Normally, when a player is a horrible shooter, percentage wise, he gets called out on it by every possible source. His team’s fans, other team’s fans, the general NBA punditry (I include myself in this category), fans from his college days, his mom, everybody.
So why is Marcus Smart not receiving any flak for shooting 36 percent from the field? It isn’t because he’s a rookie; remember Austin Rivers? He couldn’t go outside without 2 or 3 people telling him he sucked.
Is it because people don’t want to speak ill of a guy with severe facial deformities? That could be part of it. It’s not nice to criticize someone who has incurable pizza-face.
The real reason is that no one expected him to be a good scorer. He wasn’t efficient at Oklahoma State, so there’s no reason why his efficiency should suddenly improve against tougher competition. In fact, he should be praised for raising his three-point percentage to above 30 percent! Young players are supposed to get better, and somehow, he managed it.