Boston Celtics: 3 reasons to bring back Marcus Smart
By Jason Timpf
1. Marcus Smart is the heart and soul of the Celtics
The reality of the return of Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving is that it will lead to many changes in Boston’s rotation. Marcus Smart, Marcus Morris and “Scary” Terry Rozier combined to play about 96.1 minutes per game during this most recent playoff run.
It is safe to assume that about 70 of those minutes are going to be transferred to Irving and Hayward. As a result, Marcus Morris is likely to fall entirely out of the rotation. This leaves about 26 minutes or so to be split between Smart and Rozier.
If the Celtics let Smart leave, Rozier is certainly serviceable in those minutes. But if I’m a Celtics fan, I’d rather have Smart in that role. Yes, Rozier is a better playmaker than Smart, but playmaking will be far from what the Celtics need.
More from Hoops Habit
- 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
- Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
- Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
- Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
- NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers
They need energy and defensive versatility out of those minutes, and Marcus Smart is the embodiment of those two concepts.
There is a good reason that another team is likely to force Boston to overpay for Marcus this summer. He is a culture changer. He makes a half-dozen plays in every game that sway the momentum in Boston’s favor.
This most recent run to within one win of the NBA Finals was earned on the back of blue-collar effort from the likes of Morris, Rozier and Smart. As Morris and Rozier fall further out of the rotation, Smart’s contributions become all the more important.
Marcus Smart is the heart and soul of what the Celtics do on a nightly basis. It might be the difference in a championship run, and I’m not sure Boston can afford to lose him.
Next: Complete 2018 NBA Draft grades for all 30 teams
There is risk in overpaying a player like this. Bloated contracts have become the anchor weighing down many of the NBA’s great franchises. But the Celtics are in good position to absorb that risk, and when it comes to facing the likes of the Golden State Warriors, you need all the help you can get.