Boston Celtics: 2 Cs that are playing themselves out of Boston

Boston Celtics player No. 2) Marcus Smart

Now here’s a player slotted onto this list for the wrong reasons…

Coming into the season, there were many who believed Marcus Smart could be heading towards a career season, for, for the first time in his NBA career, he was viewed as the unquestioned option to serve as the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics which, obviously, would lead to a larger role and, as a result, could lead to improved production.

Unfortunately, however, through their first slate of games, the veteran has not only underwhelmed in the majority of his performances but, frankly, has played poorly for this playoff-hopeful squad.

In five games and five starts, Smart finds himself boasting season averages of just 7.4 points, 4.8 assists, and four rebounds per game on a lowly 25.5 percent shooting from the floor and 23.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc.

Now yes, while his defensive prowess has been on display at a high-end rate, snagging 2.6 steals and swatting nearly half a block per night while holding the second-highest defensive rating on the team out of those who have logged over 130 minutes played on the year, but his production on the less-glamorous side of the ball has never been in question, as we’ve always known how great he is there.

This season is all about the 27-year-old proving that he can serve as a quality starting point guard on both ends of the floor and, while it may be too early to hit the panic button on the team’s long-time leader, his start to the season has many concerned about his fit in the role.

Outplayed on several occasions by Dennis Schroder, who has shared starting backcourt duties with Smart the past two games, there is already speculation that if Ime Udoka opts to keep this year’s biggest free-agent signing in the first five it could lead to Marcus being shifted to the bench to serve in a sixth-man role which, in theory, could spark tension between the vet and the organization.

Already having come into the year with offseason rumors suggesting he could be shopped, should his negative play lead to some kind of a demotion, such talks could easily find themselves rising back up again.