Smart is similar to prime Dennis Johnson according to FiveThirtyEight Carmelo

[CelticsElite]

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/carmelo/marcus-smart/

It projects him to be a future all star. Also One of his performance comparisons of 1979 DJ, the year he was named to all-defensive 1st team, and won finals mvp.

[Jiri Welsch]

Hopefully he doesn’t do a ton of cocaine like DJ!

DJ was, and Smart is, clutch. Smart needs to improve his jumper as we all know, but he has certainly seen improvement in many other aspects of his game. His vision off the dribble has improved immensely—don’t remember seeing him give so many successful lobs to big men like he has this year. It’s also clear he’s looking for that extra pass around the horn as of late.

Marcus rules!

[colincb]

5-yr market value:$128.8m

Not here.

[Celtics4ever]

I wonder if "Carmelo" ever saw DJ play?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsde01.html

One can easily see that Dennis was a better shooter and scorer.  DJ was a career 45% FG shooter and 14 PPG average.  I seen DJ live and Smart live and I think Smart is a better defender than DJ but DJ was a more complete player.

[IDreamCeltics]

Didn't "Carmelo" used to compare him to James Harden?  Man... he's really falling off.

[Roy H.]

Junk projection.

Comparing a 4th year player who shoots 35% to a Hall of Famer seems off.

I welcome some team to pay him around $30 million per year, though.  He’s a solid player who shows great grit and leadership, and I hope he breaks the bank somewhere else.

[hwangjini_1]

I wonder if "Carmelo" ever saw DJ play?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/j/johnsde01.html

One can easily see that Dennis was a better shooter and scorer.  DJ was a career 45% FG shooter and 14 PPG average.  I seen DJ live and Smart live and I think Smart is a better defender than DJ but DJ was a more complete player.

I wish to echo this post. I have seen both play and the above is a good description.

Plus, on the article, it says smart is similar to Gus Williams,whom I also watch play. Ha! Gus was a poor defense very good offense type of guard. Not like smart much at all.

[PhoSita]

DJ averaged 45% from two for his career, Marcus is barely at 41% for his career, and this year he's at 33.9%.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I said this in another thread. My eye test tells me that Smart's problems are not with skill, ability, or athleticism. His problems are with rhythm and confidence.

Whether its because of injuries, or CBS not force-feeding him, or forcing him to play off ball mostly the first few years, or endurance, or fan support, or not drawing fouls, or something else, Smart has not been able to get into a consistent rhythm for his game.

He's never going to be a 20 point a game guy. He's not the modern day version of a scoring point guard. He doesn't fit conventional molds. But he could be a 16, 7, 6, and 2 guy on 40, 34, 80 shooting.

He can create shots for his teammates and make unselfish plays. He can run the pick-and-roll. He can hit big shots. He can lead us to a win with 27 and 7 in a playoff game. He can get key rebounds to seal wins. He can get key steals to seal wins. He can defend the opposing team's all-star 7'3'' center (Kristaps), 6'7'' power forward (Milsap), 6'8'' small forward (James), 6'7'' shooting guard (DeRozan), or 6'2'' point guard (Kyrie).

Never let anyone define you by what you can't do.

[kozlodoev]

Comparing a 4th year player who shoots 35% to a Hall of Famer seems off.

Joe Fulks, Mo Stokes, Jim Pollard, Dugie Martin, Andy Philip, Bob Cousy and a bunch of others stopped by to say hello.

[knuckleballer]

DJ averaged 45% from two for his career, Marcus is barely at 41% for his career, and this year he's at 33.9%.

To be fair, DJ went pro two years later than Smart.  Comparing Smart's early career isn't really fair.  I'm hopeful/optimistic that his shooting percentages will improve.

[knuckleballer]

I said this in another thread. My eye test tells me that Smart's problems are not with skill, ability, or athleticism. His problems are with rhythm and confidence.

Whether its because of injuries, or CBS not force-feeding him, or forcing him to play off ball mostly the first few years, or endurance, or fan support, or not drawing fouls, or something else, Smart has not been able to get into a consistent rhythm for his game.

He's never going to be a 20 point a game guy. He's not the modern day version of a scoring point guard. He doesn't fit conventional molds. But he could be a 16, 7, 6, and 2 guy on 40, 34, 80 shooting.

He can create shots for his teammates and make unselfish plays. He can run the pick-and-roll. He can hit big shots. He can lead us to a win with 27 and 7 in a playoff game. He can get key rebounds to seal wins. He can get key steals to seal wins. He can defend the opposing team's all-star 7'3'' center (Kristaps), 6'7'' power forward (Milsap), 6'8'' small forward (James), 6'7'' shooting guard (DeRozan), or 6'2'' point guard (Kyrie).

Never let anyone define you by what you can't do.

Heinsohn gave a pretty good breakdown of his shooting struggles.  He pointed out that when he shoots in the paint, he's looking at the defenders more than the rim because he's worried about his shot being blocked. When he shoots outside shots, he frequently goes into his shooting motion before focusing on the rim.  These things can be corrected.  Heinsohn also said he's one of the team's best shooters in practice.

[timpiker]

Lets NOT try to re-write history here.  DJ couldn't shoot for crap for many years until late in his career he was good from the foul line.  Period.  So, yes, DJ did get better and he became more selective after being in the league for several years.  And I'm sure we all recall Avery when for the his 1st 2 or 3 years he couldn't hit the side of a barn if he was standing 15 feet away.  So, quit trying to write-off Smart.

[kozlodoev]

Lets NOT try to re-write history here.  DJ couldn't shoot for crap for many years until late in his career he was good from the foul line.  Period.  So, yes, DJ did get better and he became more selective after being in the league for several years.  And I'm sure we all recall Avery when for the his 1st 2 or 3 years he couldn't hit the side of a barn if he was standing 15 feet away.  So, quit trying to write-off Smart.

Bradley was generally fine after his rookie year, excluding one blip on the radar in year 3. Smart has been consistently bad for his entire tenure in the league, and has trended in the wrong direction.

[Monkhouse]

Lets NOT try to re-write history here.  DJ couldn't shoot for crap for many years until late in his career he was good from the foul line.  Period.  So, yes, DJ did get better and he became more selective after being in the league for several years.  And I'm sure we all recall Avery when for the his 1st 2 or 3 years he couldn't hit the side of a barn if he was standing 15 feet away.  So, quit trying to write-off Smart.

It's been 3 years, and Smart hasn't really improved although I believe his shooting mechanics and form is pretty good considering there have been relatively better shooters with worser forms/release points.

But I also believe Smart has been heavily underrated. If his shooting wasn't so bad, he would probably be a top 15 combo guard in the league.