Without various cop out answers like "The expectations have always been unfair" or something like that where do you rank Marcus Smart?
To me he's a sixth man via his tough play and defense. Yes he tries very hard all the time, but that's not good enough. He wasn't drafted 6th to be a 6th man. He as supposed to be beating out Avery Bradley by now and it's not even close.
He's a great defender and that's all he is. You don't try to draft Bruce Bowen or something with the 6th pick.
I think the expectations were...by the third year....a solid starter in this league. A good offensive player. A good passer/playmaker.
He's nothing like that. He's just a try hard intense player who has a knack for showing up big in tough spots. Not good enough.
I respect him but I think he's a pick that is a missed opportunity.
I agree on all counts.
There are four points about Smart that I would consider positives.
* He's the ultimate energy / effort guy - plays hard and with passion every night, and I respect that (even if his on court antics become too much sometimes)
* He's a good defensive player - I don't for a second consider him elite (like many here do) but he is consistently good on defense
* He's a very good rebounder for a combo guard
* He's become must better at drawing fouls, and has improved a lot as a free throw shooter - this is really the only consistent positive to his offensive game, but it's something
Unfortunately though, with those positives come a lot of negatives...
* He's a poor ballhandler for a guard - he lacks advanced dribble moves and often struggles to control the ball under intense defensive pressure
* He lacks any consistency as a shooter - He'll have games here and there where he shoots well, but more often the not his shot charts reads "1-8", "2-9" or similar
* He lacks disipline as a shooter - Often will force contested threes early in the shot clock, when a teammate has a better look, leading to an opponent rebound/possession
* He lacks discipline as a passer - Contrary, he often passes up WIDE open threes to instead try and force dangerous passes to teammates, often leading to an opponent steal/possession
* He lacks discipline as a person - We've seen him make gestures at fans, argue with officials, attempt stupid flops, punch walls in locker rooms...if he keeps this up he'll soon build up a Demarcus Cousins type reputation, and officials will show him zero love on calls.
But my biggest concern of all is that he's now had three seasons of starter-like minutes on NBA Playoff teams, and yet in those three seasons he hasn't really shown any obvious signs of progression. He's gotten better at drawing fouls and has improved as a free throw shooter, but that's really the only improvement he has shown in three years. He's still basically the same player he was when he came out of college.
I concur with your assessment.
Before the draft I loved Smart's upside, and I thought he could be a special player and a core component of this team moving forward. I expected him to be, at worst, a Victor Oladipo caliber of player. A quality two-way starter who could give you aroud 14/5/5. If he were to become that, then I would consider that a pretty solid return for a guy taken in the #6 - #10 range.
The reality is that he's so far nowhere near that point. He's currently a 6th man at best, defensive role player at worst. I'd say he's leaning more towards the "role player" side of things, because I just don't feel he is consistent enough to be depended on as a 6th man. Additionally he's failed to show the type of develpment that would convince me that he might one day take that extra step to the guy I hoped he would be.
All of that said, he is still only 24 years old, and if you at other guys on our team (Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, etc) it's clear that a lot of guys out there really don't show what they are truly capable of until they reach that 27 - 28 age range. So we may well find that Smart remains this guy for another 2 or 3 years and then breaks out. I'm just not sure if I'm willing to wait that long to see some progression, and at this stage I'm not sure if I'd be willing to offer Smart a contract extension in such a money-heavy cap environment. Im afraid I'd probably allow him to go the way of the Sully.
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Topic: Is Marcus Smart meeting expectations? Grade him here. (Read 21169 times)