Boston radio host: Former Boston Celtics heart and soul wasn't good in his Cs role

WEEI's Jon Lyons believes Marcus Smart wasn't good in his role as the Boston Celtics' third option, believing that the man who replaced him in it this season, Kristaps Porzingis, has done a far better job.

“I’m appreciative of a lot of what Marcus Smart did… I just think he was in a role that he was supposed to be the third-best player on a championship team and he’s just not that (player),” Lyons said. “Now, if you look at where the Celtics are at, Porzingis is the third-best player on the team, but there are plenty of nights where he is the second-best player on the team and once in a while he is the best player on the team.”

Did this have to be said just days removed from Smart's emotional return to the TD Garden for the first time since the infamous June 2023 trade that ended an era in Boston? Well, for WEEI's business model, of course it did.

Marcus Smart's impact on Boston Celtics not lessened by Kristaps Porzingis's play

Porzingis being such a seamless fit with the Cs doesn't discredit what Smart accomplished in a Celtics uniform. The team's current culture, which survived an invasion from both Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson and ended up better than ever on the other side, was set by Smart. Don't discredit what Jrue Holiday's arrival has meant either; something that technically could've still been possible had the Porzingis swap never happened since it involved Malcolm Brogdon and Robert Williams III.

Jayson Tatum and Al Horford have both publicly credited Smart with playing a role in their success in recent days. Even if the team does raise Banner 18 without him, No. 36's legacy in Boston is undeniable.

And taking shots at him at this point in time serves no purpose other than engagement-baiting.