As a soon to be psychology  major, I feel that Marcus's shooting issues are psychological. Maybe there are still some intricacies that are still throwing him off. The game has yet to "slow down" for him. Reason I say this is that during late game situations he is usually a "clutch" player. Seeming those type of plays are more from Muscle memory and instincts. During the first few quarters it seems like there are a number of things he has to actively process that skews his shot.

[Csfan1984]

Not expecting a leap with him still being behind IT and AB.

[The One]

As a soon to be psychology  major, I feel that Marcus's shooting issues are psychological. Maybe there are still some intricacies that are still throwing him off. The game has yet to "slow down" for him. Reason I say this is that during late game situations he is usually a "clutch" player. Seeming those type of plays are more from Muscle memory and instincts. During the first few quarters it seems like there are a number of things he has to actively process that skews his shot.

Interesting...could be the case.

[budMovin]

I would hope a guy picked 6th overall could make his way into the starting rotation by year 3.

[The One]

I would hope a guy picked 6th overall could make his way into the starting rotation by year 3.

Just curious...why does being picked #6 matter to you?

[walker834]

Most psychologists are dangerously stupid people. Please stay away from marcus.  Psychologists are to blame as much as the media is today for the amount of idiocy out there.