Yes, and his TS is up to 56%. He’s been REALLY good the last few weeks.Does Smart look slimmer and way more competitive against quick guards lately?
That + Fournier changes this team's upside a lot.
Yes, and his TS is up to 56%. He’s been REALLY good the last few weeks.Does Smart look slimmer and way more competitive against quick guards lately?
That + Fournier changes this team's upside a lot.
I didn't notice that he seems slimmer, but he looks lighter on his feet. He seems to be staying in front of people better.Does Smart look slimmer and way more competitive against quick guards lately?
That + Fournier changes this team's upside a lot.
Huh thought it was more noticeable. It looked to me for awhile there like he was a boa constrictor in the process of digesting Tremont Waters.I didn't notice that he seems slimmer, but he looks lighter on his feet. He seems to be staying in front of people better.
But I think that they all look better since the breakdowns have kinda been eliminated.
I see it. To me he seemed a little, shall we say, John Bagley-esque at the start of the season.Huh thought it was more noticeable. It looked to me for awhile there like he was a boa constrictor in the process of digesting Tremont Waters.
This is an old comment and Smart has been much better of late, but I just wanted to say we should be so lucky as for Smart to be the Celtics' Brad Marchand.While I agree with the bolded and am a huge Smart defender amongst my family (who have all irrationally hated him since the beginning), the only issue I have is he hasn't shown much growth for figuring out how to lessen the negative impact. It's a bit apples and oranges, but in many ways he reminds me of Brad Marchand. The first half of his career or so seemed to be marked with taking some really dumb penalties, a little too much one on three hockey, etc. Something clicked for him (whether this was his own work, coaching, Chara/Bergy getting in his face, or some combo, is up for debate), but he's been a top NHL player the last few seasons as a result.
I've just noticed him flying around and wrecking havoc a lot more the last couple of games. More "winning plays".I didn't notice that he seems slimmer, but he looks lighter on his feet. He seems to be staying in front of people better.
But I think that they all look better since the breakdowns have kinda been eliminated.
Oh just so I'm clear I am in complete agreement. I love Marcus Smart and truly hope is a part of a championship team. Tatum and Brown will likely pass him, but personally Smart is my 2nd favorite Celtic of all time, with Pierce being #1 (really started getting into the NBA in '93 at age 12, so just after the Bird era). So any criticism comes from a place of love...This is an old comment and Smart has been much better of late, but I just wanted to say we should be so lucky as for Smart to be the Celtics' Brad Marchand.
He's definitely making it hard to evaluate what to do with him. The guy out there against Portland is a guy you only trade for a Beal-level star. The guy out there most of the year was a chucky JAG.The NBA All-Defense guard finished the contest with six shot contests, three deflections, a loose ball recovery rate of 71.8% on defense, along with his 13 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and a steal.
When matched up on Lillard, Smart held his superstar counterpart to 1-of-5 shooting, two assists, and two turnovers
https://www.celticsblog.com/2021/4/14/22383307/boston-celtics-marcus-smart-is-proving-doubters-wrong-portland-trailblazers-nba
That's harsh and I'm not a Smart guy. Maybe he's just another guy in the sense Harrison Barnes, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon are JAGs.The guy out there most of the year was a chucky JAG.
He just wasn't the same guy on defense while being a notch below those other guys offensively. I'd way rather have Barnes or Fournier than whomever was masquerading as Marcus until recently.That's harsh and I'm not a Smart guy. Maybe he's just another guy in the sense Harrison Barnes, Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon are JAGs.
His improvement basically coincides with Jayson Tatum turning back into Jayson Motherfucking Tatum. When Jayson is pillaging opponents offensively and Marcus can go back to doing what he does best, being Dre' Green's MiniMe, he looks great.He's definitely making it hard to evaluate what to do with him. The guy out there against Portland is a guy you only trade for a Beal-level star. The guy out there most of the year was a chucky JAG.
I guess the good news is a) he's trending up b) the team has ~15 more games and the playoffs to see whether it sustains.
It doesn't explain the whole season but I think a lot of the bad play in March and early April was going from TL/TT/DT to TL and nothing for 13 games. The drop off from TT/TL to Moe, Fall and Kornet is huge. The team really missed TT. If TL or TT go down for any time, it's gong to hurt a lot.He just wasn't the same guy on defense while being a notch below those other guys offensively. I'd way rather have Barnes or Fournier than whomever was masquerading as Marcus until recently.
That said, credit where it's due: he's playing very well and looks like himself again defensively.
Despite a decent rookie year (33.5% from three), he was absolutely terrible early in his career, averaging 29.3% during his first 4 years (321 of 1094). 35.5% is more than adequate coming from a guy who brings everything Smart does.Interesting to track Smart's shooting: he's at 341/961 (35.5%) over the past 3 years.
Yeah, the rookie year was probably luck: his shot was quite broken then.Despite a decent rookie year (33.5% from three), he was absolutely terrible early in his career, averaging 29.3% during his first 4 years (321 of 1094). 35.5% is more than adequate coming from a guy who brings everything Smart does.
I mean...the shots went in in that particular game. Overall, Curry is shooting 43% this year, so you don't expect him to make 10-19 with Smart on him lol.He’s such a polarizing player. His last three of the game was absolute clutch. Fantastic play. The three he took from 4 feet behind the arc with 20 seconds on the clock that air balled was a totally moronic play. Thankfully, I think he’s had better shot selection this season so we’ve seen him play more within himself. The hard part with defensive specialists is that - as the announcers said - good offense beats good defense. I’m not sure having Smart defend Curry is much different than having Edwards defend Curry - the result is the same. Theoretically Smart makes him work harder, but the shots go in either way.
If he shot 40%, that would have been .7 point per game more, on average, over those three years.Interesting to track Smart's shooting: he's at 341/961 (35.5%) over the past 3 years.
This is the important piece that people miss when arguing about incremental inc/dec in ones 3-pt shooting pct which alone has flaws. It’s one of the reasons we needed to add quality offensive players prior to the playoffs to ensure offensive flow. Fournier and Parker will be an enormous improvement in this area when taking the minutes of PP, Semi and Grant in the post-season when close-outs are harder and our bench is shortened.Many people obsess over Smart’s three point shooting. As long as he takes threes within the flow of the offense, I’m ok with it. In the Warriors game, he admittedly was rushing his threes, and was 2-10 before hitting the big shot to get his team the lead late, when he had tons of time.
0.7 points per game on the same amount of attempts isn't a small deal, though. It would move the C's point differential from 2.2 to 2.9. They'd probably have an extra win or two at this point. There were 5 games this year the C's lost by 3 or less. Smart wouldn't be scoring an extra 0.7 points per game, he'd be scoring an extra 3 points every 3rd game (statistically speaking).If he shot 40%, that would have been .7 point per game more, on average, over those three years.
When comparing players to other players. When comparing players to themselves, those differences are big.This is the important piece that people miss when arguing about incremental inc/dec in ones 3-pt shooting pct which alone has flaws. It’s one of the reasons we needed to add quality offensive players prior to the playoffs to ensure offensive flow. Fournier and Parker will be an enormous improvement in this area when taking the minutes of PP, Semi and Grant in the post-season when close-outs are harder and our bench is shortened.