Without making too much noise, the Celtics climbed onto the podium in the Eastern Conference, and tonight they went to win in Memphis, in a room where the Grizzlies had not yet lost this season. Alongside a very good Jayson Tatum, Marcus Smart signs his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 assists. He has already signed more than in all of last season!
The best defender in the NBA put his team on the right track by being involved in his team’s first sixteen points with 10 points and 3 assists, and he explained that there was a motivation surplus due to the “trash talking” from a spectator at the edge of the field.
“There was a fan on the edge of the field who went crazy, and that gave me a little extra motivation to play my best basketball possible” did he confirm. “I just took the shots they left me, and took advantage of the openings to find my teammates. »
On arrival, it gives 12 assists, one unit from his career high, and it confirms that Marcus Smart has never made so many assists in his career. For the past five years, his passing average has been steadily increasing, and he is running at 6.6 passes per game. The most interesting thing is that he loses only 1.7 ball per game.
In the NBA, they are only five to lose so few balls, while distributing 6.6 assists and more. They are Chris Paul, Fred VanVleet, Mike Conley, Jalen Brunson and therefore Marcus Smart.
Twenty-three assists for three stray balls in two matches
“He reads the game really well and that’s huge for us” reacts Al Horford. “When he needs to be aggressive, he is. When he needs to move the ball, he does. He does a good job of finding the right balance. »
The progression of Marcus Smart as point guard-manager relieves much Jaylen Brown, and Jayson Tatum. They have less to play in isolation, and they can focus more on scoring and less on creating.
“I think he fits the role perfectly” says Joe Mazzulla. “We have three very, very good playmakers with Malcolm Brogdon, Derrick White and therefore Smart at the forefront. When it’s his heart to deal with the ball, he’s a creator. He puts the ball where he needs to then he makes the right choice when he goes to the circle. For two matches, he has done a remarkable job.
In the figures, it actually gives 23 passes distributed in two games, against Denver and New York. We have to go back to Rajon Rondo, in 2014, to find traces of such a sequence on the part of a Celtics leader.
| Marcus Smart | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Crew | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2014-15 | BOS | 67 | 27 | 36.7 | 33.5 | 64.6 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 7.8 |
| 2015-16 | BOS | 61 | 27 | 34.8 | 25.3 | 77.7 | 1.3 | 2.9 | 4.2 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 9.2 |
| 2016-17 | BOS | 79 | 30 | 35.9 | 28.3 | 81.2 | 1.0 | 2.9 | 3.9 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.4 | 10.6 |
| 2017-18 | BOS | 54 | 30 | 36.7 | 30.1 | 72.9 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 0.4 | 10.2 |
| 2018-19 | BOS | 80 | 28 | 42.2 | 36.4 | 80.6 | 0.7 | 2.2 | 2.9 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 8.9 |
| 2019-20 | BOS | 60 | 32 | 37.5 | 34.7 | 83.6 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0.5 | 12.9 |
| 2020-21 | BOS | 48 | 33 | 39.8 | 33.0 | 79.0 | 0.8 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 5.7 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 13.1 |
| 2021-22 | BOS | 71 | 32 | 41.8 | 33.1 | 79.3 | 0.6 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 5.9 | 2.3 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 0.3 | 12.1 |
| 2022-23 | BOS | 9 | 34 | 38.4 | 28.0 | 90.0 | 0.2 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 6.0 | 3.0 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 0.2 | 10.9 |
| Total | 529 | 30 | 38.2 | 32.1 | 78.1 | 0.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 10.5 | |
