We all miss you Marcus. Heal quickly but don't rush yourself back Make sure you're 100% We need you for the playoffs
I thought the analytics said that the team pretty much sucked, when Lebron, Luka and Austin played together? I guess Smart was the missing ingredient.
yes, but also if these are pure on/offs, there's a bunch of other stuff (like with whom smart is playing, etc.). more than one thing can be true: the team could have been better without lebron for 60 games, and things could have changed when he got healthy and slotted into the pecking order properly.
you mean smart? i believe it, for sure. if he was healthier/younger, we'd be among the title favorites. this part of why i'm so interested in getting another player who can do similar things. if you can't have one that can do it for 40 minutes in a playoff game, try to find two to split it up.
I would love to get someone who can start and give us 15-20 while being a lockdown defender, but just getting another guy like Smart that could split the time with him, would probably be enough.
Keon Ellis at the right price is a good fit.Another below the radar player would be Cameron Payne.Last two years he is in the upper 90 percentile in deflections and upper 80’s in creating opponents turnovers.
is he healthy now? why is he missing so many games - I hope its more the planned rest before the playoffs kind of thing
I guess is just to get him some rest. He was questionable against the Nets so likely close. I'm thinking he plays today but if he misses today and OKC it's time to get worried
He sprained his ankle some games back. I remember him going down. I think he went to the locker room.
Getting 5 games of rest for Smart and winning 4-1 of those games is huge. Will need him against OKC, though.
He was easily one of my favorite players this season. Busted his a** every second he played and set the tone night in/night out. Got at least 60 games out of him this year. Considering his play style and how often he ends up on the floor from a charge or a screen, that's impressive. Before he went down, I saw a defensive metrics stat making the rounds that his defensive numbers this year were on par with those the year he won DPOY with Boston. I think if we had held 3rd place throughout the season and was able to hit the stupid 65 game bar, I think there's a case. Regardless of record, I think he had a good chance to at make all defensive 2nd team. I get not rushing him back because if he's not 100%, he's not able to play his style. It's not like statue Ayton out there. DA at 50% mobility would be roughly the same outcome. We're already facing an impossible uphill battle in the playoffs, if you want to steal at least 1 game, you need Marcus firing on all cylinders. I really hope we're able to retain him this summer. He should get a pay raise ($11m?), hoping he enjoyed it here enough this year and Luka can get in his ear again. Ideally you drop his minutes a hair, but more importantly you bring an equal to better defender, so the entire defense doesn't rest on his shoulders. If he's your second best defender and even if his minutes stay about the same, that's still a big reduction on role.
