Celtics news: Marcus Smart gets a warning; team adds sharpshooter

Despite a lackluster loss to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night, the Boston Celtics have been putting the NBA on notice, particularly on the defensive end of the basketball court.

Leading the charge has clearly been Marcus Smart, who has taken less shots offensively and become more of a playmaker and defensive stalwart while on the court and it has paid off as the Celtics have positioned themselves with a prime opportunity to gain home-court advantage heading into the NBA playoffs.

But, as good as Smart is defensively, one of his flaws surfaced again during the 21-point loss to the Pacers.  The Celtics guard received a tech for arguing with the officials, which he has been known to do.  No big deal, right?

Kendrick Perkins has a warning and advice for Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart

Well, according to former Celtics player and NBC Sports Boston analyst Kendrick Perkins, who knows a thing or two about technical fouls during his playing days, Smart needs to be smarter with his antics when it comes to NBA refs and learning when to shut his mouth and move on.

"“Just know that, as a guy that led the league in technical fouls, that wasn’t on the best terms with referees, trust me, the last thing you want to do is be on (their) bad side,” Perkins said, via Yahoo Sports!"

As aggressive and savvy as Smart is with his playmaking and on defense, Perkins suggest he gets on the ref’s good side.  In chasing an official into the locker room following a game, like Smart did on Saturday (although he says he was apologizing), he is not providing a good look for himself as refs do have a good memory.

Smart, who is already known as the classic flopper, can cause his team in an important game down the stretch or in the playoffs if he rejected from a game or receives a suspension.  As a key contributor to the Celtics’ defensively intensity, the team needs him to be chill in those moments no matter how frustrating things get on the court.

NBA rumors: Celtics sign Matt Ryan to a two-way deal

According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Boston Celtics will sign Matt Ryan to a two-way contract, and that’s not THAT Matt Ryan.

Of course, the first player to come to mind is the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, but no, he is not switching sports.  This Matt Ryan is a 24-year-old G League journey man who averaged 18.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game with the Grand Rapids Gold this season in 16 games.

At 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, Ryan is a sharpshooter.  Not only has he shot 38.7 percent on 3-pointers this season with the Gold, but he nailed nine 3-pointers in a 34-point game this season and followed that up with a 39-point performance days later.

So, it will be interesting to see what he does with Maine and whether he plays in a game for the Boston Celtics this season, but his shooting ability makes him intriguing.  With the signing, the Celtics now have one standard spot open, which hopefully will lead to signing someone who can join the bench rotation and contribute in games.

With the NBA buyout market upon us, there should be some interesting names available.