What the Celtics are missing without Marcus Smart
COMMENTARY
The Celtics snapped their three-game losing streak in a Kevin Garnett-celebrated win over the Timberwolves Monday night.
The C’s were desperate to shake things up and, due to injuries to Jared Sullinger, Amir Johnson and, of course, Marcus Smart, they had no choice. Still, even against an immensely athletic but inferior foe, it was refreshing to see Boston rediscover its tenacious effort and inspired cohesiveness.
Sullinger (back spasms) and Johnson (plantar fasciitis) will be back soon enough and, fortunately, it appears Smart will be too. Not a moment too soon.
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This update should come as no surprise after listening to Danny Ainge last week.
“He was on the court for the first time [Wednesday], and he’s running around and felt good,’’ the Celts’ president of basketball operations said of Smart last Thursday on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich. “Barring any setbacks, [his return] is looking closer to the end of this month to the beginning of the new year. He looks good and we’re excited to get him back soon.’’
Smart has missed 16 games since suffering a knee injury in a win over the Nets on Nov. 20, during which time the team has gone 8-8. The Celtics are 10-9 without him overall, including a minor three-game injury absence in early-November. Boston has four games remaining before turning the calendar to 2016, the next two on the road versus the Hornets and Pistons before closing the year at the Garden with the Knicks and Lakers.
Most notably, the defense and the team’s intensity on that end of the floor have suffered minus Smart.
In 19 games sans the elite sophomore guard, the C’s are outscoring their opponents 103.3-100.4, as compared to a 103.6-97.7 margin in nine contests with him. The point-differential is still positive, but drops by three full points. When Smart went down, the Celtics were tied for first in the NBA with a 95.0 defensive rating (number of points allowed per 100 possessions). They’ve since fallen into a third-place tie at 98.1 because of a ninth-place 100.3 rating without him.
Smart’s influence is palpable. The team’s defensive efficiency rating this season is 95.5 with the All-Defense-caliber defender on the floor, third-best behind Jonas Jerebko (94.8) and Evan Turner (95.3).
Absent the 21-year-old, Johnson has the club’s best rating at 95.6 and only six players have a positive net rating, as compared to 10 when Smart’s in uniform. Most everyone has taken a step back.
“Marcus just gives us the depth; you can always get by without any one of your players for a little bit of time but it does catch up,’’ Ainge admitted. “Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley’s minutes have increased in Marcus’ absence. Both have had great years, but we need Marcus’ defense and we need his versatility.’’
As recently as Saturday, following the Celts’ discouraging effort and communication-lacking home loss to the Hawks, Evan Turner – another player who’s seen his playing time rise since Smart wound up in street clothes – echoed those sentiments.
“We’ve got to get the great Marcus Smart back. That’s what we’re really missing at the end of the day. Or Larry Bird,’’ joked the veteran.
“I have the utmost respect for Smart as a competitor,’’ Turner said, turning serious. “He’ll definitely help, because his intangibles are great. Certain games we needed something, defensively, somehow he ended up with a loose ball or a charge, or damn near a fight.’’
Smart’s a bulldog, seemingly to his physical detriment, but it’s not just his aggressive defensive impact that’s been missed by the Green. There’s a measurable trickle-down effect throughout the line-up on offense.
Smart’s averaging 9.8 points, 3.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in his nine games; eight starts, whether alongside Avery Bradley or Isaiah Thomas.
While Smart’s obviously randomly capable of erupting for 26 points, the career-best total he scored at Oklahoma City back on Nov. 15 in his return near his old Stillwater stomping grounds, the guard isn’t known for tickling the twine. However, his presence lengthens out the line-up.
When the Celtics have Smart starting in order to emphasize their backcourt and perimeter defense, it forces the more offensively potent Thomas or Bradley back to the bench, thereby providing a spark from the second unit against opponents’ second and third options. It could be argued the most productive combination we saw came just prior to Smart’s injury, when he started beside Thomas while Bradley spent four games thriving off the pine with an average of 18.5 points in just 25.5 minutes. That’s 3.2 points more than Bradley’s season average in 6.1 fewer minutes.
Therefore, it should come as no surprise that, with Smart, Boston’s bench is averaging 47.3 points a game this year. Without him, that total drops to 36.3. A lack of the same personnel distribution has not only removed a quality scorer from the bench, raising each guard’s minutes from his season average has limited the ability to have some fresher legs late in games.
In all likelihood, the Celtics’ No. 6 pick in the 2014 NBA draft won’t start immediately upon his return. Once any minute’s restrictions have been lifted, though, you can expect Smart will quickly slide back into that role, thereby giving coach Brad Stevens more options both offensively and defensively.
Hopefully some more consistency from the C’s will follow.
Behind the scenes during Steph Curry’s day in Boston
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