Boston Celtics: Three Improvements Marcus Smart Can Make Next Season

3) Turnovers

There are 2 stats that Marcus Smart led the entire team in last season. The first (as a testament to his phenomenal defense) was steals (1.3pg).

The second? Turnovers.

Smart’s 2.4 turnovers per game for the ’17-’18 season lands in the top 40 among all active players.

Granted, turnovers do come with the job as a point guard. Smart carried most of the floor general duties while on the court last season, so a high turnover rate isn’t surprising. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that he could improve in this area of his game.

Take Terry Rozier, for example. He played just 4 minutes per game less than Smart last season but finished averaging 1 turnover per contest. The two are both ball-demanding guys that play a similar amount of time with the ball in their hands, yet Rozier takes significantly better care of the rock.

The world knows Smart plays like a man on fire on the defensive side of the court. He just needs to learn to slow it down on the offensive end, and these numbers should decline moving forward. With a world-class coaching staff at his disposal, coupled with a coachable personality, Smart will have every opportunity to better himself in the turnover department.

As the team’s sixth man for the foreseeable future, Smart has a lot of responsibility resting on his shoulders. As a high-energy talent devoted entirely to the game of basketball, he already does a fantastic job of setting the tone off the bench.

He is  debatably the team’s top defender (sorry Al) and serves as an above average passer. If (and it’s a big if) he can stabilize his jumper while taking better shot, and cut down on the turnovers, he could easily elevate his game to a whole new level.

Perhaps a fresh contract and championship level aspirations will be enough to motivate Smart to make strides towards becoming a more complete two-way player.