Marcus Smart Needs to Stay Aggressive
Marcus Smart has defined his very young career with defense. The Boston Celtics drafted him out of the lottery because they saw him as an NBA ready defender that would be a work in progress on offense. By those standards, Smart never disappointed. He was immediately a capable defender and he always found a away to impact the game on the defensive game because of his aggressiveness. The offense continued to be an issue of finding out his potential.
Smart has already built up a reputation as a player that will never let his opponent play with more energy than him and he has become the kind of defender that will exploit his opponent any time they let up in the slightest. Smart is always on guard and he is always ready to pounce. Smart has been one of the best players on the Celtics in stealing the ball but the impact he has goes beyond his own stats.
Smart’s on ball defense forces defenders to take risks and rush through their offense and that leads to bad decisions. Once the mistakes are made, that is where Smart’s aggressiveness either leads to a steal of his own or a great opportunity for one of his teammates to come away with the ball.
Smart’s aggressiveness is also a key factor in unforced turnovers. Even if Smart, or any else on the team, don’t get credit for a steal, Smart’s defensive activity puts players into hopeless situations where they have no options. Smart is just in his second year but he is already one of the most aggressive defenders in the league that is capable of bring out out the worst of his opponent, just ask Russell Westbrook.
The defensive intensity that he plays with has set the tone for the rest of the team. Other players like Jae Crowder also deserve a great deal of credit but Smart’s impact as a leader on the defensive end is why they always appear to have an advantage on 50/50 balls. Smart plays with a kind of intensity that puts him in great positions to force the defense into an error and that is where the agresiveness becomes essential.
It is not enough to put the opposing offense in that bad position because the aggressiveness is how he finishes the job and gives the Celtics another opportunity on the offensive end. For a team that still does not shoot the ball well enough, those extra opportunities are one of the most important aspects of their offensive game.
Smart’s aggressiveness pays off the most on the defensive end but that is how he plays in every phase. Last season, Smart was tentative on offense. He was never a ball handler and never one of the primary shooting options. This season, Smart is taking two more shot attempts per game and is playing with the ball in his hands a lot more. The unfortunate part is Smart has struggled on that end this year. His overall shooting percentage is down to 35.9% and his three point percentage is an unspeakable 27.8%.
The biggest difference this season is Brad Stevens has clearly put a lot more emphasis in getting Smart involved on the offensive end. Playing on the second unit has allowed him to be more of a ball handler but the biggest difference has been his aggressiveness shooting the ball.
Smart has been one of the worst three point shooters in the league this year but he is still taking 4.2 attempts per game, which is some of the highest volume on the Celtics. Stevens appears to have given Smart the green light on three point shooting and he has never looked back. Smart has gone through some horrendously bad streaks this year but that has never phased him. Smart has proven that he will not be bothered by his misses and he will stay true to his game by being as aggressive on offense as he is on defense.
That aggressiveness did hurt the Celtics when he was shooting his poorest but it has payed dividends during this recent 9-1 stretch. Not only has Smart put sub 20% shooting behind him but he has been even better than Kelly Olynyk during these past 10 games and his percentage over that time approaches 40%.
Smart has realized that his offensive game is still a work in progress and because of that he never lets his struggles impact his development. Smart still has a tremendous amount of work to do on the offensive end but he will remain dedicated to focusing on putting absolutely everything he has into his game on both ends of the floor. Smart knows he can become a much better three point shooter and the best way to improve is not letting the misses impact his aggressiveness.
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One of the best things Smart has to offer the Celtics is that aggressiveness. He will be valuable as long as he plays that way on defense but that will pay off even more on the offensive end down the line. The Celtics play with the kind of pace and ball movement where the offense suffers when players are passing up great shot opportunities. That will never be a worry with Smart. He has made it clear that as long as he has the green light from Stevens he will remain one of the most aggressiveness three point shooters on the team.