The good, the bad, the ugly , featuring Marcus Smart

[td450]

Came up big down the stretch last night.  I still can't figure out how he threaded the needle on that pass to IT after grabbing that offensive rebound.   That was unreal.

I read in an ESPN story that he threw it blind to a spot where he hoped someone could get it. He didn't actually see a target.

It is amazing how he keeps doing this stuff, but I don't see how its enough to make up for what he is doing on offense. These horrible shooting performances keep piling up. It is who he is at this point.

[Atzar]

He's shown glimpses on offense this year.  .367 on threes in January.  .452 from the field in February.  He's also been an elite free throw shooter for much of the season. 

But in the month of March he's been brutal, even by his standards.  .294/.189 is untenable.  He's a disruptive defender and a good passer, and he has a knack for the big play in crunch time.  But he must get better on offense to warrant trust in the playoffs and as a key cornerstone of this franchise going forward.

[celtics2030]

He is important to this team big time right now.

If he plays well in the playoffs , our chances increase very very much.

If he plays poorly then we are toast.

[jr_3421]

He's a weird player but I think the reason Stevens lives with his poor shooting is that he comes through in the clutch offensively and defensively. Ppl like to point out his winking hustle plays but Marcus hits big shots. maybe reining him in offensively would take that away.

[showtime]

 The better Brown gets, the less we need Smart, and Brown is starting to get better fast.  As much as I like AB, him or Smart needs to go. If we draft Fultz, one or both will have to go!!  We're a good big away from contending for a ring.

[tstorey_97]

Everybody has a right to their opinion...I'll go with this guy's view...(Taylor Snow/Celtics.com)

Stevens’ quote on Smart was, “he’s really smart and he’s really tough. And those two things mean more than any points or no points that he could score. So I don’t even really think about it. I just want him to continue being a leader, being contagious and competing.”

Has him on the court for every critical minute of every game.

[cman88]

It doesnt seem like Smart will ever be a consistent offensive player. He will be a great defensive role-player who can be streaky at times offensively.

I just wish at times he would defer to jaylen brown offensively instead of bricking up shots when he doesnt have it going.

[droopdog7]

The problem is that other teams know Marcus is a bad offensive player too.  That's a big reason he shoots do much.  Other teams give him shots.  In the playoffs it will be an even bigger deal.  Smart will be squeezed and his playmaking will get worse.

He's a leader but in the long run, you have to be a good player to lead.  At least to be a vocal leader.  Anyone can hustle of course.

[showtime]

It doesnt seem like Smart will ever be a consistent offensive player. He will be a great defensive role-player who can be streaky at times offensively.

I just wish at times he would defer to jaylen brown offensively instead of bricking up shots when he doesnt have it going.

  I think at times both Smart and Rozier, try to squeeze Brown out. I've caught myself saying, throw the ball to Brown, more than once!!

[Monkhouse]

The problem is that other teams know Marcus is a bad offensive player too.  That's a big reason he shoots do much.  Other teams give him shots.  In the playoffs it will be an even bigger deal.  Smart will be squeezed and his playmaking will get worse.

He's a leader but in the long run, you have to be a good player to lead.  At least to be a vocal leader.  Anyone can hustle of course.

That just isn't true.

And eventually just like Draymond Green, Smart is going to have a great game because of how space he's going to be given to be able to operate.

[droopdog7]

The problem is that other teams know Marcus is a bad offensive player too.  That's a big reason he shoots do much.  Other teams give him shots.  In the playoffs it will be an even bigger deal.  Smart will be squeezed and his playmaking will get worse.

He's a leader but in the long run, you have to be a good player to lead.  At least to be a vocal leader.  Anyone can hustle of course.

That just isn't true.

And eventually just like Draymond Green, Smart is going to have a great game because of how space he's going to be given to be able to operate.

I guess my point is, he can hustle and "lead" that way, but you can't be a bad player and be a vocal leader over the long haul.

[kozlodoev]

The problem is that other teams know Marcus is a bad offensive player too.  That's a big reason he shoots do much.  Other teams give him shots.  In the playoffs it will be an even bigger deal.  Smart will be squeezed and his playmaking will get worse.

He's a leader but in the long run, you have to be a good player to lead.  At least to be a vocal leader.  Anyone can hustle of course.

That just isn't true.

And eventually just like Draymond Green, Smart is going to have a great game because of how space he's going to be given to be able to operate.

I guess my point is, he can hustle and "lead" that way, but you can't be a bad player and be a vocal leader over the long haul.

He's lucky he's not a bad player then, I guess.

[droopdog7]

The problem is that other teams know Marcus is a bad offensive player too.  That's a big reason he shoots do much.  Other teams give him shots.  In the playoffs it will be an even bigger deal.  Smart will be squeezed and his playmaking will get worse.

He's a leader but in the long run, you have to be a good player to lead.  At least to be a vocal leader.  Anyone can hustle of course.

That just isn't true.

And eventually just like Draymond Green, Smart is going to have a great game because of how space he's going to be given to be able to operate.

I guess my point is, he can hustle and "lead" that way, but you can't be a bad player and be a vocal leader over the long haul.

He's lucky he's not a bad player then, I guess.

Well, he's a terrible offensive player.  So there's that.

[guava_wrench]

The problem is that other teams know Marcus is a bad offensive player too.  That's a big reason he shoots do much.  Other teams give him shots.  In the playoffs it will be an even bigger deal.  Smart will be squeezed and his playmaking will get worse.

He's a leader but in the long run, you have to be a good player to lead.  At least to be a vocal leader.  Anyone can hustle of course.

That just isn't true.

And eventually just like Draymond Green, Smart is going to have a great game because of how space he's going to be given to be able to operate.

I guess my point is, he can hustle and "lead" that way, but you can't be a bad player and be a vocal leader over the long haul.

Depends what the player's overall impact is on the team. If teammates view him as a leader, he is a leader. And not all players are fawning over PPG.

[PAOBoston]

I'm not going to sit here and hate on Smart because you know I don't like him, but watch how dramatically the style of play changes on offense when Smart gets on the floor and how the defense focuses on the more imposing threats on the floor and sorta ignores him. He really does mess with our chemistry and floor spacing on offense with the bench which is actually apart of our bench unit struggling as bad as it does at times. Because it's either a wild Smart post up, a brick 3, or a pick and roll in which Marcus gives it up every time because he knows he's not a threat to get to the rim. And he tries to run the bench unit despite this.

He should not be getting 30 minutes per game and honestly Brown should be taking some of his time because Brown can stretch the floor, get to the rim, and can use his length and superior athleticism to play the tougher to guard players better than Smart can. At times of course because very rarely is he consistent enough defensively for Brown.

Brown stretches the floor? I like Brown. I think he is promising. But I think people are overrating him right now. Brown has a long way to go before being able to be relied on in crunch time.

Smart has has a brutal month offensively. Like brutal. But he still contributes in positive ways (assists, defense, clutch plays). At worst, he's Tony Allen in my opinion. Considering Allen has been in the league 13 years and been a top notch defender, that's really not a bad thing.

His offense will always be a question mark. But he's also not utilized properly on offense imo. He's incredibly efficient down low against guards and they don't use him enough down there. That was a staple of J Kidd. I read the below article the other day that had some pretty interesting advanced stats on Smarts post up game.

https://16winsaring.com/how-marcus-smart-has-developed-into-an-elite-post-player-9d043f32eaf2

From the article

This year, Smart has scored on 53.3% of his post touches, per Synergy Sports data. He is tied for fifth in the league on that mark among players with at least 75 post-ups on the season. His 58.2 FG% on post-ups is second-best in the league.

He’s also fifth in the league in points per possession on post-ups (1.04 PPP), behind only Danilo Gallinari, DeMar DeRozan, Nikola Jokic, and Kawhi Leonard.

So basically what I'm trying to say is less 3s, more post ups.