Three Boston Celtics things: Horford’s impact and Smart’s absence
Thing 2: Marcus Smart’s injury is a big deal.
The Boston Celtics will be without Marcus Smart in the first round of the playoffs. There seems to be an air of casual nonchalance in some circles of Celtics Nation – a feeling that Smart’s services aren’t needed in round one. (Our own Tarringo Basile Vaughan covered this question in more depth).
That might be a mistake.
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Forget for a second that Marcus Smart is monster on defense who also just so happens to shoot threes effectively now (the clean 40% mark from deep in March being particularly reassuring). This goes beyond the X’s and O’s.
The Celtics have been a drama factory all season. While they have looked a lot more cohesive in this latter chunk of the season, there’s still this underlying tension. They know they’ve underperformed. They know the pressure is on them.
This is not a Paul Pierce–Kevin Garnett Celtics team where we all feel confident they’ll flip the proverbial switch. It’s possible they come out and look phenomenal, but it’s also possible the pressure forces them to crumble.
That’s a cynical outlook, but the Celtics have given fans no reason to give them the benefit of the doubt. With the team’s heartbeat sitting out rehabbing his oblique, the first round is scarier than some folks are recognizing.
Jaylen Brown seems like a natural addition to the starting lineup. He’s looked great in recent months, and (Smart aside) might be Boston’s best choice to guard Bojan Bogdanovic.
Gordon Hayward has been great in a point forward role off the bench as of late, so they’d probably like to let him continue there. But Jayson Tatum’s injury might force them to start Hayward, at least in game 1 (if that happens, they’re looking surprisingly thin all of a sudden).