Marcus Smart has been one of the top defensive guards in the NBA for a couple of seasons now, but he’s failed to receive that recognition on a league-wide level just yet. Part of that has been a matter of circumstance. All-Defensive team players are generally always starters and that’s something that Smart has not been due to the presence of Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving and Avery Bradley.
Circumstances have changed though in the past few weeks. Smart has been inserted into the starting lineup and has been rewarded with starter-level minutes while helping to propel the Celtics to a seven-game winning streak since the switch has been made. That type of added workload is getting him matched up against the top guards in the NBA and he’s responded by making life extremely difficult on them.
Case in point is Wednesday’s 130-125 overtime win over the Washington Wizards. Bradley Beal is Washington’s top scorer and had a rather solid night a first glance of the box score (22 points, 8-of-16 shooting). Look deeper, though, and you see a player that coughed up a season-high six turnovers. Smart was Beal’s primary defender for a good chunk of the night and was prominently involved in all six of those miscues, doing simply what Smart does: making life miserable for opponents.
In fact, even though Smart was credited with just three steals on the night, a look at the film shows he had a hand in forcing nine of Washington’s 15 turnovers. Only three teams in the league commit turnovers at a lower rate than the Wizards but Boston managed to throw them off kilter just enough to rally from a nine-point halftime deficit and snap a four-game home winning streak from the Wizards.
Slowly but surely, Smart is building up his resume for more national recognition by doing just about everything on the defensive end. Let’s examine his work on Wednesday night more closely to see what type of difference he's providing within the starting five.
TAKING CHARGES
The point guard is now in a three-way tie for the Celtics’ lead with six charges drawn on the season, which ranks him in the top-15 in the NBA in that category. He forced one on John Wall in the first half on a drive to the rim and does the same here against Beal, slipping in his way as the shooting guard tried to dish off a pass.
Amazingly, Kyrie Irving is tied with Smart for the team lead and added one of his own in the final two minutes of regulation on Wall on Wednesday night. The All-Star admitted after the game that he watches Smart defensive highlights in his spare time and it’s evident that mentality is wearing off on him a bit this season in that department.
BALL PRESSURE
The Celtics are forcing turnovers at a top-five rate this season and a bit component of that is upping the intensity in the halfcourt to make players uncomfortable. Watch here as Smart pressures Beal towards the sidelines and makes him throw a pass to nowhere.
Smart also is terrific at picking his spots pressuring in the full court as well. This Celtics turnover late in the fourth quarter could have quickly turned into two easy points for the Wizards in transition. Instead, Smart camps out after the steal and surprises Beal with some ball pressure. He deflects the dribble off of Beal and stops the break. The 24-year-old doesn’t get credit for the steal here since it went out of bounds but he is deserving of it.
OBSTRUCTING PASSING LANES
No one else on the roster knows opposing offenses' playbooks more than the fifth-year guard. He’s constantly coaching his teammates up, making sure they are in the right place on the floor and defending against tendencies. The Wizards have the ability in the halfcourt to pick you apart with a couple of guards that can get into the lane with Wall and Beal combined with ample shooting spaced around both. Smart did his best to prevent this all night with strategic placement of himself away from the play. He knew where Beal wanted to go with the ball when he wasn’t guarding him himself and broke up several plays that weren't credited to him as steals (since they went out of bounds)
This defensive work would be enough to make Smart deserving of the hefty four-year deal the Celtics delivered this offseason but his contributions did not stop there on Wednesday night. Smart finished with just one point short of his season-high with 18 points, while grabbing five rebounds, including two offensive boards in the overtime period that directly led to baskets. On one of them, he simply outhustled Markieff Morris from the 3-point line to get position to dish out a rebound for an open Terry Rozier 3.
MARCUS SMART IS VALUABLE (@AAANe_MAnews) #AAANortheast pic.twitter.com/rdsup4XP7Q
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 13, 2018