Marcus Smart's dismal shooting won't keep him off the floor



In the month of March, Marcus Smart has shot 29% from the field and 15% from the three point line. That's not so good. He's also averaged 27.3 mins/game over that time.

For the season, Smart has averaged 27.1 mins/game. Smart's shooting, while brutal, is not going to relegate him to the bench. He's going to get his minutes. He has Brad Stevens' confidence.

Maybe Jae Crowder's injury made Smart's playing time more of a necessity over the last couple weeks, but Stevens has kept his minutes very much in line with the rest of the season. It speaks to the coach's feeling that Marcus Smart doesn't need to shoot well to contribute. The coach singled out a Smart offensive rebound in traffic that led to a second chance three pointer Saturday night against Phoenix when discussing the Celts latest victory.

The win over the Suns was a great example of a productive Marcus Smart game. Yes, he shot 2-7, 0-5 from beyond the arc. But he was +7 in 33 minutes and definitely helped the Celtics secure the win.

Smart himself is clearly aware of how many shots he's missing, but seems to understand that there's more ways for him help the Celtics get wins than just putting the ball in the hoop.

Hopefully Smart's shot does start to fall again, but with Brad Stevens appreciating Smart's other contributions, don't expect to see any decrease in Smart's time on the court as the team finishes off the last leg of the regular season.


Photo Credit Barry Chin/Boston Globe

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