C’s Smart not shying away from distributor role
Celtics guard thinks playmaking ability can unlock offense
Marcus Smart wants the ball in his hands more, which is not to say that the Celtics guard wants more shots — a relief in the career-long debate over his shot selection.
Instead, Smart sees himself as a solution in an offense that stalled far too often last season. Once Jaylen Brown went down for good with a torn ligament in his left wrist, the Celtics were only as good as Jayson Tatum’s ability to fight double-teams and traps.
Smart’s desire to become more of a pass-first point guard now, combined with the return of Al Horford’s playmaking excellence, could be the key to unlocking that iso-oriented gridlock.
“It’s easy. For me it’s find-unbelievable ing those guys in the right spots,” he said this week during the start of training camp. “I was one of the leaders in assists last year, and that speaks volumes for my playmaking skills and what I can do with the ball in my hands.
“Just having that opportunity to finally go out there and do it without having to look over my shoulder, or having to worry about what they’re going to tell me — if I’m too aggressive here or not too aggressive there. And just really picking those spots,” said Smart. “But it’s going to be easy, just having Jayson and Jaylen — two players in this league. We’re going to need them a lot this year. We’re going to lean on them a lot, and we’re going to do a good job making sure they get the ball.”
It shouldn’t take much to improve on the concept, says Tatum.
“I’ve played four years with Smart. We’ve been in a lot of moments and been on the same page,” said Tatum. “As long as we’re on the same team, I think it makes sense that’s something we’re going to continue to get better.
“Smart is a helluva player,” he said. “As good as he is on the defensive end, his playmaking is right up there. So having the ball in his hands is always a good thing.”
Ime Udoka made one of his first references to Smart’s desire to become a true lead guard this season after taking over as Celtics coach. With two premier wings rotating into place for shots, this is exactly how Udoka wants to run his offense.
“It wasn’t just him flat-out asking,” said Udoka. “We told him what role we envision him playing, having the ball in his hands more. He’s a natural playmaker that can do some things. So we obviously want to find him and help him get guys shots. He understands the personnel on this team because he’s been here all these years so he knows what Jayson and Jaylen bring to the table and it’s his job to do more facilitating then he’s done in the past.
“It’s something he’s going to embrace obviously. The ball’s going to be in his hands more and it’s a huge opportunity for him to step up and grow his game as well as his leadership.”
With his focus more on running the offense, perhaps Smart will find more balance with his shooting as well.
“He’s one of our natural playmakers who facilitates well. He’s not always looking to score,” said Udoka. “He understands who he’s playing with. He knows what he has on those wings around him and I want him to be an extension of us coaches on the floor — recognize the mismatches and who to get the shot for, as well as to get his own shot and be aggressive. But he’s got two talented wings and knows what he has there. It’s finding that balance, but also being aggressive.”
And, Smart hopes finding better chemistry than was apparent last season.
“For us, we learned that we loved each other — more than just like. I know a lot of people don’t think we did,” he said. “But on the court it was a different story. For whatever reason it didn’t click the way we wanted it to, but that’s just life.
“That’s how it goes. Just because you’re playing for something doesn’t mean it’s going to go the way that you want it to or thought it was going to go in your mind. But nothing is guaranteed. You have to demand it and take it. For us it’s not getting too low or getting too high. We have to understand that. This is a marathon, not a sprint — it’s not going to be easy. But as long as we prepare the right way and do our job, we’ll be putting players in a place to be aggressive.”