One thing every Celtics fan can agree on is Marcus Smart is a bad shooter. So far this season, he has a 26.7 Field Goal Percentage, which is below his career average of 35%. With that percentage, some could argue Smart is the worst shooter in the NBA. With all that said, he needs to continue shooting.
Marcus Smart a Key Piece of the Boston Celtics Offense
In Monday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, the Celtics were able to come away with their 16th consecutive win. Kyrie Irving had an outstanding game, scoring a season high 47 points with 6 assists and 3 rebounds. He is not the only reason the Celtics came away with the win, though. Smart revitalized the team, starting the come-back run.
Marcus Smart Takes Over
With just over four minutes left in the game and the Celtics trailing by 3, Smart stole the ball from the Maverick offense, took the ball up the court, and lobbed an alley-oop pass to rookie Jayson Tatum, giving the Celtics momentum. With three minutes left and the Celtics down by 6, Smart made an insane hustle play, leaping out of bounds to get the ball to Irving, who drilled a deep three.
Down to about a minute and a half left with the Celtics trailing by 5, Tatum passed the ball to Smart a few feet behind the three-point line. The Maverick defense sagged back, almost giving him the shot, as he had gone 2-14 prior. Smart took the shot and drilled it, bringing the game back to a one possession game. The Celtics then worked as a team to tie the game and eventually win in overtime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6dLkV9lhOs
Conclusion
Overall, yes, Smart is a horrible shooter, but come clutch time he is reliable. If he has a poor shooting performance for most of the game, teams will lay off of him and put less pressure on Smart when he shoots. This leaves Smart with open shots, which come clutch time, he will knock down. The root of Smart’s shooting “problem” is all mental. A lot of shooting is confidence, and when he misses the first shot he takes in a game, he tends to shoot poorly the rest of the night.
If Smart can figure out how to remain calm and confident when shooting, he will become a beast of a player, as he is already a tremendous defensive threat. When the Celtics lost defensive superstar Avery Bradley, Smart stepped up as the best defensive player on the Celtics. His hype, hustle, and energy are unmatched by anyone.
The Celtics take on the Miami Heat on Wednesday night, looking for their 17th consecutive win. For updates and play-by-play analysis, follow @LastWordCeltics on twitter.
Keep Shooting, Marcus.
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