4. Marcus Smart
Marcus Smart hasn’t yet found his place in the NBA on the offensive end of the floor. As it pertains to defense, however, there are few guards in the Association who have commanded quite as much respect as the Boston Celtics hybrid.
Smart may be more athletic than Ron Baker, but the potential exists for the two to play similar roles for their respective teams.
Smart and Baker have nearly identical measurements in height, weight, and length, and could play similar roles for their respective teams. While Smart’s athleticism is clearly beneficial, his defensive prowess is founded far more in his fundamentals and attention to detail.
Whether it’s knowing exactly when to poke the ball free from a slashing scorer, or knowing how to get low enough to not be overpowered by a bigger guard, Smart does it all.
Baker has the potential to defend at a similar level, if not quite as well as Smart is able to. The offensive concerns may still exist, but a consistent level of defensive execution would make it easy to keep him on the floor.
Smart is still a work in progress himself, but Baker would benefit from studying what it is that’s helped the Celtics standout become one of Brad Stevens’ most trusted players.