Scattered thoughts on Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, Jayson Tatum and Kyrie Irving in the wake of the C's rally in Indiana on Saturday night.
1. Marcus Smart was overdue: The guard may be the worst high-volume shooter in the NBA, but he was still set to regress to the mean at some point after a horrific start to his season shooting the rock. The 23-year-old had shot the ball over 40 percent in a game just once in his first 18 contests this year entering Saturday’s win and snapped out of that funk with a 7-of-8 shooting night for 15 points. Playing alongside Kyrie Irving for the majority of those minutes certainly helped the cause and opened up the floor for him a bit more, but like Terry Rozier on Friday night, Smart didn’t force much either. He made a host of open midrange jumpers and kept his 3-point attempts to a minimum (1-of-2) all game. When you combine that output with his all-around contributions (six rebounds, five assists, two steals), this was easily his best performance of the season.
Perfect pass from @dtheis10. Perfect shot by Marcus Smart. Perfect execution to end the third quarter. C's enter the 4th with an 82-70 lead over Indy. pic.twitter.com/QtulhstxIA
— Taylor C. Snow (@taylorcsnow) November 26, 2017
#Pacers coach Nate McMillan on #Celtics- "That team showed us tonight that there's another level in the NBA that you have to get to. We're trying to get there."
— Clifton Brown (@CliftonGBrown) November 26, 2017