Boston Celtics: 3 Cs under the most pressure in 2021-22

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Marcus Smart

It may be a tad bit odd to see the first two players mentioned on this list being individuals who received rather pricy extensions this offseason. Generally speaking, the mindset that comes with extended players is that they’ve done enough to prove to their respective franchise that they’re worthy of being kept around for a little while longer.

However, when it comes to one of the most storied organizations in league history like the Boston Celtics, the goal is to always be looking to contend for a championship and, even with these new deals attached to both Williams and Marcus Smart, should they not deliver the front office could be forced to look into replacing them with someone else.

In fact, at least for the veteran guard, this coming year may be the one where he finds himself feeling the most amount of pressure to perform.

For the first time in his soon-to-be eight-year career, Smart is coming into the season viewed as the leading candidate to take over starting point guard duties for the Cs.

Since being drafted by the ball club back in 2014, there has seemingly always been a player who’s been above him in the pecking order at the position — in specific, Rajon Rondo, Isaiah Thomas, Kyrie Irving, and Kemba Walker.

Now, will all of these competitors gone, the one is Smart’s position to lose.

However, being that point guard is the most important position in the modern-day NBA, the 27-year-old must be able to prove he’s worthy of keeping this starting role for the long term and, should he/ the team underperform, Brad Stevens, who has already been rumored to have his frustrations with Smart, could go about and look for other options to consider.

Last season, during Boston’s first 11 games, Smart served as the team’s starting floor general while Kemba was still sidelined as he recovered from his knee operation from that offseason.

During this time frame, the veteran posted solid averages of 12.4 points, six assists, and 1.5 steals per game on 37 percent shooting from deep while helping to guide the Celtics to an 8-3 record along the way.

Though history suggests he has proven to be effective as the lead guard for the team, it’s a rather small sample size in the grand scheme of things.

This coming year will be the ultimate test for Marcus Smart.