Feisty Marcus Smart is back for another season. The rest of the NBA better look out.
The Celtics rocked the 76ers 126-117 on opening night, with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each contributing 35 points in the statement win. Boston’s two young stars handled the scoring, and Smart handled the physicality.
Early in the third quarter, Joel Embiid grabbed a defensive rebound out of Smart’s hands, and then threw himself into Smart as he turned to make a pass. Smart went tumbling to the ground, which caused Brown to come over and defend his teammate.
Within seconds, Smart rose himself, and got into Embiid’s face. Keep in mind: Embiid stands at 7-foot, and weighs 280 pounds. But that didn’t stop Smart.
After the game, Smart said he contained himself, and Embiid was lucky his wrath wasn’t worse.
“I could have cracked his head open but I didn’t,” Smart told reporters afterwards, via The Athletic’s Jay King.
Smart went on to express his displeasure for receiving a technical foul.
“Went for a rebound. Basketball play. Went for the steal. Basketball play,” he said. “Referees blows his whistle, calls a foul. I stop play, my arms still stuck in there and he tries to break it. And then I’m the only one to get a tech.”
While Smart’s proclivity for late-game heroics can be maddening, there’s little doubt that his aggressiveness serves as the Celtics’ underbelly. It could be a galvanizing force for them early this season, too. Brown said the Celtics aren’t going to be pushed around this year.
After a tumultuous offseason, the Celtics are ready to prove their Finals run was no fluke. Maybe Embiid won’t be so lucky next time.
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