Stuck in Neutral
The reason that Smart was able to have such success in that game, of course, is because Cleveland dared him to shoot the ball at his leisure. This has been the way to defend the Celtics when Smart has been on the court, which makes his 28 percent clip from long range this year even more disconcerting. That went up to 39% in the playoffs – 35% if you take out that Game 3 barrage – which is quite a bit better.
Still, Smart’s attempts from deep were largely open. According to NBA.com, 258 of Smart’s 332 three pointers were either of the open or wide-open variety. That’s 78 percent, which is among the highest in the league. For comparison’s sake, his back-court mate Isaiah Thomas was open for about half of his looks from deep.
The thinking goes that Smart’s presence on the court clogs spacing for the rest of his teammates because defenders feel so comfortable sagging off. The numbers, somewhat surprisingly, present a different story.