In a very congested battle for playoff position in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics are currently eighth. Brad Stevens has had an incredibly challenging job of managing all of the depth on this roster. He has done well eliminating the likes of David Lee and Tyler Zeller out of the rotation as the season has progressed, but this team has yet to play to its full potential.

Getting to that higher level of play will be largely based on the progression of Marcus Smart and how Stevens can put him in the right spots on offense. His ugly shooting numbers are an immediate red flag, but he dealt with a knee injury early in the season and that is a likely cause for his poor conversion rate at the rim – 43% so far this season. 

His three-point shot has also fallen dramatically from last season – he is shooting 20% from behind the arc this season, the worst mark in the league among players who shoot more than 2 three-pointers per game. This number will trend upward as the season progresses – he converted 33% last season and he is still getting his legs back under him. Despite the severe lack of efficiency, Smart has been one of Boston’s more dynamic players this season.

Within Boston’s offense, Smart makes up for his lack of shooting with savvy cuts, an elite offensive rebounding pursuit, a bullying post game, and an improving ability to produce out of the pick-and-roll.  His ability in the pick-and-roll game has really been impressive compared to his rookie campaign. Last year he was a constant mid-range chucker when coming off the high screen, as the defense would drop their big back and dare him to shoot. Things are no different this season as defenses are playing him the same conservative way, but he has learned how to exploit this with a crafty in-between game. Check out this tough floater he converts over the outstretched arm of Steven Adams.

 

As a poor shooter, Smart will need the ball in his hands more often to maximize his game on offense. Unfortunately due to the redundant roster that Stevens has been handed, Smart usually finds himself playing in lineups where he is mostly off the ball. 

This isn’t necessarily bad – he has shown an impressive sense for when to cut when his defender sags off him, and playing off the ball allows him the crash the boards, where he is one of the best offensive rebounding guards in the league. But he is often finding himself playing alongside Evan Turner. In these lineups Smart will spot-up more so than handle the ball because in a vacuum he is a better shooter than Turner, although they are both horrible by statistical measures. Opposing defenders can sit way back against these lineups and wall off the paint because a Smart or Turner three-pointer is essentially worth .55 ppp (points per possession) and that is a success for the defense.

There are three Celtics that are capable of running an efficient pick-and-roll, and two of them are bad outside shooters. Isaiah Thomas presents the only capable spot-up option among the trio of Boston ball-handlers, but he can only play so many minutes.

Inserting Smart back into the starting lineup and bringing Avery Bradley off the bench seems like a lineup change that could potentially elevate this offense. Bradley was fantastic in his short stint coming off the bench in early November, and the Isaiah-Marcus backcourt never got a chance to feel itself out because of early injuries.

In theory, replacing a good shooter with a bad shooter should make an offense less efficient, but the added ball-handling of Smart could really take the burden off Thomas, who has a tendency to play “hero-ball” in many of the Celtics’ punch-less lineups. Bradley is a good shooter both in catch and shoot and off the dribble, but he has never been very effective running the pick-and-roll, showing a major tendency to pull up and shoot the midrange. He isn’t a great passer, and he rarely gets to the free-throw line. Both Bradley and Crowder can execute a solid drive on a close out, but neither can add the same element off the bounce that Smart potentially could.

Boston’s defense has been their stronghold this season and they thrive off forcing a bunch of turnovers. The defensive trio of Smart, Bradley, and Crowder is one of the best perimeter forces in the league and they also present Boston with the versatility to go small. Smart is a wide-bodied beast with the size and will to guard three positions (four on some nights). Watch him front and deny the post entry pass to Kristaps Porzingis, who is 7’3”.

 

Boston went on a run in that Knicks game when they went small, and it is no coincidence that their small-ball lineups have defended at a high level when deployed this season. The Celtics are incredible defending on a string and recovering for each other. They are frequent in making the right rotation, and they rarely leave their feet when closing out on shooters. It is crazy to think that they have maintained a top-5 defense without a legitimate rim-protector on the roster.

The on-ball defense of Smart has slipped marginally since last season – he isn’t getting over screens as easily and he is gambling for some steals and hopping out of rotation, leaving the defense in a fritz. Some reckless fouls late in games have really been costly, but he is just a young 21 years old and he will mature and learn from his mistakes as he progresses in the NBA. 

Smart plays with extreme intensity and grit. Everybody in the organization raves about his work ethic toward improving, and the universal hope is that he can at least become a league average three-point shooter. Kawhi Leonard was a bad shooter coming out of San Diego State, but the Spurs’ organization knew he had the drive and determination to work enough to become better. Leonard is now shooting 48% from behind the arc and is in the MVP race.

Surrounding a young, hard-working beast with a smart organization and a brilliant coach can lead to good things. In the words of Kevin Garnett, “You can’t teach the beast. It’s either in you or it isn’t. You can’t just go to the store and buy a 6-pack of beast.”