Marcus Smart’s return to TD Garden is for certain to be emotional on Sunday, and despite the fact that the previous Celtics guard received’t play attributable to a finger damage, Joe Mazzulla continues to be hoping he could make considered one of his outdated signature performs.
“Hopefully during a timeout, I don’t know if his hand still hurts, but he can dive on the floor for a loose ball and roll one out,” the Celtics coach stated.
That’s clearly unfortunate as Smart, now with the Grizzlies, continues to get better from the proper finger damage he suffered final month. But Smart will probably be within the constructing on Sunday, and his presence will evoke feelings and joyful reminiscences of one of the crucial beloved gamers in current Celtics historical past. A tribute video is predicted and the reception will probably be particular.
After 9 seasons with the Celtics that included infinite hustle performs and iconic moments that endeared himself to the town, a Defensive Player of the Year award, an NBA Finals berth and the entire charity and neighborhood work that made him a fixture in Boston, Smart was shockingly traded to the Grizzlies simply earlier than midnight on June 21 in a deal that landed Kristaps Porzingis in Boston.
Marcus Smart blindsided by commerce from Celtics: ‘It was definitely shocking’
The feelings had been uncooked. His Celtics teammates shared within the shock. Payton Pritchard stated Saturday it was “wild to see.” Brad Stevens – whereas making the transfer that signaled the Celtics’ belief in Derrick White as their place to begin guard – stated it was onerous to do due to how a lot Smart meant to the group and metropolis.
Smart expressed some disappointment. In the wake of the commerce, he stated that the Celtics had advised him the week earlier than that they had no plans to commerce him. He stated he was blindsided by the information. He was asleep, and his agent referred to as his fiance, who woke him to inform him. But that didn’t take away his love from the town he grew up and have become an adored determine in. And despite the fact that it was time for the Celtics to maneuver on from him, he was irreplaceable in some ways.
“I’ve always said you don’t replace a guy like him, you just find different ways to be able to do it,” Mazzulla stated. “So who he is will forever be etched into the city of Boston because of what he’s done in community service, and what he’s done here, just helping represent – I think he’s one of the guys that started our defensive foundation before I got here because it was high-level and execute different coverages. So just like I said, who he is off the court and then kind of what he brings from a mindset standpoint and a defensive intensity standpoint. It’ll be good to see him (Sunday).”
Smart’s return will probably be a reminder of that defensive basis and customary of grit and toughness that he set over his 9 seasons. When he was traded, Jaylen Brown made it a degree to place an emphasis on protection to make sure the Celtics wouldn’t drop off on that finish in Smart’s absence.
The Celtics have maintained a Top 5 protection with out Smart. The addition of Jrue Holiday – one other veteran All-Defensive guard – has been big, White has maintained his All-Defensive manufacturing and Brown has performed the perfect protection of his profession.
It simply seems to be a bit of totally different. But nobody can fairly do it like Smart.
“You don’t replace it, I think it just looks different,” Mazzulla stated. “I think (Jayson) Tatum dove on the floor for a loose ball (on Thursday night), Derrick’s winning plays, the back tips in transition, Jrue’s constant intensity, I think just focusing on everybody’s strengths and what they’re able to do. Jaylen’s individual defense, like that’s just as tough as what another player does, it just looks different, and so I think you just have to highlight each person’s definition of toughness and how that pertains to helping our team win.”
There’s no query, although, that defensive tradition the Celtics have maintained began with Smart. Sunday will probably be an opportunity, amongst different issues, to understand that.
“I think when you have a guard that plays as hard as he does who guards centers, guards point guards, picks up full court, boxes out, charges, all those little things that I think go into it,” Mazzulla stated, “like I think for him to win Defensive Player of the Year, he’s what, the first guard since Gary Payton, it’s only something bigs do, so when you see a guard have an impact on the game on so many levels the way he did, I think that’s kind of what started it.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com