Boston Celtics: Three Improvements Marcus Smart Can Make Next Season

For the Boston Celtics players, the NBA off season is all about improvement. Here we take a look at three ways that fifth-year guard Marcus Smart can improve heading into the season.

 [Editor’s Note: This article is the fifth installment in a series of posts we will run here at Hardwood Houdini as the Boston Celtics prepare for the upcoming season.

In this series, we will detail three improvements that every Boston Celtics player could make this season in order to reach another step in his career and make the team better. Here are the articles in the series we have already run:

Can Semi Ojeleye gain confidence in his shot?

Can Aron Baynes build on his postseason shooting success?

How Terry Rozier will take the next step as a point guard

Will Guerschon Yabusele find a role with Boston?]

Marcus Smart

When the Boston Celtics selected Marcus Smart with the sixth overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, they felt confident in the player that would soon become an integral piece of the franchise’s rebuilding process. The fiery point guard out of Oklahoma State wasted no time forming his identity with the team as a tough-nosed, bull-headed competitor. Smart’s bulldog mentality resonated with the team’s fan base, as he quickly became a fan favorite.

While the effort and passion were immediately apparent from day one, the production on the court was not. The original expectation was to slot Smart in as a starter after Rajon Rondo’s departure left a void at the point guard spot. It quickly became apparent that this was not to be.

While the defensive ability was undoubtedly there, the offensive part of his game lagged significantly behind. For his rookie season, Smart managed 7.8 points per game in 67 regular season appearances (38 starts) while seeing 27 minutes of floor time per contest.

Fast forward four years and Marcus Smart has fully established himself as the sixth man of this Celtics squad moving forward. He has gained absolute trust and total respect from both his teammates and coaching staff due to an unmatchable effort and a can-do attitude. Most would call Smart the ‘heart and soul’ of this Celtics team. The ‘glue guy’, if you will.

Marcus Smart is highly regarded amongst his peers as an elite on-ball defender, capable of matching up with guys a foot taller than him. A typical possession in his world consists of picking up the opposition’s point guard full court, switching onto a 6-foot-9 forward, and finishing it up by ripping down a big-time board over a 7-footer.

Nobody questions Smart’s defensive capabilities. It is the sheer lack of ability on the offensive side of the ball that makes him one of the NBA’s most unique and oft-times frustrating individuals. This aspect of his game is what has haunted Smart his whole career. If Marcus can overcome the multitude of deficiencies in his offensive game, he will be well on his way to unlocking his full potential as a highly productive two-way talent.

1) Shooting

The biggest area of concern in Marcus Smart’s game is, and always has been, shooting. Just how bad is Smart at converting jump shots? Historically bad.

In fact, Smart is currently the worst shooter among all active players in the league, with a career field goal percentage of just 36%. This also makes him the 66th-worst shooter in league history, folks. The verdict is in on Marcus Smart, and the guy is guilty of enough bricks to build a brick house.

The long ball has always been particularly troublesome for Smart. He is shooting 29 percent from three for his career, which makes the four-year guard the only player in NBA history to connect on under 30 percent of three-point shots attempted. Because of this, Marcus currently holds the title as the worst 3-point shooter in pro basketball history amongst qualified players.

Unfortunately for Smart, his accuracy from the field has only gotten worse as his career has progressed. His career high in field goal percentage (36.7%), effective field goal percentage (46%), and 3-point percentage (33.5%) all occurred his rookie season.

He finished his fourth season as a pro with a 30 percent 3-point percentage and a 44 percent effective field goal percentage. There is clearly significant room for improvement in this aspect of Smart’s game; the only question is- can he make the adjustments necessary?

The one ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy marsh of a shot is his free throw shooting. By looking at a basketball player’s ability to knock down free throws, it can give the observer a glimpse into the potential root cause of any abnormalities in the shooting form that could be the leading factor in a poor shot. With free throws, it all comes down to mechanics. Consistency in a player’s shooting form translates to a high percentage at the line, and vice versa.

The curious thing about Marcus Smart is that he is actually a respectable shooter at the charity stripe. His career 75 percent conversion rate at the line indicates that, at least mechanically, his shot has some promise.

The first step in a long line of steps that can turn Boston’s sixth man into an everyday starter begins with the improvement of his shooting. Yes, he more than makes up for the deficiency in that department with his otherworldly defense.

But, just for a moment, sit back and imagine a world where Marcus Smart knocks down 40 percent of his 3-point attempts. Heck, even 35 percent would open up his game and allow some breathing room for other scoring opportunities.

2) Shot Selection & Decision Making

It is feasible to say that Marcus Smart’s issues stem from the fact that he is a center in a point guard’s body. A center that wants to shoot like a shooting guard, but converts at the rate of a traditional big man.

What we have learned thus far is that Marcus Smart is a poor shooter. Up to this point in his career, that is an open and shut case. His shot selection has certainly not done him any favors, either.

Through four NBA seasons, a whopping 48% of his shots came from downtown. As mentioned previously, 29 percent of those attempts see the bottom of the net. From anywhere within the arc, he is shooting a significantly better 42 percent, with a 52 percent conversion rate within 3 feet.

Simply put, until Marcus can provide a consistent outside shot, taking less 3’s in favor of 2’s would be the most beneficial choice for both him and the team.

The puzzling thing is- despite these horrific numbers–the guy exudes confidence. He simply believes that the next shot will go in, whether he’s 4-for-4 or 0-for-10. On the surface, it’s great that he trusts his abilities and believes in himself. This can create an illusion of a threat, fooling the defense into overreacting, even if he is the worst shooter in the league. This comes as a blessing and a curse, though.

While Marcus has no problem hoisting up a ton of shots, it comes as a detriment to the team when they are consistently missing the mark. Particularly with a loaded roster like Boston’s. Oftentimes, he avoids making the extra pass to throw up a three or play isolation hero ball when there’s a better option on the floor. Take this play, for example.

In the pivotal final moments of this match up with the Lakers last season, we see Marcus pass on at least four options that would have better positioned the team to win the contest.

Initially, he had Rozier on the outlet off of the rebound. As he crossed half court he had both Irving and Tatum trailing at the left arc and Rozier in the right corner. All of whom are statistically far superior shooters than Smart. Instead of making any of those passes, he tosses up a prayer three as time expires.

With the return of Hayward there will be plenty of preferred scoring options that will get passed up if Smart continues shooting at the rate he does. If Smart took less shots and passed more often, there’s a good chance the offense would open up.

To his credit, the guy did average 4.8 assists per game, good for second on the roster behind Kyrie Irving. If Marcus can prove that he has improved his shot, then by all means let it fly. Until then, pass first, shoot second should be on the forefront of his mind.

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.