Skip to main content

Marcus Smart's defense of The Greek Freak - a Dave Cowens comparison

Image
By
Boston Celtics guard, Marcus Smart, was instrumental in Team USA's 69-53 victory over Greece on Saturday. Coach Gregg Popovich assigned Marcus to cover Giannis Antetokounmpo, and despite The Greek Freak's production (23 points, 13 rebounds), he was pestered by Smart for much of the game.


Giannis' length, mobility and frame make him a devastating inside threat, but most rival coaches are more-than-happy to give him the outside shot. At 6'11" and a solid 242 pounds, the initial take for most would be that Smart, at 6'4" and 220 pounds, would be over matched. Wrong! Marcus' coverage of The Freak is reminiscent of the 6'8' Dave Cowens defending the Milwaukee Bucks 7'2" Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. But for frenetic perimeter defense on Oscar Robertson, and a diving-hit-the-floor-ball-retrieve by Dave, take a look at the 1:40 mark of the video below:


I have argued in the past that Smart's strength and low center of gravity allow him to very effectively guard much taller opponents - at least the ones that have trouble shooting over him from distance. Semi Ojeleye's smothering coverage of Giannis the past two seasons worked nicely for the same reasons.

Why is this important? The Milwaukee Bucks are ranked ahead of the Celtics in all of the 2019-20 projections I have seen. There is a high probability the two teams will meet in the post-season. Stifling The Greek Freak's scoring and rebounding will be critical for any opponent that faces them. Pop putting Smart on Giannis, with occasional triple-teaming, never allowed Antetokounmpo to get untracked. Smart proved quick enough to counter most of The Freak's moves, and strong enough to body him to keep him away from the hoop. And it all worked.

Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel and @_Celtics_Center




Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Elm Street Nightmare

By
 A true-and-suspenseful horror tale of haunting, homicides and the hunt for triple-murderer, Daniel Laplante - as told by the cops that were there By Lt. Thomas Lane (Ret.)  Daniel Laplante - cold, calm, clever, calculating- Photo: YouTube   Elm Street  surfaces on six (6) occasions in the Laplante saga: 1.) He  resided on Elm Street  in Townsend, Massachusetts  2.) He  kidnapped a woman  at gunpoint on  Elm Street, Pepperell , Massachusetts 3.) That kidnapped woman fled to the Gillogly residence on Elm Street after escaping from the armed fugitive, Laplante. 4.) He was arrested and transported to Massachusetts State Police Barracks on Elm Street in Concord . 5.) He was  tried, convicted   and sentenced for the murders at  Superior Court , corner of  Elm Stree t and Gorham Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. 6.) The author, Thomas Lane, lived on Elm Steet, Pepperell, Massachusetts while a police Sgt./Lt. for the t...
23 comments
Read more

A sorrowful farewell to Kitty's Restaurant (North Reading, MA) as a family tradition

By
  Time to say "Goodbye" to Kitty's Restaurant - my   family's destination and tradition for six generations and more than 80 years. My memories of Kitty's go back to the early-1950's . I would accompany my dad and grandfather on fishing trips to the Ipswich River in North Reading, Massachusetts - followed by a visit to the restaurant on Main Street. In later years, my wife, Linda, and I would eat there with our two kids, Marc and Lisa - and years later - with our two grand daughters - and still later - with our great grandson, Carson. Author and family at Kitty's approx. 10 years ago Kitty's never disappointed. The drinks were big and well-made . The food was terrific - as were the portions. The service was exceptional and we became well-acquainted with the waiters and waitresses. It all worked so very well for many decades. My grand daughter, Courtney , was particularly fond of the restaurant. She was born with cystic fibrosis , and during her fr...
15 comments
Read more

Wemby versus Kareem as rookies

By
 We already know that the Spurs Victor Wembanyama is going to be an NBA phenomenon, but will he surpass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by the end of his career. It is highly likely.  I did a "per-36-minutes" comparison between the two stars, mainly because Kareem logged 43.1 MPG in his rookie campaign - while Wemby has been held to only 29.4 MPG. Kareem: 24.1 PPG - 12.1 RPG - 3.4 APG - .518 FG - .653 FT Wemby:  25.9 PPG - 12.9 RPG - 4.5 APG - .463 FG - .796 FT No blocks, steals or 3-pointers were looked at since they were not tracked in Jabbar's first year in the NBA. It should also be noted that Kareem was 22 years old at the time, while Victor started at age 20. Two factors favoring Wembanyama ultimately surpassing Jabbar on any "Best-of-All-Time" charts are his point guard skills , shared by so many European players.  and the fact he is being mentored by Gregg Popovich. His potential seems astounding. But the question remains. Can he garner six Titles and six MVP ...
1 comment
Read more