Advertisement

Celtics starter a surprise darkhorse candidate for year-end hardware in new B/R projection

Even with the Boston Celtics playing much better than they had been to start the 2021-22 NBA season, it could still be a bit of a challenge to think of a Celtics player whose recent play would put them in the running for one of the league’s top honors by the time the curtain closes on the regular season.

But in a new article outlining a series of potential darkhorse candidates with long odds but plausible paths to earning said hardware, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale identified a handful of longshot players to get awards like MVP, Most Improved Player, and Rookie, Executive, Coach, Sixth man, and Defensive Player of the Year.

A Celtics starter was highlighted by Favale as a potential recipient of the latter award, and if you haven’t yet guessed who it is simply by virtue of what that award honors, the player in question is Marcus Smart.

“Positionless defense is normally reserved for suffocating wings and bigs with fast-twitch feet,” writes the B/R analyst. “Marcus Smart doesn’t just break the mold. He shatters it.

“Standing 6’4”, he can just about guard all five spots on the floor. The Boston Celtics have no qualms about lining him up opposite quasi-bigs. He can body up players with their back to the basket and derail pick-and-roll divers. He grades out as a “B” in BBall Index’s metrics for help rim protection, post defense, and screener rim defense.”

“Smart marries his interior strengths with hyperactivity and a generally monstrous workload,” he adds.

“Only seven players average more deflections per game, he competes like hell for loose balls and nearly two-thirds of his possessions are spent guarding opponents with top-three usage rates on their team, according to BBall Index,” continues Favale.

“Defensive Player of the Year recognition is forever more likely to land with a big or whatever Giannis Antetokounmpo is. Gary Payton was the last guard to win the award…in 1995-96. Both the odds and history are against Smart edging out (big man) candidates”.

“That’s the point,” opines Favale. “Smart is the most important stopper for the league’s fifth-best defense. His case may not be airtight, but it exists.”

It’s as compelling an argument as has been made for Smart for this award yet, and it isn’t his first by any means.

We agree with Favale that the odds should be long given the history of the award, but if the Flower Mound native can continue to anchor a defense near the top of the league, he ought to be right there among the leaders by the end of the season.

This post originally appeared on Celtics Wire. Follow us on Facebook!

[lawrence-related id=65327,65291,65285,65282]

[listicle id=65295]

[vertical-gallery id=65338]

1

1