Evaluating Marcus Smart’s Importance

The Boston Celtics are still lacking a true superstar. Isaiah Thomas remains their go to scorer but because of the impact players have on the defensive end, he is still not a clear cut best player on the team. The Celtics have a crazy rotation and a lot of depth and tend to avoid leaning on one player and that makes it very difficult to gauge a player’s importance.

Marcus Smart is already regarded as one of the top players on the Celtics but he has spent the majority of this season sidelined with an injury. Smart remains a work in progress on offense and is not yet ready to take full control of the offense. He is in just his second year but there is a case to be made that he is the most impactful player on the team.

Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder certainly have a claim as a more impactful player currently on the Celtics and they may not be the only ones. The problem is that Smart’s importance is not just tied into what he is now, but what they want him to become in the future. As it stands now, Smart is the future of this franchise. He is their current best shot at a player developing into the kind of transcendent impact that Ainge is looking for but there is no denying that he remains far away from that.

Even though much of Smart’s importance is predicated on his development, and he is already much more advanced on the offensive end than what would have been expected at this point in his career, there is still a case to be made that he is currently the most important player on the team.

There are five players who score more points per game than Smart. There are six players who average more rebounds per game. There are two players who average more assists per game. There are two players who average more steals per game. There are eight more players who average more blocks per game than him. There are twelve more players shooting better than him and eight players shooting better from three. Marcus Smart really is not close to any statistical lead for the Celtics and yet he is always a part of the discussion for most important player on the team.

The reason for the statistical shortcomings is that Smart’s impact transcends the box score and the Celtics are a team that depend a lot more on the things that cannot be counted. The hustle plays, the energy, the attitude and the leadership. Smart is in just his second year but he posses all the characteristics that the Celtics want in the player that is going to be a cornerstone of the franchise.

It may only be a matter of time before Smart is the best defensive point guard in the league and he may already have a claim to that top stop as it stands now. Smart impacts each and every possession with his defensive intensity but his importance goes beyond what he does to the player he is defending.

Smart plays with an attitude and a level of energy that is infectious. It is well documented how the Celtics lack the necessary talent to be a contending team but there have been moments this year when they have looked like a true contender in the east. The reason for that is exactly why Smart is so important. On each and every play, Smart will not allow himself to be out hustled and he will not allow himself to be outworked.

Smart lays everything on the line each play and on one of the youngest teams in the NBA he naturally became a leader on and off the court. Smart, as much as anyone else on the team, defines their identity. The Celtics are all about defense, sacrifice and energy and even if those areas are difficult to quantify, Smart is leading the way in arguably each category. You cannot count of Smart in the areas that can be counted, but he flourishes in the areas that the Celtics need the most.

The emergence of Jae Crowder is giving Smart a running mate who can match his energy and defensive impact but there is no doubting that Smart is part of the reason why Crowder plays in an ideal style for this team. Smart’s teammates love play alongside him and there is no doubting that he impacts their energy on the court.

Smart is not at a place where he can lead the Celtics on the court. He is one of the least polished players on the team and still does not put up the kind of stats that the best player on a team needs to put up. Smart is a model of the kind of player that impacts the team in ways that cannot be quantified.

Smart can shoot 1-10 but still be one of the most important players because he is a true defensive play maker. Smart makes it easier for all his teammates to defend and he is already in a position to cover the best guards in the NBA.

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Smart’s true importance will always be tied to what he can become in the future because he has a tremendous amount of room to improve, especially on the offensive end. That, however, takes nothing away from the immeasurable impact he has on the Celtics by helping instil the mentality that they need to be a competitive team now. That same mentality can then be the difference maker and propel them to one of the top teams in the league when they have the talent to go along with it.