Derrick Rose thinks the world of Marcus Smart as a basketball player.
The Detroit Pistons guard hailed the Boston Celtics star in his newly released autobiography, titled “I’ll Show You,” according to Celtics.com’s Taylor Snow. Rose in the first chapter refutes assertions that he’s a bad shooter by describing himself as a “hooper,” or someone who make plays that win games. He then uses the same term to describe Smart.
“I always said I’m a hooper, and hoopers can do anything, I feel,” Rose writes. “It don’t matter. Like, Marcus Smart is a hooper. Analytics, you would say no way you want him. But when you go out there and watch the game, you say, ‘Of course I want him on my team.’ Makes shots, period. That’s a guy I love playing with.”
Smart averaged 8.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists last season, but everone who watches the Celtics know his contributions are much greater than his numbers suggest. The same probably goes for Rose, and perhaps other NBA players, whose job it is to win games.
