Boston Celtics: Marcus Smart not backing down from NBA officials

The Boston Celtics hot start this season can be attributed to the play of Kemba Walker and their wings and also the vocal leadership of Marcus Smart.

When Marcus Smart is on the floor for the Boston Celtics, they are a gritty, tough team that typically out hustles the other team.

He is not the most talented scorer by far, but the little things on the court that Smart does has been the glue to the team’s fast 6-1 start to start the 2019-20 NBA season.  Part of that is playing bigger defensively than he really is.  That includes frustrating superstar big men like Kevin Love and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

But, with that fiery passion and intensity on the court comes questionable officiating.  As a vocal leader, Smart doesn’t hold back when it comes to speaking his mind and protecting himself and his teammates on and off the court.

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Following Thursday night’s 108-87 victory over the Charlotte Hornets, Marcus Smart didn’t hold back when it came to criticism of NBA officials.  Of course, that criticism led to a $15 thousand fine handed down by the league.

What was Smart’s gripe?

Well, during the game on Thursday, the Boston Celtics best defender felt that he wasn’t getting the calls offensively that he typically draws on the defensive end of the court.  He spoke up during the game and certainly voiced his opinion after the game.

"“A lot of calls that they called, I didn’t understand where the fouls were,” Smart said, via Masslive.com.  “And it just seems like whenever I get the ball and I’m on offense, I can’t get a call, so with the (Miles) Bridges push and stuff like that, I told them, ‘If it was me, y’all would probably throw me out the game and everything.  So you clean it up, or I will.’“But at some point, as a player, as a man, you’ve got to protect yourself.  Nobody else is going to protect yourself, you’ve got to protect yourself.  So if that mean’s I’ve got to lose a little bit of money, then I’ve got to lose a bit.”"

While criticizing officiating is not what makes Marcus Smart a key to the Boston Celtics success, it is his lack of fear about voicing what he continues unfair while not changing how he plays the game of basketball.

Over the last few seasons, the Oklahoma State product has really emerged as the team’s leader on and off the court.  Not only is his hustle and versatility defensively drawing accolades throughout the league, the way he commits himself to the team aspect of basketball is the perfect complement to the team’s scoring foursome of Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.

In all, Marcus Smart does all the little things that are gluing this team together as the team Celtics fans have become accustomed to.

As the criticism and fine indicates, Smart is the type of player and teammate who doesn’t mind losing a few bucks in his wallet to defend himself and his teammates.  That fiery passion will go a long way in the success of the 2019-20 Boston Celtics squad.