Marcus Smart’s return has helped Celtics starting five turn into a surprise juggernaut

Marcus Smart’s return has helped Celtics starting five turn into a surprise juggernaut

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2022/01/marcus-smarts-return-has-helped-celtics-starting-five-turn-into-a-surprise-juggernaut.html



By Brian Robb | brobb@masslive.com

There hasn’t been much consistency from one night to another during the Celtics season overall, which made a second straight blowout win for Boston on Tuesday over the Kings a welcome development. In fact, it was the first time all season long that the Celtics had put together dominant performances in two straight games, allowing light minutes for the team’s usual starting five.

That starting group has been back at full strength for the past two games after Marcus Smart returned from a six-game absence after testing positive for COVID-19. Boston’s original starting five has played well together all year long but they still have been healthy together for 14 games after Tuesday’s blowout win over the Kings.

However, the combination of Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Al Horford and Rob Williams were at their absolute best together against Sacramento. Tatum and Brown shot the lights out, nearly outscoring the Kings by themselves with a combined 66 points from the All-Star duo. Robert Williams was a monster on the offensive glass, tallying a career-high 17 rebounds (seven offensive). Marcus Smart embraced the facilitator role and didn’t take any shots that were better off going to his efficient teammates (three field goal attempts in 24 minutes). Even a poor shooting night from Al Horford (1-of-9) couldn’t slow down the team’s momentum as the unit opened the game with a 24-7 run and added a 10-3 run to begin the second half, putting the game out of reach early in the third quarter.

“Everybody follows their lead, but they’re buying in at both ends of the court,” Udoka said of Tatum and Brown in the starting five. “Guarding extremely well, and carrying over from the last game offensively is great to see, but they are the two pillars and leaders of the team, and when they come out and play with that intensity everyone seems to follow suit. Everyone has their role - Robert is heating up out there and Marcus is doing some of the same things, but those guys really set the tone offensively. The effort they’re giving on defense, and holding the team to 30 in this day and age in the NBA is high level defense in the first half.”

The defensive numbers have always been a strength for that starting group but they have reached some new heights after Tuesday’s blowout win. In fact, among lineups that have played 150 minutes together this season, Boston’s starting five has the best defensive rating in the NBA, allowing just 91 points per 100 possessions.

That type of stout defense has also given that unit the second-best net rating (+21.9) in the NBA among lineups with 150 or more minutes. That group has only played 174 minutes together over 14 games, which is a main reason why that success has not translated into much more than a mediocre record midway through the season. However, the Celtics are adamant that they are rounding into form with a clean bill of health for the time being and some overdue rotation changes from Ime Udoka (benching Enes Freedom) taking effect with the starters strong play.

“Like I said earlier in the year multiple times,” Josh Richardson said. “We’ve had the most time missed with COVID, we’ve had injuries, and guys just in and out of the lineup the whole first half of the season. I would like to see the stats that show up when our whole team is healthy. I think that we’re taking that step.”

The defensive identity has reformed in these past few games as well with Smart back in the fold wreaking havoc against opposing backcourts.

“(He’s a) steadying force,” Udoka said. “A guy who’s been doing that for a while now. It’s great to have him back, obviously, with the full roster. It feels like we can come in layers and waves so to speak with all of our guys back off the bench and guys kind of in their normal roles that they played earlier in the year. So we don’t have to rest and guys don’t have to take those breaks on the court. His defense obviously is high level but also organizationally, getting us into things that we need, pushing it with pace. The pace we played out tonight was great and he’s a huge part of that.”

From a big picture standpoint, It’s tough to take too much out of two wins over struggling teams over the past three days but the big picture numbers from Boston’s starting five are eye-opening. For now, that group has clearly earned more time together although it may not be able to sustain starting Horford/Rob Williams and also splitting 48 minutes per night at center with the duo. Some added depth for the frontcourt could go a long way on that front for Brad Stevens if he wants to make a serious run with this group.

In the meantime, there are some glimmers of hope for this group with a real test ahead looming in Atlanta on Friday night against a Hawks team that has won four in a row. If Boston takes care of business there, this turnaround may have some staying power, largely thanks to this healthy starting five.

Obviously the Celtics are a better team with Marcus but their ability to hold opponents to 104.9 PPG reflects execution of Ime's defensive schemes.

I note that their switching is more automatic. This team is blessed with a lot of really good defensive players at every position. Now that they are able to execute their defensive strategies, they have become more difficult to score against.

If they can continue to work through their offensive cohesion, things could get very interesting. Marcus can be a big part of that if he plays the right way.