The Celtics‘ NBA-best record (11-2) suggests they’re doing just fine so far this season without longtime backcourt cornerstone Marcus Smart. However, conversations with Celtics players reveal that moving on from Smart and getting used to playing without him hasn’t been easy, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston.
“[Smart is] a big part of this culture,” Jayson Tatum said ahead of Boston’s Sunday matchup with the Grizzlies, Smart’s new team. “He was the most beloved Celtic that we had on our team. He was the heart and soul. To see him leave — I thought I was going to play with Smart my entire career. So seeing him leave was tough.”
“I’m going to miss watching him play basketball because he was a lot of fun to watch. Just creative and engaging and like really one-of-a-kind as a player,” Luke Kornet added. “He was a great teammate and player, and his competitive abilities were incredible.”
Having been diagnosed last week with a sprained left foot, Smart wasn’t able to take the court on Sunday in his first game against his former team. The veteran guard still got the opportunity to catch up with old friends and teammates, but he admitted in an interview with Abby Chin of NBC Sports Boston that it was disappointing not to be able to suit up on Sunday.
“We’ve been struggling and we got a great win (on Saturday),” Smart said, per Brian Robb of MassLive.com. “To come back and play a team like Boston, not to be a part of it is definitely devastating.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- While Jrue Holiday is known most for his defensive ability and the Celtics have no shortage of scoring options, the team is encouraging the veteran guard to be aggressive on the offensive end of the court rather than simply deferring to teammates and focusing on defense, as Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe and Jay King of The Athletic detail. Holiday’s scoring average (12.9 PPG) is his lowest mark since his rookie year in 2009/10, but head coach Joe Mazzulla knows he’s capable of giving the team more if needed. “I told him…I watched you on film take things over when guys on the Bucks team were out and you won games because of what you did on both ends,” Mazzulla said last week.
- Sixers forward Nicolas Batum was back with the team on Sunday after missing three consecutive games for personal reasons. According to Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link), Batum explained that he was away due to a health situation with his wife and expects to be back with the club for good now. “I can’t really say what it is, but I had to be there,” Batum said. “… Sometimes, you have to do what you’ve got to do for your family. She’ll be OK now.”
- Donte DiVincenzo‘s connection to former Villanova teammates like Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart was one reason why he joined the Knicks as a free agent this past offseason, and he and Brunson showed on Saturday that the chemistry they established in college remains strong, per Steve Popper of Newsday. Starting alongside Brunson, who had 32 points of his own, DiVincenzo scored a career-high 25 points on 9-of-12 shooting. “I’m not really surprised by it. But it’s pretty cool to see it, one of your best friends playing that way,” Brunson said, adding that he’s “not taking it for granted” to get to play in the NBA with so many of his friends from Villanova.
Is there anything wrong with Jrue Holiday? He had an awful performance in last night’s game. He certainly wasn’t more aggressive on offense like Mazzulla wanted.
Other than age, I don’t think so. He is turning 34 this year, and for a PG that’s old. He may just be wearing down in the form of more days where he just looks off. We’ve been kinda spoiled by guys like Steph, LeBron, Durant, and Jimmy Butler. Jrue might be more like Lowry, Dwayne Wade, Conley, or Russ in which they’re still good and valuable in the right contexts, but they just have less in the tank anymore. The spark is still there, just dimmer.
The games are catching up to Jarue. He is right there with a number of guys whom have been through years of long playoff runs which include Tatum and Brown.
The mental fatigue has set in for all of them.
It’s worse for Boston I think because they appear to have renewed themselves to the point that committing to approx a billion dollars in salary thru 2031 looks like a great idea right now. 630 is going to just two people.
I completely disagree.
The pressures of is this a billion dollar multi championship team has yet to set in.
Enjoy the ride while you can.
Is this a billion
Mental fatigue? We’re like 15 games in and they have one of the best records in the league lol sounds like ur the one with a tired brain…
And to think Stockton was playing tenacious D and running a proper point even at 41
Stockton was A) playing in a slower-paced era, so he wasn’t pushing his body as much, B) one of the most exceptional athletes ever in any sport, and C) played in a system designed specifically for him (or at least his archetype; hat tip to Rickey Green, the guy he replaced) for his whole career. He was taking nine shots a game for his career on average, and never averaged more than 12 for a whole season. His usage rate never crested 21% in any season. That’s a bit more than half the scoring workload of modern stars. That’s the same scoring workload as 38yo Chris Paul coming off the bench in this season. Stockton did some truly amazing things, but nobody should pretend he wasn’t a system player. Because he was.
Jrue has been just ok, probably underwhelming overall. That just shows how spoiled the C’s are right now. This is all they need from him to dominate the regular season.
Celtics need to stop talking about Smart!! Move on.com!!
If u watch any of they interview I didn’t get same thing to me its sound like they love and miss him but it was definitely time to move on
As for Jrue I’m not worried he’s giving u the same production as Smart gave u with out the headache and the demand for the spotlight he’s just on a new team so he needs to find his own identity with them as the season goes he’ll get better
He’s played 13 gms. On a new team he joined late. And already we got answers for Jrue.
Do you even watch him. Do you understand this is a 2way sport. Jrue has been consistently a top 2way player since he came into NBA. 13 GAMES lols ……
He’s playing 34.4 mins ….
5/11.5 FG (.433%) a guy who’s avg 15-16
shots for his career.
.350% 3PT (13 gms) a career 37% shooter
He’s taking 1.5 FTs a gm. A career 3 FTs a game.
Seriously all of you need to understand what playing and fitting in means. Especially on a team expected to go to Finals this yr.
34.4 mins, 13 pts, 7.5 reb, 5.2 ast, plus good D ……. I’d say he’s just getting started. Give him time to fit in. Celtics right now are the team to beat. And they haven’t peaked yet. Chillax ……