Does Marcus Smart Need to Calm Down?

Marcus Smart has had an eventful past week, now people are asking whether he needs to keep his emotions in check

It has been a busy past week for Marcus Smart. In the Boston Celtics win over the New York Knicks, Smart was fined $15,000 by the league for his crotch grab in the third quarter. The next day, in the Celtics’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Smart picked up a technical foul late in the game that helped spark a late run by Cleveland. Smart now has five technical fouls on the season, and after his two most recent actions, the question of whether his emotions are getting in the way of the team’s goals is in the air.

It’s no secret that Marcus Smart is an emotional player. He’s a defensive-minded player whose emotions help his game. It’s obvious that there are certain times when he needs to control his emotions better, such as, late in the game against Cleveland. Smart is a young player that has a fiery personality, and besides, it’s better to have someone overly competitive than uninterested in the game.

Smart has picked up five technical fouls this season, far from the league leader. DeMarcus Cousins leads the league with 14 technicals this season, and 22 players have more than five technicals this year. Fellow teammate, Jae Crowder, also has four technicals on him, showing that Smart is not the only one on the team picking them up.

When it comes down to it, you can’t change how someone plays. There are certain players who have to play with that intensity to play at their best. Guys like Joakim Noah and Kenneth Faried are perfect examples of this.

Neither of them are overly talented big men. They both rely on hustle, and are the emotional leaders of their teams. Having a spark plug, especially off your bench, can be very beneficial for a team. Teams would rather have a couple of high energy players who pick up a couple of technical fouls here and there, rather than a quiet team who half the time looks like they don’t care.

You also can’t flip a switch on those type of players. They thrive on their emotions, the emotions of the game, and you can’t expect them to play at as high of a level without being able to express that.

Jae Crowder is the clear emotional leader of the team, however, when it comes to the bench, Marcus Smart takes over that role. Being emotional is nothing new to Smart.

Back in college with Oklahoma State, he got in a little scuffle with a fan that he claimed called him the N-word. There is no doubt that Smart should have just ignored the fan, but it just shows emotion has been a part of his game forever.

While not as crazy, Smart, in a way, is this team’s Dennis Rodman. Chuck Daly would always say that Rodman reached his full potential in the NBA because he allowed Rodman to be himself on and off the court. He didn’t try and tame the beast inside of him, he let him play with emotion.

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Marcus Smart is only in his second year in the NBA, and he has a lot to learn. Right now, his offensive game can either be on fire, or as cold as Antarctica in the blistering winter. In contrary, his defense is arguably the best on the team, and he’s a perfect complement to the short, offensive-minded Isaiah Thomas.

When it comes down to it, you don’t want to try to control Marcus Smart. He’s a young player that has a lot to learn in the league, whether it’s when to show his emotions, or just the game in general. Getting fined is never fun and that will surely be some sort of wake up call for him.

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Brad Stevens said it best, “I think you’d rather have a guy be more competitive than not.” Certain times are better than others, but Smart is still learning that. Reflecting on the past is all you can do, but his emotional play off the bench is something a lot of teams wish they had.