Underrated Boston Celtics player No. 3) Marcus Smart
Despite the fact that Marcus Smart has played like a high-end starting point guard during the C’s current hot stretch, we’ve seen many fans (some of whom have taken to our own comment sections) still looking to chastise the veteran as being someone that Boston can’t win with as their starting floor general.
To this, especially in regard to how he’s been playing of late, we at HH say fooey!
One of the major issues fans have had with Smart throughout the past several seasons has been his unwillingness to pass and his unwanted willingness to chuck up shots.
Over the last several months, however, the guard has seemingly dialed it back in the attempts department and, instead, has focused more on seeking out cleaner looks for himself as well as finding scoring opportunities for others.
Since returning from his ankle injury in early January that sidelined him for a little over a week, Marcus Smart has found himself playing some of the best basketball of his career.
During this 19-game span, the eighth-year veteran is finding himself putting up impressive averages of 12.6 points, 6.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.2 steals on 46 percent shooting from the floor and nearly 37 percent shooting from deep while boasting the second-best plus-minus rating on the team (13.1).
During this stretch, Boston has only lost three times, one of which the guard didn’t even wind up suiting up for.
If we wish to dive even deeper into Marcus Smart’s season as a whole, we find that he’s absolutely producing at some of the most efficient rates of his NBA tenure, with examples including a 24.7 assist percentage (career-best), his 4.5 win shares (second-best of his career), and a 1.6 defensive box plus-minus rating (second-best of his career).
Of course, speaking of defense, one must also not gloss over the fact that, once again, we find Smart serving as arguably the C’s best option on this side of the ball, which is even more impressive than it has been in years past when considering the fact that Boston finds itself currently ranked as the best defensive unit in the entire association.
In virtually every aspect of the game, the 27-year-old has truly been one of the most pivotal contributors for this team’s turnaround and, still, we find people looking to call him out as being a player the C’s can’t vie for a championship with.
Put it like this: the Boston Celtics have played 10 games without Marcus Smart this year.
They’ve gone 3-7 in these outings.
With him in the lineup, they’re 37-20.
In 2021-22, Marcus Smart running point for this lineup (assuming everyone’s healthy) gives the Celtics their best chance of winning.
As seen above, it’s simple math, folks!