Marcus Smart’s post game has developed nicely in his third season
Depending on who you talk to, Marcus Smart is either a point guard or a wing. He was the former during his collegiate and high school years, but seems somewhat destined for the latter through his first two plus professional seasons. Ultimately, his exact positional distinction is not critically important. Smart is considered a perimeter player regardless.
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In reality Smart’s strengths, which currently center on strength, tenacity, and general defensive brilliance don’t lend themselves to a perimeter orientation. He lacks the elite quickness to blow past defenders and the elite shooting to make him a real threat as a kick out option. Those deficiencies create spacing issues, and decrease the level of stress opposing defensive experience all the way from game planning to execution.
Making the offense him with Smart on the court isn’t simple, but it’s not impossible. He’s an developing pick and roll ball handler, and an intelligent passer, traditionally valuable skills for a perimeter player, and he also has an unconventional weapon in his arsenal. The post up.
Of all players to play at least thirty games and average one or more post ups, Smart ranks ninth in points per possession and fifth in field goal percentage. The Celtics score on 53.3% of plays that run through Smart in the post, that’s the best mark on the team, and the tenth best in all of basketball.
It’s not surprising when you consider Smart’s physical stature. He has a distinct strength advantage against the majority of players that are tasked with defending him. In Boston’s most recent matchup with the Wizards, Smart used a post up to bowl straight through Brandon Jennings, drilling him with a shoulder in the chest, and finishing a wide open layup in the space it opened up. It’s not just guards that are susceptible either. Smart used the same exact move against a much larger player in Bojan Bogdanovic later in the game, hitting him low enough to knock him off balance and create some breathing room.
He can also use his quickness when teams counter with size. Smart’s off the bounce game may not be sufficient for consistently beating guards and wings, but it’s more than enough to trouble most bigs. Boston can let him attack those match ups off the dribble, and will even sometimes let him post regardless, opening up the potential for Smart to try out quick spins and counters. Those don’t always work, and Smart’s effectiveness down low is based on his ability to bully smaller players. The Celtics are wise to let him go after slower players starting outside the arc, and focus most of his post ups on more diminutive opponents.
This may seem like a lot of detail for a strategy that Boston doesn’t even utilize all that often. Smart only averages 1.3 post ups per game. That’s a small number, but it’s not a meaningless one. Smart is an extremely talented and versatile defender. Anything the Celtics can to do to squeeze out positive offensive contributions from him help to make the concept of playing Smart go from just tenable to desirable.
They’ve been experimenting with exactly what those things are all season long, and post ups have been one of the more successful options. They allow Smart to exploit mismatches, and force defenders to account for one more possibility when making split second decisions. Any cut Smart makes or screen he sets could turn into a surprise post up. Defending a cutter, a screener, and a player posting up all require different approaches. Smart’s competence in the post adds a bit of unpredictability to his game that his lack of shooting and dribble drive creativity eliminate.
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He may not be doing it in a particularly conventional way, but Smart is becoming a legitimate two-way player. The Celtics should do what they can to accentuate his strengths and foster that growth That might just mean a few more touches in the post.