There are a lot of players in the league today whose role on the court can't be represented by statistics, and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is like that. Because Marcus Smart made a series of dangerous defensive moves in the last game against the Golden State Warriors, not only kicking Klay Thompson, but also causing Stephen Curry to leave the court injured in the scramble, he naturally became the object of criticism from the media and fans.
But against the Sacramento Kings, Marcus Smart was still as usual and unaffected. From the perspective of the strength of both sides, the Celtics have a clear upper hand, Tatum cut 32 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, and the plus-minus of +40 is even more terrifying. Jaylen Brown also had 30 points and 3 rebounds, which was very efficient, and the double Jay Tanhua scored 62 points to give the Celtics a 126-97 victory over the Kings on the road. Marcus Smart, on the other hand, scored only nine points but contributed eight assists and four steals, both of which were the highest of any player on either side.
Marcus Smart was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 6th pick in the first round in 2014 and has been with the Greens ever since, and Marcus Smart is arguably the Celtics' oldest player on the team. In his first season, Marcus Smart averaged 7.8 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game, and was named to the all-rookie team second team at the end of the season. As a high-ranking rookie, Marcus Smart has not been able to cash in on all his talents and become a star player, but it is a very good puzzle.
Among them, Marcus Smart's defensive ability is exceptionally good, the Celtics always arrange for him to consume the opponent's main scorer, and many league superstars suffer in front of Marcus Smart, including three-time scoring champion and former regular season MVP award winner James Harden. In the 17-18 season, the Boston Celtics played at home against the Houston Rockets, and for most of the game, the Rockets suppressed the opponent, but the Celtics fought back in the last quarter, and Marcus Smart caused Two consecutive offensive fouls on James Harden in the final moments, and the Celtics also completed a stunning reversal at home. After that, Marcus Smart often took on the task of defending Harden, and the effect was really good, and Marcus Smart won the reputation of Harden's nemesis.
However, despite the unusually fierce and tough defense, due to Marcus Smart's average performance on the offensive end, especially the outside projection, the three-point shooting rate is lower than the league average for many years, so he only got a four-year, $52 million contract in the summer of 2018. But it has to be said that Marcus Smart's defensive ability and mental attributes are indeed too good, and he has been selected for the best defensive team twice. To know that Marcus Smart can not only play against the guard, but even change the defensive forward and even the inside line, this trait is too good to use in modern basketball. In the 19-20 season, the Celtics lost a number of tough players, and it is reasonable to say that the paper strength is not as good as in the past, but the Green Army is still not optimistic to reach the division finals, Marcus Smart also contributed, last summer the Celtics renewed a new contract with him for 4 years and 77 million US dollars.
Last summer, the Celtics chose to part ways with former All-Star guard Kemba Walker, who packed up the latter plus the draft picks and sent them to Russia City, replacing the Thunder with interior boss Al Horford. This move has caused a series of chain reactions, after all, in addition to improving the strength of the interior, the Celtics' starting point guard position also needs to be adjusted, considering that Dennis Schroeder is more suitable for the sixth man, so marcus Smart is more as a team to start this season.
In the final moments of the deadline, Celtic management carried out a series of operations, one of which was to exchange Derrick White from the Spurs. In this case, the Celtics have Marcus Smart and Derrick White, two two-legged guards who are both organizational and defensive, who can play at the same time and can also be used as an alternative to each other, and the coaching staff has more options in terms of personnel rotation and tactical arrangement. So far this season, Marcus Smart has averaged 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.7 assists and a staggering 1.8 steals per game, except for the outside projection is still a bit hot, Marcus Smart as a supporting role is almost perfect.
Although because of some words and actions on the court, the opponent and Celtic fans obviously dislike Marcus Smart. But his teammates and fans will feel that he is extremely reliable. In the current Celtic team, Tatum and Jaylen Brown are undoubtedly the strongest in personal ability, but they both seem to be very quiet and do not particularly like to talk. On the contrary, Marcus Smart always seems to be passionate, he not only likes to speak, but also always rushes to the front for his teammates, from a spiritual point of view, Marcus Smart may be the soul of the current Green Army.