Let me clear this up right away! Boston.com's, Zachary Dupont, praised former-Celtic, Isaiah Thomas, for boosting his former-teammate, Marcus Smart, for NBA Defensive-Player-of-the-Year, which I agree with. But Isaiah didn't start it - I did (per Boston.Com's Zachary Dupont):
The sequence of Twitter posts is shown below in order of appearance. I got this ball rolling on November 12th, complete with CelticsSentinel article. Follow the sequence.
Now that I have vented, Marcus needs to be in the DPOY discussion very-seriously this season. One thing I can guarantee - Smart's defensive prowess and ferocity will not wane as the season progresses. More from Zachary:
Here is what I had to say on the subject back on November 12:
If Marcus was a lot younger, Danny Ainge might have considered adopting him. He loves him that much - so do most Celtics fans. The love normally reserved for Celtics superstars like Larry Bird and Paul Pierce is gladly bestowed on The Wolverine, Marcus Smart. DPOY? I think so!
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel, @CausewayStreet and Facebook
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2019/11/21/marcus-smart-nba-dpoy
Marcus Smart is off to perhaps the best start of his career this season. While the offensive numbers for Smart have improved dramatically, it’s his defense that’s really caught the attention of people around the league.
Smart’s former teammate Isaiah Thomas took to Twitter to praise him, and to start a very early campaign for him to be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
ADVERTISING
Another former member of the Boston Celtics in Kendrick Perkins responded to Thomas’ tweet to give his support to Smart.
It’s no secret that Smart is a force on the defensive end: He was a member of the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season for the first time in his career. And while Thomas and Perkins might both be biased as former Celtics, it’s easy to see why Smart is getting so much early-season praise.
ADVERTISEMENT
Smart has always been known to match up against the opposing team’s best player, but through 14 games Smart, who is listed at 6-feet-3-inches tall, has been instrumental in helping stop opposing team’s big men. Enes Kanter is the only center on the Celtics’ roster taller than six-foot-eight who has played in more than five games. Despite this lack of height, the Celtics are third in the league in points given up in the paint, trailing only the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, and a major reason for that is Smart’s presence on the court. The Celtics are currently seventh in the league in defensive rating at 102.4.
Smart’s offense has also seen a significant bump this season. Smart is averaging career-highs in points per game (12.1), assists per game (5.1), and free throw percentage (83 percent). He’s also averaging a career-low in turnovers per game (0.9) and personal fouls per game (2.2).
Wednesday night, the Celtics fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 107-104 in overtime. Smart played 40 minutes and scored 15 points and tacked on eight assists and two steals.
The Celtics are back in action Friday night in Denver to take on another three-loss team in the 10-3 Nuggets.
Smart’s former teammate Isaiah Thomas took to Twitter to praise him, and to start a very early campaign for him to be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
The sequence of Twitter posts is shown below in order of appearance. I got this ball rolling on November 12th, complete with CelticsSentinel article. Follow the sequence.
And the 2020 NBA Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Award goes to ----- Marcus Smart. https://t.co/hkEe8hyc5u pic.twitter.com/ODKnSzZNmE
— Tom Lane (@CelticsSentinel) November 12, 2019
Marcus Smart DPOY
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) November 21, 2019
Great minds think a like ✊🏾✊🏾✊🏾
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) November 21, 2019
Now that I have vented, Marcus needs to be in the DPOY discussion very-seriously this season. One thing I can guarantee - Smart's defensive prowess and ferocity will not wane as the season progresses. More from Zachary:
Smart has always been known to match up against the opposing team’s best player, but through 14 games Smart, who is listed at 6-feet-3-inches tall, has been instrumental in helping stop opposing team’s big men. Enes Kanter is the only center on the Celtics’ roster taller than six-foot-eight who has played in more than five games. Despite this lack of height, the Celtics are third in the league in points given up in the paint, trailing only the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, and a major reason for that is Smart’s presence on the court. The Celtics are currently seventh in the league in defensive rating at 102.4.
Smart’s offense has also seen a significant bump this season. Smart is averaging career-highs in points per game (12.1), assists per game (5.1), and free throw percentage (83 percent). He’s also averaging a career-low in turnovers per game (0.9) and personal fouls per game (2.2).
Here is what I had to say on the subject back on November 12:
But Marcus is no ordinary defender, nor is he a run-of-the-mill guard. He defends the little point guards and the big guys. And he does a great job on both. He drives James Harden nuts and circles around Giannis Antetokounmpo like a tornado. The Greek Freak must think there are three Marci out there. There is nothing - and I mean NOTHING - usual about Marcus Smart. He took on the Dallas Maverick's two stars, Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis, last night, and Marcus played a large role in Boston's win. It has been 23 years since an NBA guard has won the DPOY honor, and this season may be the time to stop the trend. And the 2020 NBA Defensive-Player-of-the-Year Award goes to ............!
If Marcus was a lot younger, Danny Ainge might have considered adopting him. He loves him that much - so do most Celtics fans. The love normally reserved for Celtics superstars like Larry Bird and Paul Pierce is gladly bestowed on The Wolverine, Marcus Smart. DPOY? I think so!
Follow Tom at @CelticsSentinel, @CausewayStreet and Facebook
https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2019/11/21/marcus-smart-nba-dpoy
Marcus Smart is off to perhaps the best start of his career this season. While the offensive numbers for Smart have improved dramatically, it’s his defense that’s really caught the attention of people around the league.
Smart’s former teammate Isaiah Thomas took to Twitter to praise him, and to start a very early campaign for him to be the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
ADVERTISING
Another former member of the Boston Celtics in Kendrick Perkins responded to Thomas’ tweet to give his support to Smart.
It’s no secret that Smart is a force on the defensive end: He was a member of the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season for the first time in his career. And while Thomas and Perkins might both be biased as former Celtics, it’s easy to see why Smart is getting so much early-season praise.
ADVERTISEMENT
Smart has always been known to match up against the opposing team’s best player, but through 14 games Smart, who is listed at 6-feet-3-inches tall, has been instrumental in helping stop opposing team’s big men. Enes Kanter is the only center on the Celtics’ roster taller than six-foot-eight who has played in more than five games. Despite this lack of height, the Celtics are third in the league in points given up in the paint, trailing only the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors, and a major reason for that is Smart’s presence on the court. The Celtics are currently seventh in the league in defensive rating at 102.4.
Smart’s offense has also seen a significant bump this season. Smart is averaging career-highs in points per game (12.1), assists per game (5.1), and free throw percentage (83 percent). He’s also averaging a career-low in turnovers per game (0.9) and personal fouls per game (2.2).
Wednesday night, the Celtics fell to the Los Angeles Clippers 107-104 in overtime. Smart played 40 minutes and scored 15 points and tacked on eight assists and two steals.
The Celtics are back in action Friday night in Denver to take on another three-loss team in the 10-3 Nuggets.
Comments
Post a Comment