Avery Bradley says Marcus Smart will be ‘one of the best guards in the NBA’

Boston Celtics' Marcus Smart challenges for the ball with Olimpia Milano's Charles Jenkins. Antonio Calanni/AP

By Henry McKenna @McKennAnalysis

October 27, 2015

1 minute to read

The Celtics are already raving about second-year guard Marcus Smart.

“I know that Marcus is going to continue to get better,’’ teammate Avery Bradley told reporters after practice Monday. “And he’s going to be one of the best guards in the NBA.’’

Smart, the Celtics 2014 former sixth-overall pick, has been a lockdown defender since arriving in the league, but his ability to pass and shoot were less touted coming out of college. In five games of the 2015 NBA preseason, however, Smart averaged a 46.9 percent field goal percentage and 4.4 assists, after averaging 36.7 percent from the field and 3.1 assists during the 2014-15 season. His preseason stats come from a small sample size, but they may not be entirely misleading.

“I see the daily work that he puts in, so he’s getting better,’’ Celtics coach Brad Stevens said on Sept. 29. “He can still get a lot better. Obviously defensively, I’ve said this from day one: he’s way ahead of the curve for a 21-year-old. “

Five-year veteran Bradley has recognized Smart’s ability to set goals for improvement and meet them.

“Slowing down. Being able to pick his spots,’’ Bradley explained. “Marcus used to be one speed. Terry (Rozier is) learning and he’s usually always going one speed. But Marcus has definitely changed speed. It’s funny because someone told me that he wanted to work on that this summer. I didn’t know that but I definitely see it in his game. He’s picking his spots and changing speeds and making it hard for defenders to guard him.’’