Among point guards, his 5.7 assists per game finished 23rd, tied with Ball, who had 45 more overall. His 39.8% field goal percentage fit into the top-125. Smart’s 33% three-point percentage last year tied for 142nd in basketball last season. “Now entering his prime with an outside shot that remains up and down from year to year, Smart’s physical tenacity (and relatively unnoticed playmaking chops) still endears him to teammates and coaches, even when he’s a bit too overzealous with the jumper,” Michael Pina wrote for SI. How do you weigh Smart’s defense, which probably still ranks in the top quarter of the league at least, against his offense, which wouldn’t even sniff a top-100 list? These lists seem to weigh it heavily, given Smart’s borderline top-50 status in the league, which was top-40 in ESPN’s case last winter. That’s where these lists become difficult to parse out. Lonzo Ball also slides behind Smart at 57, who Boston arguably would’ve needed to trade Smart to acquire, along with Gordon Hayward (58), who nobody would’ve argued Smart ranked ahead of in Boston.Īll those players can score more efficiently than Smart. Jerami Grant, John Collins, and Clint Capela fall behind Smart on this list, which is hard to defend. ESPN’s list excludes the injured Kawhi Leonard and Jamal Murray, bumping Smart up two spots from what would otherwise be 51. As could offense-only guards like D’Angelo Russell, Caris LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie falling behind Smart. SI’s positioning of injury-impacted Klay Thompson, De’Andre Hunter, and Michael Porter Jr. The declines of players like Kevin Love, Kemba Walker and John Wall probably position Smart roughly where SI did, just below 60th in the league. Some forthcoming free agents like Deandre Ayton, Kevin Huerter, and Zach LaVine will most likely surpass that number and some who make more like Al Horford fell behind Smart in the NBA hierarchy during their current deals. Smart outperformed this contract, as evidenced in part by his bump in salary to $16.6 million next year, which currently lists 77th in the league next season. Only Ingles made the ESPN list (62), while Beasley (94), and Ingles (68) appeared in SI. Smart’s salary this season ($14.3 million) places him 98th in the league, around Malik Beasley, Thad Young, Patrick Beverley, and Joe Ingles. “Smart didn’t have another long playoff run to showcase his defensive impact.” “Given that Smart submitted virtually a statistical carbon copy of 2019-20, his drop seems to reflect worse health (he missed 24 games, primarily due to a February calf strain) and the Celtics’ step back as a team,” ESPN’s Kevin Pelton wrote. The Celtics, extending Smart on a four-year, $77.1 million deal in August, affirmed he’ll be a pillar player going forward as they ask him to become the team’s every night point rather than a jack-of-all-trades. This season we’ll find out if Smart’s closer to the 2020 or 2021 version of himself: All-Defense or streaky in his own end part of an NBA Finals contender or a cornerstone to a team just trying to sneak into the playoffs. Outside of Boston, opinions remain high on Smart, while acknowledging the difficulties he faced in 2020-21. As the two publications’ rankings moved closer towards each other - both touting the words heart and soul in their descriptions - something of a public consensus has formed on one of the more divisive figures even amongst the Celtics fanbase. Smart moved from 68 to 60 in Sports Illustrated’s annual list, while sliding from 37 to 49 in ESPN’s. He rounded out one of the best series of his career against the Nets in a role he’ll assume again this year with Kemba Walker now in New York.īut even with more minutes and responsibility, his value dropped in several pre-season rankings. By the end of the playoffs, he became the team’s starting point guard. Marcus Smart rose higher in the Celtics rotation last season.
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