NBA Notebook: Marcus Smart rejuvenated next to Dennis Schröder

Ime Udoka spoke in training camp about desiring balance between his lineups, alluding to conversations with certain free agents who understood their role coming into Boston. Dennis Schröder signed among them, a starter with the Lakers last year who expressed his preference to remain in that role in camp, but added he would fill whatever role the team needed. He was bench-bound. 

The Celtics planned to use Marcus Smart and Schröder together anyway, particularly to close games. Al Horford's COVID-19 case and Jaylen Brown's hamstring injury then opened the door for two poor shooting point guards joining forces in the backcourt as starters for 11 games. Boston won seven of them and the duo became an unlikely success story, posting a +8.0 net rating together in 355 minutes, including a 100 defensive rating that ranks fourth among Boston's two-man combos. By comparison, Kemba Walker and Smart posted a +1.6 last year. Walker and Evan Fournier are losing their minutes by -12.7 per 100 possessions in New York.

For all the fanfare of Smart's ascension to full-time point guard, backed by a long-term extension, Schröder held the ball for over six minutes per game through 17 games, nearly double Smart. Schröder's scoring alleviated the offensive pressure on Smart, and allowed his return to his previous status as one of the league's best defenders -- ranking fourth in steals with a 44% defensive FG%. On offense, Schröder slashed through opened lanes to the basket with his speed and found Smart for secondary drives, inspiring more downhill action for the offense.  

Fewer Smart threes flying up. More Schröder drives that feel like a blur. Throwback visuals of Smart diving on the floor defined this recent 7-3 stretch for Boston. When Walker got traded, before Schröder signed, Smart's offensive responsibilities appeared to reach an untenable level. Now, the Boston backcourt appears as balanced and stable as ever, if not sustainable due to Schröder's one-year deal. They lack shooting, but are able to make up for it with dribbling and passing (their 108 offensive rating would rank in the top-half of NBA teams). Both naturally look to get others involved. 

"I think it's good," Udoka said pregame on Saturday. "Nice little balance, Dennis scores the ball well and gets guys into things, and we like him off the ball using that scoring ability. Marcus can handle at times, take the pressure off of him at times and we love him in off-ball action. He's been great there, as well as in the pick-and-roll."

Nonetheless, Udoka told Boston Sports Journal last week that Schröder will return to the bench when the team's healthy in favor of original lineup including the Brown, Horford, Smart, Jayson Tatum and Robert Williams III (103 OR, 94 DR, +8.5). That may not happen often given the Celtics' run of health so far, though it projects to break up some of Schröder and Smart's time together when it does. They were averaging 19 minutes before Brown went down and 25.3 per game since. Schröder also shot 35.3% on 68 shots off the bench, compared to 50.3% on 177 attempts as a starter. 

Josh Richardson, not to be excluded from the dynamic, escaped some early-season struggles through this rotation too. He noted his ability to make plays on the ball when he comes off the bench, driving a 48.3% shooting run over his last seven games. The backcourt may boast the least shooting in the NBA, but all three can get downhill and hit mid-rangers. Smart shot 9-for-13 Friday against the Lakers, only attempting two shots from deep on Friday in what marked his most efficient night from the field ever on that volume of shots. 

"A lot of defense is just will, honestly, and I think Marcus has one of the strongest wills that I've seen in this league," Richardson told BSJ Friday. "Dennis is the same way honestly. They're both bulldogs, but Smart, he's vocal, he's strong, got good feet. He doesn't give up on plays, I think that's a good thing and I think those are big attributions to what he's doing on that end of the court." 

Smart admitted to battling personal issues throughout last season. He did not endorse the major changes the Celtics took organizationally after the loss to Brooklyn in May, pointing toward the injuries and COVID that derailed much of the regular season. When the team did bring in new players and a first-year coach in Udoka, Smart predicted a rocky start, he recalled Friday. 

He publicly called out Brown and Tatum's approach late in games, battled illness through the opening weeks and chafed at the idea of naming captains, generally seeming frustrated. Meanwhile, his shooting percentages marked his worst since his rookie season. That changed when Schröder joined him as his running mate, shattering the stagnancy of the unit. Unlike last season, when Smart bounced between lead guard and wing through Walker's injuries, Schröder gave the Celtics an every-night point scorer and solidified Smart's role, playing slightly less time on the ball this season. 

"(Smart)'s been great. The shooting, not just with Marcus, but with other guys on the team hasn't been as high as in other years, so you've got to find other ways to impact the game," Udoka told BSJ Saturday. "Obviously, he's a defensive-minded guy and he kind of hangs his hat on that, so he's been great there. But also ... being out there with Dennis at the same time, they don't have to have the ball their hands, they can do multiple things, play on and off the ball, then pick your spots offensively. He's done a good job establishing that. I've been a victim of Marcus having big games in the past, with Philadelphia and Brooklyn. So we're still waiting for him to have one of those games shooting-wise where he comes alive a little bit, but that's kind of across the board." 

Smart's now shooting 58.1% at the rim, going downhill with the freedom to shoot mid-rangers. His last five games before Saturday's 2-for-6, eight-assist showing featured 13 PPG, 5 RPG, 7.2 APG and 2.6 SPG on 46.3% shooting. The Celtics enjoy Schröder finishing passing sequences as a 35.3% catch-and-shoot finisher with a 54% mark on 22 open three-pointers. He added three more on seven tries Saturday night in a blowout win over the Thunder. 

The win also featured a 28 assist, seven-turnover effort (2 TO in garbage time). Ill-advised passes and turnovers can plague Schröder and Smart, but hedging between the two as lead guards almost cancels out their inefficiencies. They also embody the identity Boston wants to take on. They may not start games going forward if Brown and Williams III return Monday, but Udoka has now had plenty of time to see its merits and it won't be surprising if the first substitution of every game becomes Schröder for a big man.

"It's pretty cool," Schröder told BSJ about playing with Smart. "I watched him my whole career as well. Defensively, being a dog, and me coming here, with Josh Richardson, Marcus Smart, all these people who like to play defense and be a dog on the defensive end. It's been great and I think we just got to keep it going and keep getting better at it."

Here's what else is happening in the league (through Friday):

Atlanta (7-9): Inching back toward expectations, scoring 110 points in three straight wins over Milwaukee, Orlando and Boston. Trae Young's numbers now stand in line with his career averages, while posting career-high efficiency from the field and three-point range in the face of fewer free throw attempts. He averaged 27.0 points, 9.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds on 42.3% three-point shooting over the streak. 

Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta's recent lottery pick and second-year big, is nearing a return to possibly solidify the front court's defense.

Boston (8-8): Looked better than they have all season driving downhill in a blowout win over the Lakers. The Celtics are 6-3 over their last nine games, figuring out how to scrap by on offense through two-pointers and Jayson Tatum broke out of his slump with 37 points on Friday night. Jaylen Brown (hamstring) remains out, but the team is now 6-3 when Dennis Schröder starts. He's averaging 22.3 PPG, 4.0 RPG and 4.0 APG in seven games since Brown went down on 51.7% shooting. He didn't bask in his 21-point revenge game. 

“It was cool," he said. "We competed out there. Luckily we won the game."

Brooklyn (12-5): Winning the games they should be, but looked overmatched by the Warriors at home in a potential NBA Finals preview. Kevin Durant (shoulder) his first game of the season in Friday's win, a chance for a still-inconsistent James Harden to find his footing. Harden scored 36 points in the win over Orlando, and averaged 14.3 free throw attempts per game over Brooklyn's last three, but shot 38% from the field. They're still the top three-point shooting team in spite of that, thanks to Patty Mills, Joe Harris and Durant. 

"I stay in touch with Kyrie (Irving)," Steve Nash said this week. "But we don't really talk about basketball. Just stay in touch and make sure everything's good with him."

Charlotte (10-7): LaMelo Ball joined Luka Doncic in Friday's win as the youngest players ever to lead both teams in points (32), rebounds (11) and assists (8). He's averaging 19.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, and during Charlotte's last six games he's upped his rebounding to 11.0 per game, driving into a five-game win streak, which included stunning the league-best Warriors and east-best Wizards. The 20-year-old is a superstar in the making and the Hornets remain a competitor in the east, slowly beginning to improve their defense. 

Chicago (11-5): Lonzo Ball got to annihilate his former Lakers in LA in one of the week's funnier moments, posting 27 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Demar DeRozan continues to score as proficiently as any player in the league (28.7 PPG last three games), while the team has plenty of firepower to await Coby White's reemergence through a 1-for-11 return in three games. 

To make matters worse for LA, DeRozan admitted he thought he was Lakers-bound in the offseason. 

Cleveland (9-8): Usually one NBA team's hot first month crumbles into dust. That could be the Cavaliers, who learned Friday Collin Sexton will miss the season with his torn meniscus before he was set to enter free agency. Evan Mobley fell to an elbow injury earlier in the week that could cost him a month. They've lost three straight games, 2-4 since Sexton went down. 

Dallas (9-6): Luka Doncic stumbled and hurt his ankle on a drive on Monday, providing a chance for Kristaps Porzingis to score 20 points in back-to-back games, while the Suns made easy work of Dallas in back-to-back games. This team can't sustain a Doncic loss, so it won't be surprising to see them manage him carefully into a Clippers mini-series to begin next week. 

“It was weird also playing without Luka," Porzingis said. "He’s normally orchestrating all the offense, and now we’re kind of out there looking at each other like what are we going to run?”

Denver (9-7): Lost three straight games, Michael Malone lost his cool and had to be held back by Nikola Jokic from the officials on Thursday. Chicago then edged the Nuggets out the next day. Jokic missed the game with a sprained wrist, adding to Denver's injury woes. 

"I don't think it's going to be a long-term thing at all, but at the same time, I don't want to put him out there if he can only play with one hand," Malone said. "Unfair to ask him to do that. When he's ready to play, he'll play ... there's no timeline at this point."

Golden State (14-2): Won three straight, capped by a fun duel in Detroit against Cade Cunningham that Jordan Poole (32) and Andrew Wiggins led (27) while Steph Curry, Draymond Green and other Golden State regulars sat. 

Houston (1-14): Losers of 13 straight, including uncompetitive showings against Memphis and Oklahoma City that solidified this as the worst team in the west. Worse, they're heading on a short east coast swing before hot eastern teams in Chicago and Charlotte visit Houston. Stephen Silas pointed out the team's big man crunch as among the issues, as this group could be eyeing selling some of them before long.

"If we continue to play smaller with C-Wood at the five, that leaves me with three centers," Silas said. "Finding time for all three makes it more difficult. If I want (Christian Wood) to play a good amount of minutes at the five, it’s hard to play (Alperen Sengun) and (Daniel Theis) together. That kind of limits where I can stick guys in."

Indiana (6-11): Lost to the Knicks, Pistons and Hornets as it becomes more clear this just might not be a playoff mix as the NBA approaches the 20-game mark. They rank 15th in offense and 19th in defense in their first-year under Rick Carlisle and while it may be worth waiting for T.J. Warren to return, their mix seems off, enough to make Carlisle bench the starters on Friday against Charlotte. 

"(We) needed to get some fighters in the game," he said after, admitting rotations could potentially be tweaked. 

Clippers (9-7): A startling -5.8 per 100 possessions when Eric Bledsoe plays on an otherwise positive team. Marcus Morris has played only two games all season (abdominal strain) and will miss at least another week. They've lost three of four, but welcomed back Serge Ibaka for his first games since May 25 earlier this month, who explained a decision to ask to be sent to the G-League, where he posted 22 points, 14 rebounds and four assists on Thursday. 

“One of the bigger reasons I decided to go to play the G League was reading this book, it's called ‘Ego Is the Enemy,'" he said.

Lakers (8-9): LeBron James returned after eight games and looked good, shooting 10-for-16 in Boston following an injury that could've cost him 1-2 months. Unfortunately, LA continues to sputter with no straight path out of the Russell Westbrook experience aside from hoping for a late-season burst. 

Westbrook shot 5-for-14 in the blowout loss, largely invisible as a scorer and launching four threes as Boston left him all alone to miss three. Anthony Davis sputtered on defense after a hot start, while their cast of role players got torched by Marcus Smart and Schröder. They rank 24th in offense and 18th in defense, better with James, but far from the forecasted west contender. 

Memphis (8-7): Hanging on above .500 with an impressive win over the Clippers. Ja Morant is reaching Steph Curry, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic level of singular importance to a franchise, as Memphis shoots 5.4 eFG% points better with Morant on the floor compared to off, ranking in the 90th percentile of the league. His defense lags like much of Memphis' roster right now, and Memphis GM Zach Kleiman acknowledges the early stage of development much of this roster, including rookie Ziaire Williams, are in. 

Miami (11-5): They're already in the buyout rumor headlines regarding John Wall, who's still considered unlikely to be released by the Rockets this year, according to Woj. As for the team on the floor, Jimmy Butler missed three games before bouncing back with 63 points in Miami's last two wins, capping a four-game streak and tying LeBron's Heat 30-point triple-double record. Bam Adebayo returned from a two-game layoff and Tyler Herro (wrist) caught some rest after averaging 24 PPG through his teammate's absences. They have plenty of flexibility to rest.

Milwaukee (8-8): Still unconcerned about their slow start, as Giannis Antetokounmpo casually matches his classic NBA Finals backtracking block on a Friday.

Brook Lopez also appears to be nearing a return from his extended absence with a back injury, according to Shams Charania. They edged out the Lakers and Thunder to begin a five-game homestand behind 68 points and 28 rebounds from Giannis. 

Minnesota (6-9): A $250,000 fine for holding an offseason workout at new team owner Alex Rodriguez' house ranks among the strangest sports headlines in recent memory.

New Orleans (3-14): Zion Williamson keeps getting scans on his injured foot, maybe hoping they'll speed up a frustratingly slow process for a team that badly needs him back. Meanwhile, the team strangely signaled changed culinary practices for the young star, as Didi Louzada's 25-game suspension keeps the attention focused off the court in New Orleans. On it, Brandon Ingram led a 2-2 week and Jonas Valaniunas leads the NBA in three-point percentage (55.3%). 

New York (8-7): Nerlens Noel's return stands among the most anticipated in the league for a team sliding on defense (ranked 17th) with a -4 net rating in November. Expect lineup adjustments, as Derrick Rose stands among the best on-off players in the league (+30 points added per 100 possessions ranks in 98th percentile in NBA) and Evan Fournier more regularly sits late in games. 

Oklahoma City (6-9): Losing again, three of their last four, as the schedule ramps up and they head east. Al Horford's impact on this group last year continues to leave an impression on their young cast, as Dave Bliss, filling in for head coach Mark Daigneault while he's on maternity leave, said Horford was the "team dad" to BSJ before Celtics-Thunder on Saturday. 

Orlando (4-12): Finally seeing life from rookie Jalen Suggs, who scored 21 points in a two-point loss to the Nets playing through a quad injury. They've lost four of their last five. 

Philadelphia (9-7): Apparently have a 30-player wish list for Ben Simmons and the fact that they haven't moved him if that's the case either speaks to the league's interest, or Daryl Morey's high asking price. It still feels like the latter is the problem, with previous reports point toward a Malcolm Brogdon and Caris LeVert package being available and now a Jerami Grant one from Detroit. Philadelphia resumed fines for his non-compliance with team activities again this week.

“This is no longer about a trade,” agent Rich Paul told The Athletic. “This is about finding a place where we can help Ben get back to his mental strength and get back on the floor. I want him on the floor playing the game that he loves. I want Ben on the floor, whether that’s in a 76ers uniform or any other uniform. That’s not up to me, but I want him in a state where he can resume play. We want to cooperate and want to work him back on the floor.”

Phoenix (12-3): Played for 12 straight wins on Saturday, as Devin Booker reminisced on times when the team never played on national TV. 

Portland (8-8): Kevin O'Connor said on The Mismatch teams are no longer sure who to engage with day-to-day with Blazers GM Neil Olshey embroiled in a team investigation over the workplace he's overseen. In response, the league's GMs formed an association to support themselves in circumstances like these, an interesting move that may speak to the perceived validity of the investigation. 

"In his nine-plus years running the Trail Blazers, the NBA has received no calls to the league office or its tips hotline alleging workplace complaints against Olshey," Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne wrote for ESPN. "The Blazers' human resources department received no complaints on Olshey until recent weeks, Yahoo Sports reported."

Sacramento (6-10): Whether you loved or hated Tristan Thompson with the Celtics, you have to watch his epic rant on the state of Sacramento and whether coaches need to inspire the players. 

Fans took direct aim at Luke Walton during a 19-point loss to the Raptors, as a decent cast of players continues to garner no traction under the fourth-year head coach. 

San Antonio (4-11): Second-year wing Devin Vassell scored double figures in four of the team's last five, another good player part of a collection that don't amount to anything great. They'll be one of the most intriguing deadline teams this year, as rebuilding seems to be staring them in the face, losing four straight games and five of their last six. It's hard to get excited about much here after years of titles. 

Toronto (8-9): The old Pascal Siakam emerged with 32 points and eight rebounds in Sacramento leading a blowout win. This team keeps hanging in there in the playoff race and they're a fun watch. Eerily similar to those long Jason Kidd-coached Bucks teams. 

Utah (9-5): Found footing with a 3-2 homestand and blowout wins over the Sixers and Raptors. This still doesn't resemble the dominant regular season team of last year though, and their roster does have some players like Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic if they want to shake things up mildly midseason. 

Washington (10-5): Flexible, deep, versatile and finally have some defensive identity. Lakers fans will look on in dismay for years, while Tommy Sheppard (extended as GM) and DMV fans can thank LA for their best start since 1974-75. It's poetic that Wes Unseld Jr. is leading them as a first-year head coach.