Author Topic: Break down of Marcus Smart vs 3 other players , and why he is so bad at offense  (Read 1786 times)

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Offline celtics2030

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ON OFFENSE (could not fit that)
And what he can do to get better.

This will hopefully show some how bad he is currently. What he needs to improve to get better.

Strengths - Confidence, tough, hustle, effort, strong, never gives up on the ball.
               - Can guard multiple positions.
               - Improved FT % , Improved half court offense capabilities.
               - Has a decent post game and it can be a big plus for him in the future.

Let's compare him to 3 players. Some random, some in same draft class, and some similar to position and height.

Chris Paul (elite point guard, veteran, super star)
Elfrid Payton
Zach Lavine
Patrick Beverly


Problems with Smart are obviously his offensive deficiencies. Let us go inside in depth to show us that these problems are true, because many refuse to understand these issues.


MARCUS SMART'S INABILITY TO DRIVE TO THE BASKET/FINISH AT THE RIM
SHOT TYPE - LAYUP
                                    Shots           FG%        EFG%           ASSISTED     UNASSISTED
Marcus Smart     -      71 for 158      44.9 %       44.9 %         53.5 %           46.5 %
Elfrid Payton       -    224 for 385      58.2 %       58.2 %         14.7 %           85.3 %
Zach Lavine        -     91  for 165      55.2 %       55.5 %         46.2 %           53.8 %
Chris Paul           -     38  for  63       60.3 %       60.3 %         18.4 %           81.6 %
Patrick Bever      -     69  for 125      55.2 %       55.2 %          27.4 %          72.6 %

Marcus Smart shows his inability to drive to the basket here. Plus look at the % of his layups assisted...primarily on fast breaks/breakdowns on defense/cuts to the basket. Basically he can't drive or get to the rim and finish very well. Most of his layups require no skill or creativity on his offensive ability. Patrick Beverly is very similar a player to Smart, but Beverly does much better even though he is not that great of a driver either, he also makes 72% of his layups off of his own creativity.

MARCUS'S POOR SHOOTING
JUMP SHOTS

                                    Shots           FG%        EFG%           ASSISTED     UNASSISTED
Marcus Smart     -     176 for 556      31.7 %       40.1 %         61.4 %           38.6 %
Elfrid Payton       -    188 for 503       37.4 %       42.2 %         27.7 %           72.3 %
Zach Lavine        -    196  for 503      39.0 %       50.8 %         64.8 %           35.2 %
Chris Paul           -    327  for 711      46.3 %       54.5 %         22.4 %           77.6 %
Patrick Bever      -    150  for 398      37.7 %       51.2 %          70.0 %          30.0 %

Marcus Smart again TERRIBLE. Look at Elfrid who also isn't great , and we know he isn't a good shooter. Has a 37.4 advantage, but Elfrid jumpers are 72.3 unassisted. Marcus's jumpers are 61.4 Assisted. Again no creativity, most are kick outs from Horford either for 3 or a contested jumper. Now you go to pretty good shooting. Zach is pretty good. EFG% of 50.8. He shoots a lot of 3's and a lot are assisted like Smart, but Lavine as you can see shoots very well. Chris Paul is just so good. 711 jumpers easily shoots the most of all players, but shoots it at 46% and EFG% of 54.5. Most of all Chris Paul has 77.6 of his jumpers of his dribble and create, which just shows how [dang] good and how vital of a player he is. A point guard who can score like that and do it with no help. Then you have Beverly who also does a good job, his % is similar to Elfrid, but Beverly is a good 3 point shooter, thus his EFG% is also good at 51%.



This just proves 2 things, and it depends on what side of Smart you are on.....

1 ) He has to improve these things, his shooting and driving abilities have to improve.

2 ) He doesn't have the capability to do these things. It's not that he doesn't want to , its that he cant.



 
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 06:07:59 PM by Roy H. »

Offline Roy H.

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Well, one thing I'm certain of: he'll never be CP3 on offense.

But yes, Marcus' inability to drive and finish is maybe the biggest drawback with his game:

http://stats.nba.com/players/drives/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&TeamID=1610612738

He drives to the hoop the second most on the team, but shoots the worst percentage.

Among guys who drive to the basket at least once per game, and who played 40+ games, Marcus ranked 6th from worst in the NBA (but ahead of JR Smith and Draymond Green).

http://stats.nba.com/players/drives/#!?Season=2016-17&SeasonType=Regular%20Season&CF=DRIVES*GE*1:GP*GE*40&sort=DRIVE_FG_PCT&dir=-1
« Last Edit: April 25, 2017, 04:05:13 PM by Roy H. »


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Offline celtics2030

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do you watch the games too?  seriously

I do  , and I know what you are already thinking. Please just don't comment If you won't debate the stats that are pulled up.

I watch the games. I know what Smart does for the team.

This is about his offense and what his problems are and if people think he can fix them or not.

Its also a reality check to those who think he is not this bad. Which he is.

Stop taking this personal. I love Smart as a player. I am realistic about how he can't do certain things on offense.

I would love to keep him here, and him to continue to do what he is doing. Fully knowing he will never be a starter, an All Star.

Offline celtics2030

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Well, one thing I'm certain of: he'll never be CP3 on offense.

But yes, Marcus' inability to drive and finish is maybe the biggest drawback with his game.

Chris Paul is amazing. I feel so bad for him because people do not realize that he does things he is not supposed to do for that team , but they need him to because too many scrubs on that team cannot create.

I'm amazed that 77% of his jumpers are unassisted

For a 6 foot point guard to be that good and for him to do it himself so much is amazing and elite.

Offline Ilikesports17

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Smart is never gonna be a star scorer because he lacks explosion going to the rim. It makes it impossible for him to get easy buckets.

Does anyone still dispute this? is there anyone out there that is still waiting for Marcus to all of a sudden become a 20ppg scorer?

Smart needs to do a few things on offense:
1. Hone his post game. he is stronger than just about ever other gaurd in the league and must be able to take advantage of those mismatches he gets every game
2. Hit open catch and shoot threes. This is really concerning because he hasnt improved in this area but his 80% ft shooting leads me to believe all is not lost. He doesnt need to be lights out, but he needs to be a credible floor spacer.
3. This is kinda intangible, but he needs to learn how to be in a bit more control going to the hoop. Part of this will come with time and experience, some of it will come via and improved handle, but if Marcus can be undermore control going to the hoop he will get more fouls, be able to take more advantage of his solid court vision and he will be able to convert more layups and close range shots. We have seen an improvement in this regard already, but he needs to continue to stay in more and more control going to the hoop.
4. Wisen up the shot selection. A lot of Marcus's bad shot selection comes from his inability to get good shots. If Smart was more explosive or a good finisher he wouldnt take so many trash threes, but hes so bad creating for himself he gets stuck taking a lot of bad shots. He STILL needs to be wiser. I think his shot selection in these playoffs has been decent, but we need to see that with consistency.

If he can do those 4 things, I believe he will be giving you value comparable to that of a low-level all-star.

That would be terrific.

If you want Marcus to all of a sudden become a slasher, hes just gonna continue to disappoint. All 4 of these areas are spots with legitimate reason to believe he can improve and would lead to a much more helpful Marcus Smart.
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Offline celtics2030

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Smart is never gonna be a star scorer because he lacks explosion going to the rim. It makes it impossible for him to get easy buckets.

Does anyone still dispute this? is there anyone out there that is still waiting for Marcus to all of a sudden become a 20ppg scorer?

Smart needs to do a few things on offense:
1. Hone his post game. he is stronger than just about ever other gaurd in the league and must be able to take advantage of those mismatches he gets every game
2. Hit open catch and shoot threes. This is really concerning because he hasnt improved in this area but his 80% ft shooting leads me to believe all is not lost. He doesnt need to be lights out, but he needs to be a credible floor spacer.
3. This is kinda intangible, but he needs to learn how to be in a bit more control going to the hoop. Part of this will come with time and experience, some of it will come via and improved handle, but if Marcus can be undermore control going to the hoop he will get more fouls, be able to take more advantage of his solid court vision and he will be able to convert more layups and close range shots. We have seen an improvement in this regard already, but he needs to continue to stay in more and more control going to the hoop.
4. Wisen up the shot selection. A lot of Marcus's bad shot selection comes from his inability to get good shots. If Smart was more explosive or a good finisher he wouldnt take so many trash threes, but hes so bad creating for himself he gets stuck taking a lot of bad shots. He STILL needs to be wiser. I think his shot selection in these playoffs has been decent, but we need to see that with consistency.

If he can do those 4 things, I believe he will be giving you value comparable to that of a low-level all-star.

That would be terrific.

If you want Marcus to all of a sudden become a slasher, hes just gonna continue to disappoint. All 4 of these areas are spots with legitimate reason to believe he can improve and would lead to a much more helpful Marcus Smart.

Agreed. He will have a difficult time becoming a starter If he cant drive to the rim...especially if his shot sucks ....

Chris Paul for example took 71 layups, but his jumper is so good it does not matter.

I also blame the coaching staff 50/50 because of his shot selection being poor.

Its not like Marcus cannot make adjustments to make his game better. I think he can, and he can become a very valuable player.

Offline Smokeeye123

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Why would anyone debate Marcus being bad on offense?

Yes, hes  bad on offense that's pretty much a fact. If defense wasn't 50% of the game he wouldn't be in the NBA. That being said he makes smart plays and is a net positive for us. Better than Lavine too, all he does is dunk and make layups

Offline celticsclay

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do you watch the games too?  seriously

I do  , and I know what you are already thinking. Please just don't comment If you won't debate the stats that are pulled up.

I watch the games. I know what Smart does for the team.

This is about his offense and what his problems are and if people think he can fix them or not.

Its also a reality check to those who think he is not this bad. Which he is.

Stop taking this personal. I love Smart as a player. I am realistic about how he can't do certain things on offense.

I would love to keep him here, and him to continue to do what he is doing. Fully knowing he will never be a starter, an All Star.

First off, i appreciate you putting the time in to put the stats in for Smart. They do a good job showing some of his really serious limitations as a player at this moment compared to other point guards. That being said, you are going over the top here and are 100% wrong on this. First off, Smart started 24 games THIS year. We were an above average team in starting nearly a third of the season. If we lose Bradley after next season and/or IT there is a very good chance he would be our every day starter. There are also a large number of teams in the league that are starting players worse than Smart. You are really losing the discussion by trying to insist on this false point that he could "never be a starter" when he has already started 72 games in his short term career for a team that made the playoffs ever year including as the number 1 seed this year.


Offline The Oracle

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The Celtics have produced better scoring margins with Smart starting than they have with Bradley all 3 years Marcus has been with the C's.  Many of those starts are with both Bradley and Smart starting together and this is a very simple way of making this point but none the less Marcus is every bit capable of being a starter as Avery is.  Team results are what really matters not an individuals statistical breakdown.

As a starter per 36 scoring margin.

               14-15     #of starts     15-16     #of starts     16-17     #of starts
Smart       +1.0           38           +3.7           10           +3.7           24 
Bradley      -1.3           77           +2.3           72           +1.4           55   

Offline wiley

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It's a 5 man game.  It's a team sport.  Plenty of offense first players in the league
who just aren't worth having on the team, or who hardly play. 

Smart's deficiencies on offense are much less a concern to the Celtics organization than to fans.
So as a fan you have to decide if you'll take the bad with the good/great.  Considering it's a team sport give me Smart every day of the week.  You can have Lavine, you can have Payton, you can have Hardaway Jr. and Ben MacLemore. 

I hope the Celtics never trade him...his total game, including IQ and team play, far outweigh his poor shooting. 

If you're one of those fans who can't tolerate players with limited scoring talent, by all means go and find another Smart somewhere who's also a good shooter.  Good luck searching for that. 

Re: Break down of Marcus Smart vs 3 other players , and why he is so bad...
« Reply #10 on: April 25, 2017, 05:55:34 PM »

Offline Celtics4ever

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Some of those guys are seasoned vets.   When compared to LaVine who is closest in age, he is not too far off.  He does better than LaVine on assisted.   

His FG% needs work he should take a 1000 shots a day until he improves in the offseason.   Shooting is a big weakness for him but he is a better defender than any of those guys.  This was already common knowledge to most fans here.   He is a bad shot,

Re: Break down of Marcus Smart vs 3 other players , and why he is so bad...
« Reply #11 on: April 25, 2017, 05:55:44 PM »

Offline mctyson

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I 100% guarantee that if Payton was offered straight up for Smart, Danny would turn it down.

Offline playdream

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I think you miss the point
You only need one to make the bucket, you need five to defend
Smart don't need to be CP3(who never went to WCF) to help the team

Offline Ed Hollison

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This is a good post by the OP, wel done. I also love what Smart does for the team but believe we can still have intelligent conversations about what he can and cannot do on offense.

One point: Smart is a bad shooter, but he's not a bad offensive player. That's because he's a superb passer and great as a ball handler in the pick and roll. There's a reason Stevens puts the ball in his hands late in games.

Secondly, let's rein in our expectations. A player of Smart's defensive impact who's also a good scorer is basically Joe Dumars. That is, a hall of gamer.
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Offline tarheelsxxiii

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His jump shooting is most concerning to me.  Not worried about his inability to finish at the rim because, frankly, he can't create his own shot.  But as others have pointed out, his improved FT % suggests he can improve as a catch-and-shooter.  As the game has continued to slow down for him, he has become an improved playmaker (for others) as well. 
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