The boat is rocking within the Boston Celtics franchise, and Marcus Smart is the one aggressively rocking it.
There was no subtlety following the C’s 128-114 defeat to the Chicago Bulls that saw the team collapse in the fourth quarter. Boston was outscored 39-11 in the frame, eviscerating their lead and handing them an ugly loss.
Things got even uglier after the game, courtesy of Smart.
Here were some of his post-game highlights:
Marcus Smart: "I would just like to play basketball. Every team knows we're trying to go to Jayson and Jaylen. Every team is programmed and studied to stop Jayson and Jaylen. I think everybody's scouting report is to make those guys pass the ball. They don't want to pass the ball
— Chris Grenham (@chrisgrenham) November 2, 2021
Marcus Smart: "I can only do so much just standing in the corner."
— Jay King (@ByJayKing) November 2, 2021
Lacking was any subtlety, but Smart’s rant was not short on call-outs. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown were directly named by the longest-tenured Celtic (for now).
Could this lead to the Boston Celtics trading Marcus Smart?
Let me just say that the NBA is seeing more player-induced chaos than ever before this season. Between this, the Ben Simmons situation, and the Kyrie Irving situation, franchises are being tested by the public acts from their highest paid players.
Tatum and Brown are low-key guys that keep it in-house, but Smart just opened up Pandora’s box. That could lead to one of two options.
The first is this speech being used as fuel and motivation to propel the team out of this losing funk and back onto a postseason trajectory.
The second is Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens ditching a player who clearly doesn’t enjoy playing beside his two franchise stars and finding a better fit on the trade market.