Aggressive Smart In Driver's Seat

by **bobheckler** Tue Jul 07, 2015 11:43 am

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/celtics/post/_/id/4719780/jazz-100-celtics-82-aggressive-smart-in-drivers-seat

Jazz 100, Celtics 82: Aggressive Smart in driver's seat
8h

Aggressive Smart In Driver's Seat Bos_a_smart_b2_1296x518

AP Photo/Rick Bowmer

Chris Forsberg, ESPN Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY -- The Boston Celtics threw second-year guard Marcus Smart the keys to the car this offseason.

A year after spending most of his time in the passenger seat with learner's permit in hand and safely buckled while Evan Turner assumed much of the ballhandling chores, the Celtics encouraged Smart to use summer league to increase his comfort level with running the offense and attacking the basket.

Smart responded Monday by flooring the gas pedal and ramming everything in front of him while putting up a game-high 26 points to go along with eight assists, five rebounds, two steals and two turnovers in 30 minutes during a 100-82 loss to the host Utah Jazz on Monday at Energy Solutions Arena.

Smart didn't have a great shooting night -- he finished 6-of-20 overall, missing eight of the 10 3-pointers he hoisted -- but he relentlessly attacked the basket, which resulted in shooting 13 free throws (he made 12).

Smart was coy on how he's improved as a driver. Asked about the keys to getting to the hoop, Smart said, "Just picking when and where to go. Especially with my size, picking my spots -- the right spots."

Does he feel more comfortable?

"Definitely. My ankle's feeling better. I can explode a little bit more off of it. So I can get to the rim a little bit easier now."

He proved it with a one-handed dunk during a transition opportunity on Monday. But Smart spent most of the night simply hurtling at familiar rival Dante Exum or anybody else who put themselves in front of the basket.

"He's going to be the primary ball handler for a lot of these games and he was not that for us during the regular season," said Celtics assistant coach Jay Larranaga, who is in charge of the summer squad in Utah. "Being able to balance handling the ball, attacking, getting the team into offense, knowing when to score and knowing when to pass -- that's a learning process. And you're playing against very high-level athletes that are trying to stop you from doing that. I thought it was a good first day for him. We'll watch the tape and we'll try to help him continue to learn. It's all about just timing and just finding your spots."

The Celtics have a plan to maximize these game reps with Smart.

"I'm trying to get to the basket a little bit more," Smart said. "I settled a little bit more this game. I need to do a better job of getting my teammates [involved]. I took a lot of tough shots [Monday]. So it's just something, you watch film, you analyze it, you move on."

Smart was his typical blur of activity for Monday's game, particularly on the defensive end. He struggled at times to limit Exum, who put up 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting and shot 10 free throws, but Smart routinely went to the floor chasing loose balls and constantly embraced contact.

So much so that Smart earned a flagrant foul in the fourth quarter. Yes, even in meaningless games, Smart doesn't know how to downshift.

ROOKIE MONSTER

The Celtics utilized all four of their rookies Monday. Some early impressions:

• Terry Rozier: The 16th overall pick has quickly (and appropriately) developed a reputation as one of the fastest players on the roster. He needs to harness that speed and improve his decision-making, but his quickness can be a difference-maker.

• R.J. Hunter: The 28th overall pick, whose father, Ron, was in the crowd at Energy Solutions Arena, missed all five of the shots he took, including a trio of 3-pointers.

• Jordan Mickey: The 33rd overall pick showed that he can still protect the rim while going up against bigger bodies. Mickey was one of the bright spots on the day with his three blocks and an ultra-efficient 16-point outing on 7-of-8 shooting.

• Marcus Thornton: The 45th overall pick got five minutes of action, but missed the only shot he took.

IVERSON EXPLORING OPTIONS OVER-C'S

Colton Iverson admitted last week that he faced long odds to make Boston's 15-man roster. He held out hope that he'd be able to showcase his improvements this summer and compete for a spot, but instead he'll pursue Plan B.

Iverson was not with the team for its summer league opener on Monday night and has been replaced on the active roster by Ralph Sampson III.

Larranaga wouldn't reveal when Iverson departed, but after the Celtics got outrebounded 51-31 in Monday's loss, he quipped, "We miss him. We could have used him on the glass [Monday] for sure. We could have used that big body."

LOOSE BALLS

In addition to Sampson, the following players earned DNPs for Game 1: Malcolm Miller, Corey Walden, and Phil Pressey. Walden had been battling a hamstring injury, while Pressey did not dress and sat with coaching staff for the game. ... Asked if Pressey might play in Tuesday's Game 2, Larranaga offered, "I gotta check with Danny [Ainge] and Brad [Stevens]. Hopefully. We would love to have Phil out there; he's a very good player." ... James Young had a quiet summer debut. He got going a bit late, but finished with 12 points on 4-of-11 shooting with three rebounds. On the positive side, Young was more active chasing loose balls and going to the floor. He's made strides defensively, but there's still work to be done. Said Smart of Young: "We felt like we could get him going a little bit [in the second half], and he knocked down some key shots. But what was really impressive to not only us but the coaches was his defense. He was diving on the floor, he was getting after balls and everything. So we didn't see much of that last year from James, so that's real big on his part." ... C.J. Fair started for Boston and wasn't afraid to get up shots. He took 10 over 24 minutes and finished 12 points.

bob
MY NOTE: I don't like Smart taking outside shots but he attacked the rim a lot last night and I did like that. His defensive instincts are excellent. He blows up plays like crazy. Fantastic feel for passing lanes and the timing for shooting them. He said he intends to go the basket more. Good, Marcus, good. His reflexive head-over-heels dive for a loose ball last night was pure Rodman.

Contrary to what some other poster said I thought Rozier's speed was on display last night. He made some bad decisions, but that's not speed so much as judgment. Whether he has the IQ to minimize those brain farts remains to be seen, of course.

If the worst thing about Hunter's game last night was his shooting, and it was, he should be ok because his ability to shoot isn't going to just disappear.

Ralph Sampson III (yes, he is the son of that Ralph Sampson) is 6'11", 240#. He's 25 years old. How the hell can a 6'11", 250# son of a former NBA player not make a club? Makes me wonder. Well, with Iverson gone back to Europe he'll get a look.

I have NO idea what Larranagga was talking about when he spoke of Young's defense, none, and with Gigi not being re-signed (no matter what I think) I really, really want James Young to succeed.

.

by **Sam** Tue Jul 07, 2015 2:05 pm

I'm really excited about the advent of Ralph Sampson III. In a four-year college career, he averaged about 8 points, 6 rebounds and a couple of blocks per game in about 24 mpg. But where he really shone was in his Maine Red Claws career (2012-13. In 4 games, he actually averaged 3/4 of a block per game while scoring zero points with zero rebounds. But, projected to a per-36-minutes basis, those figures mushroom to......oh, never mind. Keep looking, Danny.

Sam

by **rambone** Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:41 am

This seems very important. I think we've got a franchise player on our hands:

Smart finally healing from ankle injury
July 7, 2015 · 10:28PM

SALT LAKE CITY — The official word is that Marcus Smart missed 10 Celtics games last season with a sprained left ankle, from Nov. 8 through Dec. 2, and two more with a strained Achilles’ tendon in the same leg in what was probably a related injury.

Lies, all lies.

The truth as Smart sees it, the truth as he looks back in reflection, is that the ankle injury cost him essentially his 2014-15, even as he made 67 appearances in the regular season and four more in the first-round sweep at the hands of the Cavaliers, even as he played well enough to make second-team All-Rookie.

The injury was that bad, Smart says as his second season officially begins with the Celtics at the Utah Jazz Summer League. It was worse than he let on at the time.

“It was,” Smart said Tuesday night after resting as Boston lost to the 76ers 76-62 at EnergySolutions Arena. “I had times when I would wake up in the morning and could barely walk out of bed. I would get to the gym three or four hours before practice or before a game just to get it warmed up and make it bearable for me to actually get out there and run up and down on it. If you watch carefully you can kind of see it. I still played with a little limp. I just tried not to show it.

“I couldn’t really drive the ball. Everybody wondered why I wasn’t driving the ball, why I was taking so many (outside) shots. I couldn’t really explode and get where I wanted to go. Being a right-handed player, you jump off your left foot. Not being able to do that, it kind of stopped me from being able to do the things that I like to do. On the defensive end it slowed me down a little bit. My physicality made up for it, though.”

Smart estimated he played months at about 60 percent strength in the leg and was never better than the 75 percent late in the season and into the playoffs. The ankle injury in the fifth game of the season led to a three-week layoff, then to problems with the Achilles’ tendon, then to adversity until the very end.

“The whole season,” he said. “It bothered me the whole season while I was playing.”

It hurt for a month after the season ended. The lower left leg is feeling better now, he reports, with plans to continue to play in the summer league after logging 30 minutes in the opener Monday against the Jazz, and bigger plans for fall: reminding the Celtics why they used the No. 6 pick to get him and the rest of the league how good he can be as an athletic, physical point guard at 6-4 and 220 pounds.

“Just go out there and show I can get to the rim, I can get where I want to go when I’m healthy,” Smart said. “I could be a special player in this league, especially if I’m healthy and I keep working.”

by **rambone** Thu Jul 09, 2015 10:54 am

Summer League scouting report

UTAH JAZZ 100, BOSTON CELTICS 82

MARCUS SMART (30 min): 26 pts (6-20 FG, 2-10 3P, 12-13 FT), 8 ast (2 to), 5 reb, 2 stl, 1 blk

PROS

+ Getting to the rim: Using his strength to get to the basket and draw fouls more often
+ Court savvy: Drawing fouls, posting up smaller defenders, etc.
+ Elite defender: Stopped quick guards Dante Exum and Bryce Cotton in their tracks
+ Pick and roll: Improved orchestration of game's most important offensive play
+ Grit: Constantly fighting for position and not afraid of contact on both ends
+ Court vision: Improved decision-making on interior passes
+ Defensive rebounding: Size and strength helps assist bigs on the glass

CONS

-- Shot selection: Way too many contested long 2's and 3's early in the shot clock
-- Shooting form: Still doesn't square up his feet enough
-- Gambler: Can be beat backdoor defensively off the ball
-- Reputation: Seemingly inadvertent elbow on Jack Cooley earned a flagrant foul

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:33 pm

Go Marcus

If he can stay healthy, he has the ability to work his tail off and improve and improve.

Hes gonna be our Russell Westbrook, a physical presence at the point.

I think he can play point, had some great passes today. We know he can defend, as a point he can overpower so many other PG's on offense.

by **rambone** Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:46 pm

by **rambone** Thu Jul 09, 2015 11:48 pm

[quote="rambone"]

This seems very important. I think we've got a franchise player on our hands

doesn't sound as crazy today, does it?

by **cowens/oldschool** Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:02 am

No I think he is gonna improve and improve, once he gets it most PG's are gonna dread going up against him, kid is built like a brick shit house, like an MMA fighter.

wish Sully had this kids work ethic.

by **bobheckler** Fri Jul 10, 2015 12:20 am

cowens/oldschool wrote:No I think he is gonna improve and improve, once he gets it most PG's are gonna dread going up against him, kid is built like a brick shit house, like an MMA fighter.

wish Sully had this kids work ethic.

Wish Sully had this kid's diet.

.

by **Sam** Fri Jul 10, 2015 1:48 am

Marcus is very adept at taking advantage of openings with excellent passes. To become a great floor general, he'll have do more creation of openings. Based on last night's game, it would be difficult to bet against him. For those who agonize over the lack of stars on the Celtics team, Marcus could be a nice example of a star in development. Of course, we shouldn't go crazy over Summer League performances. But so far so good.

Sam

by **wide clyde** Fri Jul 10, 2015 8:14 am

I would like to point out the huge improvements that Smart has seemingly made from his performance in last year's summer league and this year's summer league. He is a very changed player in every possible way and all in a positive way.

Sure, you can say that he is now an NBA second year guy and that he is playing against summer league competition, but his improvements say a lot about him as a developing player. He very apparently has made many changes to his game. He has either figured out many things that he did not have figured out last year on his own or has done a great job listening to his coaches, but I give him tons of credit either way.

The points, assists, etc in the summer league mean nothing, but his willingness to improve say a lot about this kid and his NBA future. Too bad our other second year summer league guy has not paid similar attention and done the same work.

by **Sam** Sat Jul 11, 2015 4:07 am

Clyde,

I'm even waffling a tad in my assessment that he'll never be a true floor general. I've seen no indication of it yet, but the very desire and work ethic you reference suggest that nothing is completely impossible about this kid.

So, while I'll probably not be moderating my stance any time soon about his potential as a floor general, I intend to keep an open mind over time.

Sam

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