As the newly-crowned NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart certainly didn’t need Thursday night’s Eastern Conference Finals Game 2 performance to introduce himself to the basketball masses.
But, Smart’s work in Boston’s emphatic 127-102 blowout of the Jimmy Butler’s overmatched Heat certainly was a reminder to Celtics’ fans and foes alike of just how valuable the point guard is to his team when it’s playing its best basketball.
After missing Game 1 to a foot injury, Smart was far from limping around FTX Arena but rather led all Celtics starters with a plus-31 for the night, despite the visitors going down 10 early in the first quarter. From then on it was all domination for Boston. And Smart was in the middle of it all.
Smart tied with Jaylon Brown for the second-most points for Boston with 24, leading the team with five makes from behind the arc. But the number that jumps off the stat sheet for Smart is his 12 assists, more than twice as many as any other player in the game for either squad. He also had nine rebounds, barely missing out on a playoff triple-double.
Everyone knows Smart’s value on defense and that these Celtics are a better team with their longest-tenured player on the floor, but just how much better was obvious on this night. And it’s far from just about the defense that the DPOY brings to the court.
“I think everybody in the organization, in the world is seeing what I can do at that point guard position,” a confidence Smart said after his well-rounded, impactful performance.
While some outsiders may have been surprised by the effort for Smart, coming off an injury and playing such a key role on both ends of the floor, his boss wasn’t one of them. The Celtics are simply a different and much better team with Smart in the mix.
“As always, he sets the tone,” Boston coach Ime Udoka said. “Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. Ability to switch on to bigger bodies. Just another good defender to throw at Butler and [Bam] Adebayo and not have to worry about them trying to pick on certain matchups. He brings the physicality every night and kind of gets everybody in line.”
With Smart back in the lineup, the performance came with the Celtics backs against the proverbial wall. After falling apart to blow a lead in the third quarter of Game 1, dropping a second game on the road to open the series would have put Boston’s chance to advance to the NBA finals below 10 percent. But the big road win and response to the failures of two days prior has the Celtics heading back to the comforts of TD Garden with all the confidence and optimism in the world. Meanwhile, Miami’s leader Butler was left “embarrassed” by the blowout loss.
“I was proud of the way that we responded,” Boston star Jayson Tatum said after his own well-round performance with a team-high 27 points, five rebounds and five assists. “Last game was tough. Just kind of how we lost. I was excited with how we were going to bounce back and respond, regardless of if we won or lost. Just how we played. We just played a lot better.
“Since I’ve been in the NBA the difference between good and not so good is just how you respond. You are not going to win every game you play. They’re really good players and really talented teams in the NBA. But I think the sign of a good team is how you respond after losses, especially tough ones. It just kind of shows the character of the group. We’ve done a really good job most of the year responding after tough losses and situations.”
And there is no doubt that Smart is almost always in the middle of it all for Boston. He’s the bulldog leader on defense. He’s the fiery personality in the face of Tatum and Jaylen Brown’s (24 points, 8 rebounds) more measured, even-keeled approaches.
Sure, Smart has been infuriating at times over the years.
His shot selection hasn’t always been ideal.
But his defense never wavered.
And his development on offense, as a more timely shooter and effective ball distributor within the offense led by Tatum and Brown doesn’t always get the credit it deserves.
These current Celtics -- a team that’s now tied the series at one game apiece with the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals – have legitimate NBA title aspirations.
Whether we truly appreciate it or not, Smart is indeed a big reason for those championship hopes.
Just like he was a huge reason why the Celtics blew out the Heat on their home court on Thursday night.
