is truly an anomaly.
An everyday NBA fan would observe Smart and be baffled at Celtics fan’s love for him. He’s a woeful shooter who appears to stall an offense with his countless misfires. Just look at his shooting stats.
Smart is shooting just 27% from both the field and 3-point line, and has a true shooting percentage of 39%. To put that in perspective, Lonzo Ball — who is currently being ridiculed for his shooting — has a field goal percentage of 30, 3-point percentage of 27 and a true shooting percentage of 36.
On top of this, Smart is turning the ball over a career-high 2.2 times a game giving him a 2.31 assist to turnover ratio.
The stats magnifying Smart’s offensive struggles range from points to offensive rating. So, with such a large array of offensive issues, how are the Celtics better with him on the court?
While Smart may struggle on one end of the court, he consistently posts a positive plus/minus
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score. For those who don’t know, the plus/minus stat is used to measure a player’s impact on the game. It’s equated by the overall change in score while the player is in the game. Therefore, the player must have a positive impact on their team to thrive in this category. Smart has done just that.
In just 4 games this season, Smart posted a negative plus/minus. He actually has had more double-digit plus scores (6) than he has had negative ones. Now, here’s the really odd stat: in the 3 games he achieved his highest plus/minus he has averaged 7.3 points, while shooting 26% from the field. This may cause you to question how it’s possible for Smart to consistently rank highly if he is struggling to that magnitude. The answer is Smart’s ability to do everything else.
When he enters a game, his first assignment is to defend the opposing team’s top offensive option. With Horford, Baynes and Theis thriving defensively, Smart is guarding more wings and guards than a season ago. Needless to say, he has been doing a fantastic job.
In recent weeks he’s helped hold Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozen, and Steph Curry to a combined 18-56 from the field. Couple this with his hard-nosed style of play and you have a recipe for success defensively. His ability to get lose balls and draw charges — a stat in which he ranked in the top 10 last season — routinely stalls opposing teams offenses.
Smart may not be the Celts best scorer, but he might just be their best facilitator. While Kyrie Irving may show off flasher passes and have a higher assist total, it’s Smart that moves the offense. He currently ranks in the top 50 in the NBA for potential assists, per NBA.com. This stat basically logs every assist that leads directly to a possession event such as a shot, foul, etc. In essence, this means that Smart may not rack up crazy assist numbers, but he is instrumental in the Celtics ball-movement.
However, Smart has been enjoying his best statical season as a passer as well. He’s currently averaging a career high in both assists (5.1) and assist percentage (25.4), which ranks 32nd in the league, per FOX Sports.
Next: Al Horford as an MVP Candidate
It’s truly fascinating to think that one of the worst historical shooters in NBA history can still have such a positive impact on his team. One can only imagine Smart’s value if he could become a consistent scoring threat..