Grant Hill even forgetting that Smart was a PG in college. “He’s learning this position…” One of five finalists for the Cousy Award. Sure, shooting guard at times at OSU, but just a running pet peeve this idea that it’s foreign to Smart.
by Byiza
@Boston Celtics
15 Comments
Smart was a problem on and off the court at OSU
It sounds like he’s defending Smart and saying he was a pg even if he played a little sg?
Im not the biggest Marcus Smart fan but it was always obvious playing point was a better fit. Hes a much better initiator and pick and roll player than he was a a spot up shooter ar the 2.
Regardless of how long he has played the 1 (I’m sure he was running the offense a clear #1 in high school), it still takes time to go from proficient to master as an NBA point guard especially given that he wasn’t asked to heavily playmake for large sections of his pro career,
I got to see Marcus play while he was at OSU, he was very obviously a point guard back then. I agree, the SG narrative makes no sense.
We all know where the narrative came from, he used to shoot too much when his %s were bad. It’s not that confusing. He’s an NBA point guard now and he’s proven he’s good at it.
People who don’t watch Marcus night-to-night just dont understand
Idk what the context of the quote was or what Grant Hill knows but it’s not necessarily wrong to say that Smart hasn’t played much PG in the NBA.
He got to start at PG for like half of his rookie year before IT took over, then came off the bench for 3 years, then spent the next 3 years alternating between starting at SG when Kemba/Kyrie were healthy, starting at PG when they weren’t, and coming off the bench.
It wasn’t until last year that he got to start playing as the full-time starting PG.
In general it feels like a bunch of people in the media (especially players) have pushed this narrative that Smart being selfish was the thing holding the Celtics back, and they finally started playing good basketball once he took a backseat and became a “true point guard.”
I think that’s giant a crock of shit. Smart is roughly the same player he’s always been. The Jays were the ones who needed to learn how to pass the rock and get their teammates involved in the offense.
Carry.
just because you were a pg doesnt mean you know how to play pg. smart is definitely becoming better as a PG.
I went to one of Oklahoma State’s rivals for college, but admired Smart. He was so tough and athletic.
Well, he is still sort of learning the position after all these years. He really isn’t a natural PG.
Who gives a shit what anyone says. Ainge got a lot of grief for drafting him and Smart is just what this team needs
Exactly, always was a PG before he got to Boston and had to spend time with star PGs for so long that people forgot he was one to begin with