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Marcus Smart’s Improved Shooting Could Make Him An All-Star In The Coming Years

By Stephen Varnum

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Now I know what you are thinking…we traded away all of our All-Star caliber players! Well, you are half-right.  Danny Ainge and co. did trade away Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green, but we still have some good, young talent on this roster that could make the All-Star team in the future.  And I’m not the only guy that thinks so…

Jan 19, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) dribbles the ball during second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

ESPN’s NBA Insider Chad Ford answered some fan questions in a brief web chat earlier this week.  Here is Ford’s response when asked about the improved shooting of Marcus Smart:

"We are talking about a pretty small sample size here. I’m not sure anyone is ready to call Marcus Smart the next Ray Allen. However, where he’s really stood out to me is defensively. We knew this during the draft, but it’s played out immediately in the NBA. Smart looks like a good bet to win Defensive Player of the Year someday. If he can shoot a respectable 37% or higher from 3? He’s going to be an All-Star in the NBA for years."

Now based on last night’s performance, zero points and two assists in 27 minutes, you wouldn’t say the guy is a future HOF or anything.  But, there are always growing pains with a young point guard.  Take a look at some of these guys’ rookie numbers –

[table id=20 /]

And most of those guys are not the defender Marcus Smart is.  No matter what he puts up offensively, he has been a stout defender on the Boston Celtics, and I would label him as our second best defensive player only to Avery Bradley.  When Smart is starting, we may have the best defensive backcourt in the NBA.  I mean take a look at this impressive defensive sequence for a rookie –

As far as his three-point accuracy goes, Smart currently sits at 36.5 percent for the early part of his first season.  Not bad, and definitely on pace according to the statistics from those All-Stars in the table above.  And even a better case for Marcus is that since December 8th, he’s shooting 42.6 percent, which ranks top 10 in the league during that stretch.

The point is, is that he isn’t an All-Star yet, but he is right on pace like many of the other All-Star point guards we have in this league.  Give Marcus a shot, because I agree with Chad Ford, this guy has future All-Star all over him!

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