Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big storyline. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
Though the Celtics coach’s faith in Smart took perhaps more time than expected to bear fruit, the latter has finally presented something tangible. In a season when another Celtic, Marcus Morris, has transformed his wild perimeter past into the most efficient shooting numbers on the team, Smart has raised his own 3-point shooting to fourth highest (36.6 percent) on the team.
“It’s a big part of development generally of anybody, right, is making sure that you’re learning where the best spots are — not just where there are spots,” said Stevens. “And he’s done a good job with that. I think those strides have helped him.”
If you think Marcus Smart shoots a lot of threes, he does.
Marcus is tenth on the team in two point attempts and essentially tied for fourth in three point attempts (he’s got 4.0 to Rozier’s 4.1). No player on the Celtics’ roster has a greater disparity between three point and two point attempts.
And Stevens’ comment about ‘learning where the best spots are’ as opposed to shooting from just anywhere is borne out by taking a quick peak at Marcus Smart’s shot selection year-over-year:
2018/19
2017/18 (charts from basketball-reference.com)
The most noticeable improvement in Smart’s shot selection is actually inside the three point line. Last year’s Smart was a confirmed chucker, hoisting up shots from pretty much anywhere on the court.
But notice his three point attempts, especially from the right elbow.
Notice how much more consistent the distance of his attempts is in 2018/19 vs. 2017/18?
That is likely a major piece of his improvement year-over-year. He’s not taking shots from, basically, anywhere beyond the arc. He’s shooting from a consistent distance, and in a game that requires a high degree of precision on the fly, limiting the variables from one shot to the next is of prime importance.
Page 2: Where Kyrie Irving is an all star starter.
Kyrie is starting for his second straight year as a Celtic and has now made the All-Star team in six of his eight professional seasons. He received 3,881,766 fan votes to lead all NBA guards. He was also the top media and player vote-getter. Miami’s Dwyane Wade beat Walker in the fan vote pretty easily, but Walker was ranked second among media members and players.
All-star games are stupid.
But, and I say this with some conviction, the NBA’s all-star game is especially stupid.
It is, in terms of effort displayed, on a par with the Pro Bowl. However, the NFL, recognizing that the Pro Bowl is basically a joke, has tucked it into the off-week before the Super Bowl, and gives it a level of promotion that befits its status as more-or-less a touch football game played between good players who aren’t in the Super Bowl.
The NBA, though, turns their all star game into an extravaganza. It’s a multiple-day affair featuring a three point contest that nobody pays attention to anymore, a dunk contest that nobody cares about anymore, a skills competition that nobody understands, and a ‘rising stars challenge’ that combines all of the competitive intensity of the real all star game with a roster comprised of equal parts honest-to-goodness rising stars and the basketball equivalents of Christopher Cross (who won the 1980 ‘best new artist’ Grammy and then vanished from sight).
And, think about it, the most memorable moment in recent NBA all star game history was Paul Pierce taking a picture of one of his phones with another one of his phones.
So, yay, Kyrie Irving is starting for the Eastern Conference.
Feel the excitement.
The rest of the links:
MassLive: Kyrie Irving’s All-Star starter case was a no-brainer after his impressive first half | Tom Westerholm | Boston Celtics thought deal for Isaiah Thomas in 2015 was dead 30 minutes prior to trade deadline (report) | Boston Celtics’ Jaylen Brown is back to shooting well, says his hand is healthy again
Boston.com: Jayson Tatum to join in Skills Challenge
NBC Sports: Kyrie to start ASG; will C’s get a 2nd man in? | Morris had NSFW reaction to Cousins-to-Dubs
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