Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart will make sure defense does not fall off

Marcus Smart will be the key to maintaining defense for the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics are coming off a season when they were the best defense in the league, where they could only consistently win games with a dominant effort on that end. Defense has always been the identity of the Celtics and you saw the importance of that more than ever last year.

With defense, the Celtics can make up for anything. It does not matter what kind of struggles they are having, when the Celtics played defense well they were able to stay alive in a game, and compete with the best teams in the league.

This season, the perception of the team could be a bit different. The Celtics are going to be playing a lot of small ball with almost no traditional size, and it is easy to see how much more offensive talent they have right now.

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When you look at the roster, the Celtics clearly have more offensive potential, and that is going to be their biggest strength. What that cannot mean, however, is that the defense falls off. The Celtics need to make sure they find a way to use their versatility even better, keeping together such a strong defensive presence.

Just because the offense has gotten much better, that does not mean the defense can afford to get worse. If the Celtics want to be special, they need the same quality of defense from last year, while also having an offense that will blow teams off the court.

Fortunately, the Celtics just brought back the man most important in maintaining that defense, Marcus Smart. Since his rookie season, he has been an elite defender. Right now, he is setting a standard that is better than just elite, because he has a great case as the most dominant and versatile defensive guard in the NBA.

What makes him so important for the Celtics is how many different things he can do. If the Celtics go even further away from traditional size, and continue to look to have five players that can switch at any times, Smart is the one that will accommodate what is around him.

Any time the Celtics have a matchup or a certain player they may be unable to handle, Smart will be the answer. Stevens will be able to move him around to any defensive position, helping make up for any potential shortcoming that their lineups may call for.

There is a good chance it will be more difficult for the Celtics to maintain their defense. They are going to be using more offense focused options, while looking to get as much as possible on that end. With Brad Stevens, however, he will never sacrifice too much on defense.

With Smart, he has to worry a lot less about sacrificing on that end. Even if the Celtics are using an option that the opposing team can exploit, that is where he can start to use Smart, forcing their opponent to go to a different option they are more solid at stopping.

Obviously, it is not only about Smart. The Celtics always need five capable defenders on the court. When you switch as much as they do, you really cannot afford to have too many glaring weaknesses.

The Celtics also have other standout defenders. Al Horford might still be the most important with how much size they lack. The problem is that the Celtics are already pushing Horford beyond his limits.

They need Horford in his particular role because there is no one else that can do it. With Smart, however, there is more freedom to move him around to the areas where the Celtics need it the most. He will be improving the areas that could have threatened the overall quality of their defense.

The Celtics will have more holes in their defense than last season and Smart is the best option in the NBA to help fix those holes, while the other standout defenders lock down their responsibilities at a high level.

The same goes for their trio of wings and other defenisve specialists off the bench. The Celtics clearly have a lot of defensive talent, but it is still difficult to maintain what they want to do on defense. The Celtics ask a lot of all players in every position, and a player like Smart will make all the difference in making sure that you have an option for anything that might get exposed.

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