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Which Boston Celtics players deserve 2019 NBA awards?

By Michael James

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 21: Kyrie Irving congratulates Celtics' teammate Marcus Smart after Smart hit a three point basket against the Miami Heat during the second half of an NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on January 21, 2019. (Staff Photo By Christopher Evans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 21: Kyrie Irving congratulates Celtics' teammate Marcus Smart after Smart hit a three point basket against the Miami Heat during the second half of an NBA basketball game at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts on January 21, 2019. (Staff Photo By Christopher Evans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald) /
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While it hasn’t been the most fun season to follow, the Boston Celtics still have a few players who deserve postseason recognition.

It’s that time of year. When the regular season is winding down, the playoff seedings are all but locked and the only thing to debate is the end of season awards. And boy, are they debated heavily.

We can slave over context, but at the end of the day these awards are mostly voted based on narrative and reputation. The Celtics had high expectations going into this season and haven’t lived up to them, so their haul when it’s all said and done won’t be as impressive as we hoped.

However, there are still some players who could and should come away with something to put on their resume.

Kyrie Irving: Second or Third team All-NBA

With all the noise surrounding Kyrie Irving’s leadership abilities, he’s in the midst of his best season ever. His numbers:

23.9 PPG/7.0 APG/5.1 RPG

49.2 percent FG on 18.5 attempts/ 40.2 percent 3P on 6.4 attempts

If the Celtics were one of the top two seeds in the East, Irving could be in MVP discussions. He’s competing with Steph Curry, a near-lock for First team All-NBA, Damian Lillard, James Harden, Kemba Walker and Russell Westbrook. Irving definitely has a claim to be in the top four of the six players, so a second-team selection makes sense, while a third-team selection seems like a given.

Marcus Smart: First team All-Defense

For those who have watched the Celtics each of the past five seasons, you could make a case for Marcus Smart to be on an All-Defensive team every single year. It’s difficult to measure defense, so most of these selections are made based on reputation and a decent amount of highlights plays to make voters remember a name.

Playing in starters minutes most of the season, Smart has undeniably earned a First team All-Defense selection. On ESPN’s Real Plus-Minus, Smart has the highest Defensive Real Plus-Minus among all point guards, and would rank third among shooting guards.

Smart’s competing directly with Jrue Holiday and Danny Green to get the First-team nod. Two of the four guards who made last year’s All-Defensive teams, Victor Oladipo and Dejounte Murray have been injured most of the year, leaving the door wide open for new names. While Holiday is probably a lock to get a First team selection, Smart has a pretty good case against Green.

If he was healthy all season, Al Horford might have been able to find himself on an All-Defensive team, while I don’t see anyone else on the Celtics competing for individual awards other than maybe Smart getting a few votes for Defensive Player of the Year. Celtics fans will just have to wait until next year to see if their favorite players can bring home some serious hardware.

Cough, cough, Jayson Tatum?

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