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Marcus Smart was selected with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and he had an up-and-down rookie season with the Boston Celtics. It was hard for him to figure out his role, and being thrown into the fire immediately didn’t make that task any easier. Despite some of his early career struggles, he was a huge part of their playoff run late in the season and showed some of his true potential during the Celtics’ playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Looking ahead to next season, Smart is going to be a huge piece that decides whether or not the Celtics are going to take the leap forward that their potential suggests.
During his rookie season this past year, Smart averaged just 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. His scoring average improved to 9.8 points per game during the playoffs, but he still has a lot of work to do in every aspect of his game. There is no denying the fact that he has the potential to become an offensive star, but that will take lots of hard work and coaching from Brad Stevens.
At just 21 years old, however, Smart’s rookie season was very encouraging for the Celtics. He showed the potential that they drafted him for, and the improvement was noticeable throughout the course of the season.
There are quite a few improvements that Smart needs to make throughout the course of the offseason. Boston decided to move on from Rajon Rondo and ship him to the Dallas Mavericks, and Smart appears to be the heir apparent at the point guard position. He didn’t play too much point guard at Oklahoma State during his collegiate career and has a lot of work to do in order to understand how to run the position at the NBA level.
Smart has the body to become a very special player in the NBA. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, he is a bulldog and can get to the rim with ease against nearly any defender. His three-point shot is coming along, but that is another area that he’ll need to improve in order to take the next step.
Setting up an offense is the most important job for a point guard, and that is an area in which Smart is still struggling. Making the change from being a top scorer to an NBA point guard isn’t an easy task for anyone.
Boston desperately needed more scoring this year against the Cavaliers in the playoffs, and that is something that Smart can bring next year as well. He had the complete scoring package during his collegiate career and has the ability to grow into that type of player in the NBA. Consistency is something he needs to find in order to take that leap next year.
It is going to be interesting to see what the Celtics end up doing this offseason. There are quite a few needs that they’ll try to fix in free agency, but one of their biggest improvements can be made by the development of Smart. Expect to see him come back next season with a much improved all-around game and become the difference maker that the Celtics need him to be.
Evan Massey is the Green Bay Packers beat writer for www.RantSports.com, and also contributes across the NFL, MLB and NBA portions of the site. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan.
