FanPost

Will Smart ever get Smarter?


Marcus Smart

At 23, Smart has had 4 years in the league. He has been pretty consistent throughout the time.

Points............7.81 to 10.57
Assists...........3.03 to 4.80
Rebounds......3.31 to 4.18
Steals.............1.31 to 1.57

His eye test has been the same as well.

On the plus side-- he is a true Unicorn defensively. He can switch from Curry to James and do an adequate jobs. Last year's win against the Rockets was due to his getting into Hardens brain, making a snack and relaxing.

On the down side-- we could have hundreds of examples of the worst Marcus Smart plays on offense. There are times when he seems like the inverted Charles Oakley. When he was with the Knicks-- Oakley would have games where he thought he was Reggie Miller and jack up 20 footers all night. Smart some nights has illusion of being Kevin McHale. He is not.

The thing is-- with some slight improvements-- this Smart is what Smart is. Perhaps the best historical comparison would be M L Carr.

The Celtics have plenty of guys who have high ceilings.

  • Tatum looks to be a hybrid of Grant Hill and Kevin Durant.
  • Brown could be the next Matrix.
  • Rozier has the athleticism to be one of the best combo guards in the league.
  • Robert Williams, Yabusele, Bird and Ojeleye all have potential.
The Celtics therefore can compete for a championship with Smart being Smart. But it is impossible to look at his game and think that he can't be more. One player that should give Celtics fans hope is Steve Nash. While Smart may never have Nash's outside stroke-- He has some similarities as a point. It took about 4 years for Nash to find his game as well. The thing is-- what made MVP Nash so impressive, Smart has.

Watching Nash play, it seemed as if the court was always tilted in one direction. Even in the half court he was always aggressively going toward the basket. I remember watching a game and thinking how stressed the defense looked. It was like Nash refused anyone to have a second to breath on the court. Smart has this innate aggression in his game.

Smart maybe who Smart is. But he maybe much more.

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