Boston Celtics: 5 goals for Marcus Smart in 2017-18

2. Emerge as legitimate Sixth Man of the Year candidate

Despite the Celtics losing four of their five regular starters from last season, it appears from the outset that Smart is destined to resume his role as the first man coming off the bench.

Thus far, coach Stevens has inserted second-year player Jaylen Brown into the starting 2-guard role alongside Irving. This makes sense in that with a relatively inexperienced second unit, Smart’s experience of playing for coach Stevens should ensure the offense keeps going when he replaces one of the players in the starting unit.

While Smart didn’t receive a vote in last season’s Sixth Man of the Year voting, his influence for the Celtics was nonetheless profound. Moving forward, most of his competition from last season is unlikely to feature near the top of voting this upcoming season.

Players such as Zach Randolph, Vince Carter and Jamal Crawford are entering the twilight of their careers. Andre Iguodala, who came second in voting behind Eric Gordon, is expected to receive more rest this year due to the increase of depth on the Golden State Warriors’ roster. Furthermore, another player who featured high in the voting, James Johnson of the Miami Heat, is expected to start this season.

So with Smart entering his fourth season in the best shape of his career, challenging the leaders in Sixth Man of the Year voting is certainly within reason.