Just shy of two weeks ago, I wrote an article discussing the pros and cons of Marcus Smart.
To recap, his defense both in the paint and on the perimeter is spectacular, but his shot choice and shot making ability seriously hinders a group that already has offensive struggles.
Starting off with his performance on Nov. 25 against the Indiana Pacers, Smart has been not only taking much smarter (pun intended) shots, but also making them.
In the three games leading up to his breakout game, the Celtics had match-ups against the Dallas Mavericks, Miami Heat, and Orlando Magic. In those affairs, Smart shot a total of 7-31 from the field, and 3-20 from downtown.
This was a tribute to his career-long offensive woes, and especially this season which has been one of the worst yet.
Veteran Al Horford reportedly sat down the 23-year-old and told him not to worry about the slump and since then, Smart’s production has been night and day.
Al Horford says he sat down with Marcus Smart last night and told him to relax, that everyone goes through shooting slumps. Smart broke out tonight.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) November 26, 2017
Whether or not this had anything to do with the turnaround is irrelevant. One game later, the Oklahoma State University product had a career night by dropping 23 points and six assists on 8-13 shooting against the Detroit Pistons. In the Celtic’s game against the Suns, Smart came off the bench and scored 13 points with seven assists, shooting 50 percent from the field.
Although he fell off against the Bucks, his overall offensive performance has been stellar as of recent.
Celtic’s fans should be ecstatic just to see that Smart has looked like a fantastic two-way player for four straight games, and hopefully things will continue to go upwards.
On the topic of Smart. check out this video from his YounGameChanger Foundation event that Prime Time attended.
