NBA Power Rankings: Ranking All 30 Starting Point Guards

26.  Marcus Smart — Boston Celtics

Passer Rating:  111.79 (27th)

Per-36 minutes: 10.4 points, 4.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1.8 turnovers.  36.7% field goals, 33.5% 3-pointers, 64.6% free throws.

True Shooting Percentage: 49.1% (22nd)

Player Efficiency Rating: 11.0 (28th)

Real Plus-Minus: +2.22 (12th)

Wins Above Replacement: 5.21 (14th)

For Brad Stevens and the Celtics, Smart was a slow project to build all through last season. He was drafted sixth overall, ahead of a couple players that will likely have a better NBA career than him (Julius Randle and Elfrid Payton). After being injured in just his fourth regular season game last year, Smart was sidelined for a full month. In that short start to the season, though, he only shot 8-of-29 (27.6%) and had everyone skeptical of his fit as an NBA point guard.

Finishing the year, Smart tallied the worst PER rating of all starting point guards on the list (you have to exclude Russell and Mudiay, since they’re rookies). But, that’s not what Boston loves about him. Although it’s true you can’t fall into the “Rondo category” — meaning you provide very little offense and don’t polish your shooting touch — Stevens and Danny Ainge find value in this kid for his defense.

The great thing about Smart, as he gets older, is that he already has the proper body for defensive purposes. At 6’4″ and 220 pounds, Smart has enough strength to guard certain small forwards if he needs to. That is, if Stevens likes the idea of going super small with his lineups at times. Coupled with his quickness to stay in front of traditional point guards, Smart has more of a complete defensive package than majority of these guys above him. And, he’s only a 21-year-old sophomore.

A couple of factors should worry Boston natives, though, in regards to his progression. We’re not certain how much his long-range threat is going to improve as he matures. It’s common nature for a young player to struggle when he adjusts to the longer NBA 3-pointer, but it’s hard to tell if Smart will become a reliable option from deep. When defenses give him room on the pick-and-roll (by going under the screen instead of chasing him over the top), he’s still not fully respected. In order to become a more explosive scorer, Smart has to make those defenders regret leaving him room.

In his rookie season, Smart shot 33.5% from long range, which wasn’t horrible as a first-year player. In actuality, people may have overblown his “bad” shooting ability while at Oklahoma State. But, you’d like to see him attack off the dribble more often in Stevens’ offensive schemes. Smart’s 3-point attempt rate was an outrageous .570 as a rookie, which is incredibly too high for a point guard with his arsenal of slashing skills. Considering that Stephen Curry’s attempt rate from deep was .482 last year, think about how much of Smart’s offense was derived from the outside. Way too much.

Boston also has to figure out an organized pattern of minutes for its young rotation on the wing. There are six or seven (depending if James Young counts) players in the rotation that are 6’7″ or smaller. Smart has to compete for minutes with the electric Isaiah Thomas, defensive machine Avery Bradley, Ainge’s new crush Terry Rozier, and to some degree R.J. Hunter.

We could have a breakout year from Smart, in which he’ll surpass about five names above him on this list, or a year where his name fades into the shadows.

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