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Boston’s Marcus Smart calls out local podcast host for defensive criticisms

Justin Quinn
·2 min read

Boston Celtics veteran guard Marcus Smart got a chance to catch up with former teammate Terry Rozier on and off the court on Sunday, and flexed a bit in a postgame interview on a popular Boston sports media show for criticizing his defense.

Smart spoke about his reunion with Scary Terry with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Celtics radio color commentator Cedric Maxwell after the Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets Sunday. Soon, the conversation shifted to his defence on the former Celtic, which prompted the Flower Mound native to note that he and Rozier “have definitely had battles” but also that he hears “all the chitter-chatter about me not really being a great defender and I can’t guard faster guys, shiftier guards.”

Smart was referring to the co-hosts of the CLNS Media podcast “Garden Report Celtics Post Game Show,” particularly A. Sherrod Blakely.

While "blame" in this case probably falls more evenly around the whole of the pod than simply Blakely on the show in question, it clearly got under the skin of the decorated defensive specialist. Asked who it was who'd been casting aspersions on Smart's defensive chops (which in fairness looked to have taken a step back until recently), the Oklahoma State product related that:

"A Sherrod Blakely said so, and those guys from The Garden Report, all of them don’t think I’m a great defender ... So, I’ve just been coming out every game, trying to prove and let them know that I’m still [NBA All-Defensive] First Team two years in a row running."

"So, shut the [expletive] up," he added, with a bit of good-natured mirth. We think. https://twitter.com/TheCelticsWire/status/1379071527556153346?s=20

Whether it was time to heal further from a serious calf injury that kept him out of action for a long stretch of this season, a revamped roster, or a renewed sense of urgency prompted by the criticism of our friends at CLNS, we're happy to see Smart flying around and causing chaos again defensively. It's been a not-small part of Boston looking like an entirely different team over the last two games, and in ways that look sustainable moving forward. This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook! (H/T CLNS' Josue Pavón for the transcription.) [lawrence-related id=48654,48649,48620,48616] [listicle id=48648]

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