Smart & to the Point (Guard)

When the Boston Celtics selected Oklahoma State point guard Marcus Smart, he represented a new chapter for Celtics fans. Smart was more than just a high draft pick. He was the first draft pick that started the rebuild that turned the Celtics into what they are today. Nine years later, Smart’s journey in Boston has been an adventure, to say the least. We’ve seen some high and low moments, but what Celtics fans are witnessing this year is the best Marcus Smart we’ve seen since being selected sixth overall back in 2014.

Smart came into the NBA with a shaky reputation due to his short temper and college blow-ups. Most famously, Smart got into an altercation during an away game vs. Texas Tech, where he shoved a fan before being pulled away by teammates. It was likely the lowest moment of Smart’s young career, but fortunately for him, it wasn’t enough to keep NBA teams from shying away. Teams knew they were getting a tough, hard-nosed player that could score around the basket and play elite defense. Though he only stands at 6 foot 3 inches tall, he has the strength and tenacity to defend anybody on the floor.

Smart’s Early Years

In Smart’s early Celtics days, the team was in a rebuild and filled mostly with rotational players. During his rookie year, he dealt with an early-season injury. Though once he had his chance, Smart quickly earned minutes and didn’t shy away from showing what he brought to the table.

The first few years of Smart’s career featured plenty of offensive struggles. Over his first four seasons, he never shot higher than 37 percent from the field. It quickly became clear that offense was never going to be Smart’s strength in the NBA. Fortunately for Smart, he was able to maintain a quality role with the Celtics by showing that he can provide elite defense, a high basketball IQ, and quality leadership.

Backcourt Partners

Throughout Smart’s career in Boston, the Celtics have filtered through scoring point guards. It started with Isaiah Thomas, before eventually becoming Kyrie Irving and Kemba Walker. Thomas and Smart complimented each other rather well in the backcourt. Their strengths were the other’s weaknesses.

When Thomas was eventually traded, the Celtics brought in disgruntled Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving. Though the Celtics had two young budding stars already in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, Kyrie was still the focus of the offense. Smart was able to take a secondary role, even coming off the bench in 2017. In 2018, Smart had the best shooting year of his career, featuring 42 percent from the field and 36 percent from deep.

Unfortunately, Kyrie was never able to mesh with his Celtics teammates during his time in Boston, and he left after the 2018 season. Kemba Walker was brought in to replace Kyrie, and though Walker was loved by teammates and fans, a serious knee injury plagued him during his time as a Celtic. Smart’s time with Walker wasn’t the best either. After a career-best shooting year in 2018, Smart’s field goal attempts per game rose by nearly 40 percent. In addition, his three-point attempts made up nearly 60 percent of his overall shot attempts. The issue was that his efficiency from 2018 didn’t continue into 2019. Though Smart was still a menace defensively, he quickly became a liability offensively. He struggled all season to find any type of consistency and place in the Celtics’ offense.

Things slightly improved in 2020, but Smart continued to struggle severely on the offensive end of the court. Attempts per game slightly ticked back down, but he still shot an underwhelming 33 percent from deep. For someone who wasn’t an elite playmaker offensively, the lack of efficiency often hurt the Celtics’ offense. Smart’s performance between 2019-2020 frustrated Celtics fans, leading many to push for a trade to bring in another star alongside Tatum and Brown.

Point Guard, Marcus Smart

Since the start of the 2022 calendar year, the Celtics have been arguably the best team in basketball. They went on a major run before falling to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals. Fast forward to now, and we are seeing not only the best Celtics team in over a decade but the best version of Marcus Smart that fans have seen since he entered the NBA. We’ve seen Smart completely transform his game offensively. He isn’t forcing as many shots and has accepted and thrived in a secondary playmaking role. It has resulted in a big boost in assists and an overall more efficient offensive approach.

On top of that, Smart continued his dominance on defense, winning the Defensive Player of the Year award this past season. The last guard to do so, Gary Payton, recently had plenty to say about Smart.

Getting stamped by one of the goats of a particular skill set ain’t to be taken lightly. Shouts to Marcus Smart! Can’t find his Twitter, tag em please…

Full episode in bio ? pic.twitter.com/PtFbKrZomj

— Kevin Garnett (@KevinGarnett5KG) January 18, 2023

The question is, what changed from his underwhelming 2019-2020 stretch? I believe it was a mixture of a variety of things. The most obvious one, though, is the Celtics finally started using Smart as a traditional point guard. That wasn’t a realistic option when Thomas, Irving, and Walker were in the mix.

Marcus Smart is having the best playmaking season of his career. pic.twitter.com/EhGEJneyXV

— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) January 17, 2023

Over the last 12 months, Smart has been the most consistent ball distributor the Celtics have had since the Rajon Rondo days. The development of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown has been key in allowing Smart to play a secondary role in the offense. Still, you have to give credit to Smart and his adjustments as an offensive player. Combine that with his defensive play, and Smart has become one of the better all-around players in the league. He will never be an elite scorer, but with his increased offensive playmaking, the Celtics have a great chance to raise banner 18 sooner rather than later.

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