Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart more important than ever this season
Marcus Smart could be in line for his most important season with the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics have quickly been making minor moves this offseason, and they will soon know what is happening with Marcus Smart. Everyone knew that he would be a focus of free agency, and figuring out how much he might cost has been impossible to predict.
There has been enough talk of about other teams to know that there is interest for Smart, so the Celtics can rule out getting him at some crazy value. What the other teams are offering him, however, does not change how important Smart is to the Celtics, and this could end up being his most important season with the team.
At this point, you cannot expect his shooting to come around in a great way, but the Celtics needs that even less now. There is so much more offense on the starting unit this season, meaning the Celtics do not have to expect much of anything from Smart on that end.
He will be able to embrace his play making more, and he will have more than enough weapons to dish to, rather than looking for his own shot in difficult situations.
On defense, however, Smart could be the key to some of their top lineups. The Celtics are going to be playing with a lot of wings and undersized bigs and that will put a lot of pressure on their defense.
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They brought back Aron Baynes, who can offer them more solid defensive lineups. With Smart, however, they get one of the only guards in the NBA that can switch onto even the toughest bigs, without putting the team at too much risk. His ability to defend all five positions is what the Celtics need to help their defense together this season, and they would be foolish to think they will find someone else that can do what Smart does.
Smart can come in and help every and any aspect of this defense, and that kind of versatility will be used in so many different ways. The Celtics want to play small, and they know that Smart is able to account for more than anyone else on defense in small ball situations.
Smart is the one player on this team that can impact all five positions while playing defense. He puts a higher degree of pressure on opponents than anyone else on this team, and nobody makes the defenders around him better than Smart.
He is a true defensive play maker, and they will need more of that next season. If they are going to be playing with so many wings, other offenses will be able to find ways to attack them. The Celtics will have to accept some of that damage, but Smart is the option that can do all the other things to make up for those issues.
The Celtics still have strong defenders, and there are other options for the Celtics to work with if they lose Smart. Brad Stevens would probably find a way to make it work, but everything will come easier with Smart, and he drastically raises the ceiling of what their defense can become.
Smart has one of the most unique and dynamic impacts in the NBA, and everything the Celtics have loved about him so far in his career, is going to be even more important on a much different roster this season.
In the end, everything always comes down to what the Celtics are willing to spend on him, and how much more he could get on a free market. It is hard to imagine Smart being more valuable to any other franchise, but that does not necessarily mean the Celtics will pay him that way. There are other factors that need to be considered.
Chances are the Celtics are not thinking of spending that money on another free agent this season, but they could be thinking about saving that money for future contracts with so many young players currently on the roster.
Next: Celtics with great competition for backup bigs
The Celtics have done a great job of maintaining everything that made the team great last season, putting their top additions into a situation with continuity and chemistry. On and off the court, Smart is the heart of this team and losing him would mean the Celtics have to change a lot of what they want to be doing.