Breaking down Marcus Smart's play, by hairstyle

The French Fry
If you follow any of the Celtics beat writers on Twitter you'll know that some of them keep track of some very interesting and unique statistics throughout the season. Chris Forsberg of ESPN has some of the most intricate breakdowns of this group. C's win/loss numbers whether Brad Stevens wears a tie, Kelly Olynyk rocks a headband vs the man-bun, and of course how Marcus Smart plays according to which of the handful of hairstyles he has graced this season:


Left: Braids, Right: Full Cut
Although it's a small sample size Marcus' full cut, his current hairstyle,  has been his worst look on the stat sheet - it is a small sample size of games but 30.2% from the field and 20.8% from three is most definitely a step back for Smart. On the other hand if Smart let's it grow in a little between now and the playoffs he could go back to the regular trim in time for the postseason, and that's where he's clearly been the most efficient shooting the ball and snatching a hairstyle-high 2.5 steals per game. It's entirely possible that a dropoff in Marcus' play before the hair grows in could cost the Celtics a shot at the #1-seed - that's on you mama Smart.

As for Olynyk, Forsberg has broken his play into whether or not he wears a headband or a man-bun. The difference in his play is significant, although he may have broken out of his headband funk against Golden State last week with perhaps his finest performance of the season:


Another glaring statistic is the Celtics win/loss record when coach Stevens decides to wear a tie on the sideline, this one is not close:


Now I'm not overly superstitious, but based on those numbers I don't want to see casual Brad anymore. There's just no reason to risk it. Clean it up coach and wear the damn tie.


Related: What the hell is happening to Marcus Smart's hair? And can it make him shoot better?

Photo Credit - CSNNE.com

Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkAL401
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