NY Knicks: Quantum Leaper #2 – Marcus Smart
Toughness.
Tenacity.
Dog.
While his offensive game is not worth building around, what Marcus Smart brings on the defensive end would have fit right in with the 90s Knicks.
Ewing’s Knicks and Smart could be described using the same adjective: gritty.
And not gross Gritty like the Flyers mascot. Good gritty. Best Batman stories gritty.
It’s hard to believe adding a perimeter defensive presence like Smart wouldn’t have improved the bench rotation in the 90s. Smart’s career VORP is better than that of players like Doug Christie and Hubert Davis.
There are a number of stats I could give you here, but I have to be truly honest with you here: this one is just a gut feeling thing.
Doesn’t it just feel like Smart would have gelled with those teams? He gives me a “Charles Oakley of the Perimeter” kind of vibe.
We’ve all seen the footage of guards getting roughed up while driving the lane against this team, but it’s fun to think about having a guy like Smart get into their grill from the moment they cross half-court.
Having a guy like Smart to guard Sam Cassell might have made a huge difference in Game 3 of the 1994 NBA Finals.
Smart would have taken a tough team and made them even tougher.