After overcoming their first slump of the season, the Boston Celtics have straightened the course with them too Very good win this Thursday over the Clippers 116-110added their fourth straight win, establishing themselves as the best league record:26-10.
Of course, Boston not only has the best record in the NBA, but leads to the offensive charge, scoring over 118 points per 100 possessions. And although in the center of this field his figures appear Jason Tatum (29 and 11 rebounds against the Clippers) and Jaylen Brown (29 and 7), there is another name that cannot and should not go unnoticed: Marcus Smart.
When we talk about Smart, the first thing that comes to mind is his impact as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league and a winning player, able to do it dirty work to help the Celtics. However, there is one area in which the former Oklahoma State commit appears increasingly strong and productive: his role as guide and helper.
This three game series is beautiful. Smart pennies drop. pic.twitter.com/KJyE3zeNPK
— Pull Up (@NElGHT_) December 24, 2022
Smart showed that look against the Clippers, adding 9 assists except for his 17 points. With this mark, it is now average 7.4 season touchdown passesby far the best number of his career: 5.9 was his peak, achieved last season.
His 7.4 assists put him as the 12th best passer in the leaguebut with a huge difference to the rest that dominate the list: Smart has far less of the ball in his hands than most assist point guardsbeing perfectly opportunistic and accurate to take advantage of the moments when he can create a comfortable shot for a teammate.
As seen in the list of 12 best assistants, Smart is the one who has the ball in his possession for the least amount of time. His theme is not dribble, dribble and dribble to eat up the clock, but quick passes and necessary to keep Boston’s offense flowing.
| Player | Equipment | assist | Time with the ball |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Harden | 76 year olds | 11.2 | 8.9 minutes |
| Tyrese Haliburton | pacemakers | 10.2 | 7.5 minutes |
| bring in young people | hawks | 9.9 | 8.1 minutes |
| Nikola Jokic | Nuggets | 9.4 | 4.5 minutes |
| Chris Paul | suns | 8.8 | 7.1 minutes |
| Luka Doncic | Mavericks | 8.8 | 9.9 minutes |
| Darius Garland | horse riders | 7.8 | 7.9 minutes |
| Ja Morad | grizzly | 7.8 | 8 minutes |
| Russell Westbrook | Lakers | 7.7 | 5.5 minutes |
| jrue holidays | dollars | 7.5 | 6.4 minutes |
| Mike Conley | Jazz | 7.5 | 6 minutes |
| Marcus Smart | Celtics | 7.4 | 4.2 minutes |
Smart’s precision in taking advantage of every pass is remarkable. 15.1% of his passes result in assists, which ranks sixth-highest in the entire NBA (at least 20 games), right behind cracks of the caliber of Trae Young, Russell Westbrook, Devin Booker, Ja Morant and Luka Doncic.
This is the company for what Smart does as a passer, in an aspect that until a few seasons ago it seemed well beyond his reach.
The Marcus-JB connection is on point tonight 👇🏾 pic.twitter.com/YcvK4DwoEK
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 30, 2022
In 2018-2019, the 19% of Boston’s assists came from his hands while he was in the field. In 2019-2020 it went up to Twenty-one%. A year later to 24%. In 2021-2022 to 26%. And in the current campaign is at 30%. At 28, who knows where Smart’s ceiling could be, no longer as a defensive specialist, but as one of the best pure point guards in the league.
The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the NBA or its organizations.
