Marcus Smart Steps Up for Isaiah Thomas
When the Celtics needed it most, Marcus Smart answered the call and stepped up for his fallen teammate Isaiah Thomas.
The Boston Celtics shocked the basketball world on Sunday night when they defeated the Cavaliers on their home floor 111-108. With Isaiah Thomas out for the remainder of the playoffs with a hip injury, nobody gave Boston a chance to win Game 3.
Marcus Smart was inserted into the starting lineup and came up huge for his injured leader. He ended the game with 27 points, five rebounds, and seven assists. Smart was the best player on the floor during the most crucial times of the game. Now with the series at 2-1, the Celtics have guaranteed another game in front of their home fans.
In the first half, Smart was playing with aggression and poise that helped his team get into a rhythm. The development the third year guard has made as a playmaker in the pick and roll has gone relatively unnoticed with everything the team has accomplished this year. Smart has made the right plays almost every play off of a screen.
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He does a good job of using his body to seal defenders and making lob or pocket passes to the roll man. Since Smart was able to make all the right plays early on, his teammates were playing much better than at any point in the series. When he started hitting threes, it took his performance to another level.
What was amazing about Smart’s performance was that he went 7-10 from three. Smart is a sub-30 percent three point for his career, but has a knack for making shots in big moments. He is shooting 36% from three in the postseason this year, and went off to give his squad the win.
Thomas going down should have been the blow to the team that downed them until next fall. But this Celtics team has to be the most emotionally durable group in the NBA. They refuse to give up, and they continue to rally around each other in the face of adversity.
As the series continues on Tuesday in Cleveland, the Celtics can look back on this game as a reference whenever they get down against this Cavs team. Winning the series still seems like a long shot, but seeing the fight the Celtics showed tonight is a major win in itself.