Smart, to me, has always been smaller, non-homicidal Draymond, and it makes a lot of sense to put him in the Draymond position of making plays on the short roll when Tatum is getting swarmed.
A Time to Worry: Celtics Postseason Concerns
- Thread starter lovegtm
- Start date
This team will go as far as Al Horford leads them. He's not anwhere near their best player anymore, h'd a reduced player even from last year, and he needs to pick and choose his spots. But he seems like the one guy who will step up at key moments and have the team follow him. Maybe he have 3 good series of picking the right spots.
I often refer to Marcus as a rich man's Rajon Rondo. He'll dazzle you with brilliance...and then later baffle you with bullshit...before dazzling you again.
+1
Foul Line/Short roll Smart is exactly where you want Marcus when Tatum gets doubled since Perimeter Smart doesn't punish the 4-3 advantage. Credit to CJM for that adjustment
I also loved the adjustment of Jaylen and Tatum bringing the ball up against whoever Dejounte wasn’t defending so Smart didn’t have to deal with Trae actually being a defensive nuisance to him advancing the ball. Smart still struggles in many aspects of the PH role but can get away with it on a team with other perimeter ballhandlers who are threats so they aren’t pressured bringing the ball upcourt.
You're right about not having Smart Initiate. The only defensive chops Trae owns are his head snaps, play-acting & foul grifting. Smart's physical play on both sides of the floor, makes it a 50/50 Marc Davis mood swing TO proposition.
I still stand by that TY is a bad match-up for Smart. Marcus will be much more in his habitat against Harden (& whatever the NYK/Miami throw at him)
No doubt on your final paragraph. Trae is the type of PG that Marcus has always struggled against in that role even at OKState.
Charlotte Kemba & Ish Smith before Trae...
remaining PGs that we'd be better off with White guarding: Stef, Maxey, Quickley, Fox
Smart would be on Brunson so not worried there. I sure hope we have to worry about the matchup with Fox if you know what I mean.
Whatever they've done against Maxey in the past, they should keep it up. His scoring averages (8.2 ppg, .417 TS%, 1.6 apg) are lower against Boston than against any other team. He scored fewer than 10 points just 7 times this year, 3 of which were against Boston.
Good pick-up, Maxey feels like their X factor.
Melton & McDaniel were nice pick-ups BUT I'm kind of glad Thybulle is gone, he seemed to give Tatum issues every other time they played.