Is Marcus Smart the best defensive guard in the NBA?

Marcus Smart has been a passionate defender for years, but can a guard win the Defensive Player of the Year? Is there a way for smaller players to make up value on the defensive end? This detailed film breakdown & scouting report explores how the Celtics guard defends multiple positions while incorporating analytics & stats to assess his impact.

Jared Weiss's case for Smart at The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/1801040/2020/...

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Ben Taylor is the author of Thinking Basketball, a Nylon Calculus contributor, creator of the Backpicks Top 40 series & host of the Thinking Basketball podcast.

Stats courtesy:
http://www.pbpstats.com @bballport
https://www.basketball-reference.com
https://stats.nba.com

IMPACT METRICS
-3 year RAPM is adjusted plus-minus from Ryan Davis's www.nbashotcharts.com
-PIPM is a hybrid model (box score and plus-minus) that "luck-adjusts" plus-minus data (regresses FT% and 3pt%) to account for noise and is more sensitive to a player's role/fit on a given team. Created by @JacobEGoldstein
-RAPTOR is 538's model that blends box score information, plus-minus data and player tracking data to estimate player impact. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/...

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Footage in this video is owned by the NBA and its partners. It is intended for critique and education.

Music: Hip hop instrumental by csus