Summer Quandaries 16: Smart Setback Will Ripple

http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2015/08/sq16-smart-setback-will-ripple.html




SQ16 Smart Setback Will Ripple

By Lee Lauderdale








Sadly, I have a bit of personal experience from which to offer my insights. In a city league game (in which I played center with my full 5'11” since we only had 5 players) I got my pinkie finger dislocated (second knuckle). As I stared down at my bone riding up over the next bone up, I mustered the wherewithal to try to pull it down into place (remember only 5 players, and no center). Unfortunately my first effort resulted in a slip and, lacking the bravery to try again, I turned to my best friend on the team and asked him to try. He seemed to have no problem faced with a situation that made me extremely queasy, and quickly pulled the bone into place. Now this was only one knuckle, on the pinkie finger on my non-shooting hand, and didn't break through the skin—I finished the game (only 5 players) and just taped it the next few weeks. Hurt? Yes, like a son of a gun, but less than a bad ankle sprain and not any more than a badly jammed thumb. For Smart there are a whole series of complicating factors.

This is Smart's dominant hand, and the fingers are the pointer and middle which are the principal guide and propulsion digits on the shooting hand; not to mention that this is his primary dribbling and passing hand. This month-plus forced vacation comes in a summer when Marcus is hoping to make the leap from promising but flawed player to solid veteran leader. That shaky outside shot that he was trying to improve, the loose ball-handling he was trying to tighten up, the spotty decision making he was trying to solidify—none of these are going to improve while he waits for his injuries to heal (well, maybe the decision making will be improved with about a billion hours reviewing tapes). With Smart only returning to basketball related activities later this month, by the opening of camp all these facets in such need of improvement will be lucky to return to the level he brought to this year's Summer Leagues. He'll have to work on getting back the mobility and strength in his hand before he can even knock the rust off; and taking it to the next level will only be getting started by the time they fly to Spain. Rotten luck for both Smart and his team which will be depending on Marcus to lead the improvement hoped for this season. For those of us hoping for internal improvement to bring some of the above-average talent to the team, this is a disappointing setback indeed.

Back to the realm of personal experiences, for me, in those days deep into my poverty stage and hence without treatment other than ibuprofen, ice, rubbing it, and tape, the swelling and pain lasted for months; and for years even a slight blow caused more pain and swelling. Years later when I was injured while working at the insane asylum (another bizarre and much longer story), they X-rayed the digit and found small bone chips on either side of the joint. I feel pretty safe in saying that Smart is getting better medical care than I did, and that his rehabilitation period will be shorter. Now, 45 years later, I have no problems with that joint (although several others laid waste to by basketball do alert me to changes in barometric pressure, and constantly remind me of the dues I paid for my decades of gym ball) so the long term prospects are probably pretty positive.

Seems to me that the Celtics are about due a break, and good break. All lottery movements have been in the wrong direction yielding later picks. As for rookies, I think Avery Bradley missed every summer league and off season during his rookie contract, Sullinger has missed most summer development since he was drafted, James Young has missed most of each summer and summer league since he arrived, Kelly Olynyk sacrificed one summer to planar fasciitis, and now Marcus Smart! Either Lucky the Leprechaun needs to stop taking summers off, or we need to rename July and August to Greenluck 1 and Greenluck 2. Is the parquet such a natural advantage that the powers that be need to set up other hurdles in order to level the playing field?

Now the effects of Smart's injury don't stop with him. Danny and Brad may decide to keep Evan Turner's ball handling around longer due to Smart's progress being retarded. Rozier may actually get more run in preseason if Smart isn't ready to go at the start of camp. If Rozier does make his way into the rotation, does that prejudice the choice at backup shooting guard against R. J. Hunter becoming a second rookie in the lineup? If Turner is used as the backup SG, does that change the backup for Jae Crowder at small forward? If Perry Jones makes the squad, does this ripple then open up minutes for him at SF? On the other hand if Jerebko is then used almost exclusively at small forward, what does that then do to the power forward log jam?

The ankle bone is connected to the shin bone,
the shin bone is connected to the knee bone,
the knee bone is connected to the thigh bone,
and the thigh bone is connected to the hip bone.

Thus is has always been in the NBA. Seldom, though, is the trickle down more obvious, or move so easily from position to position (Although this shouldn't come as any big surprise considering the increasingly position-less NBA.

Only 50 days to camp.



bob
MY NOTE:  Yes, it might mean that Rozier and Hunter get a few more minutes in pre-season, although Smart is supposed to be cleared within a week or two.  I put absolutely no faith or credit in any prediction by the Celtics as to when injured players will be back but this might be an occasion where I might cut them some slack since those games don't count and non-rotation and bench players are given more minutes in a Darwinian basketball octagon, so there's no advantage to them lying.  The worst that might happen is that we might get off to a slower start to the season than we might otherwise since Smart will be getting his timing back.  His shot isn't a centerpiece to his game, so I'm not that concerned about the damage to his progress by not getting his reps in.

His underlying point about ripples is a good one.  It will be interesting to see how that goes (not that we'll actually see something before it happens) but, while I think EVERYBODY is available, I don't see Turner as being the first player that will be baiting the hook.  If Turner starts because of Smart's injury, then Crowder will come off the bench, which is where I want him to be.  So, if anything, I could see where Smart's injury could be beneficial because it burns Crowder into the slot I think he should be in.  Since I don't see James Young sucking up Smart's available minutes (cue the laugh track) that means that PJ3 and Young will be battling for the remaining minutes at the back up SF position after Crowder has enjoyed the lion's share.  Where the glaring weakness will become obvious is that we don't have any big SGs, even Smart is only 6'4", that's another reason why Turner will be starting.  In an ironic twist, James Young's best chance to make the cut is precisely because of Smart's injury IF Brad doesn't see things the same way I do and DOES give Young Smart's minutes at SG.  I don't see James Young doing well there, but I hope I'm wrong, I truly do because if he can cut it then we have a nice-sized 6'6" SG and not an undersized SF.  Otherwise, if it's him vs 6'11" Perry Jones III, a player who has started in the NBA and did well when he did, I think Young is doomed. PJ3 has shown he can and will step up when given the opportunity to shine, Young has yet to.

I'm glad Lee agrees with me about the league becoming increasingly position-less.  The more it becomes that the less glaring some of our holes will be.  A coach like Brad, who lives for Swiss Army Knives, is a better person running the show than Doc.


.

There are arguments for Turner to start at any of three positions—PG, SG, SF. Shot creation, height, and offense in that order. That being the case, It's difficult to foresee him being left out of the starting lineup.

As for Smart, it seems Brad's determined to force-fit Marcus into the lead PG role. I don't agree. But, if it comes down to Brad versus me in setting the starting lineup, we all know which way that decision will go.

Sam