Marcus Smart returned Saturday to the city he called home for nearly a decade.
And unlike the hustle-play point guard’s first trip back to Boston as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, an injury did not sideline him this time.
Listed as questionable with an ankle ailment, Smart confirmed that he would suit up against his former team for the first time.
“It felt good,” he said after completing his pregame warmup, greeting a slew of Celtics personnel and signing autographs for fans. “Obviously familiar territory for me. But it felt good to be on the court, and it felt good to see some familiar faces.”
Smart joined the Grizzlies for their lone trip to TD Garden last season but had to watch from the bench as he nursed a finger injury. His former Celtics teammates were excited to square off against him for the first time.
“I’m thrilled to see Smart (on Saturday),” Jayson Tatum said Friday night’s 111-105 win over Milwaukee. “You all know how much he means to this city, to this franchise. Ultimate Celtic. He’ll always be a Celtic for life. I had played with him for six years. I didn’t envision a time where I wouldn’t be on his team.
“So, if he does play (Saturday), it’ll be a little weird, but I’ll probably go out there and tackle the (expletive) out of him or something. But I’m excited to see him. I know the fans are going to be thrilled to have Smart back in the building, so it’s going to be a special moment.”
Smart played an integral role in the Celtics’ emergence as a perennial title contender. Drafted one year after the Paul Pierce/Kevin Garnett trade that reset the franchise, he helped Boston reach the Eastern Conference finals in five of his final seven seasons with the club. He was the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year during the Celtics’ 2022 run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to Golden State in six games.
The Celtics finally became champions one year after the Smart trade, which brought Kristaps Porzingis to Boston cleared space for a new-look, defensively dominant backcourt of Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Those three players, along with Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, formed the core of a Boston team that won 64 games and breezed through four playoff series, going 16-3 en route to the franchise’s first title since 2008.
Smart couldn’t deny the value of that deal. He would have made the same move himself, he said, if he’d been in president of basketball operations Brad Stevens’ position. But he wished the Celtics had given him prior warning before shipping him out.
“I mean, I still look at it the way that I looked at it when it happened,” Smart told reporters at morning shootaround. “It’s a great trade business-wise. I just wish they would have went about it a little bit differently, just letting me know, that way I wasn’t just blindsided and I could have prepared for it and got my family ready. But business-wise, it’s a great business move. I would have made the move, and I think anybody probably would have.
“So you tip your cap off to those guys. I’m very happy for them, and I’m proud that they were able to go and win it. Like I’ve said before, I’ve been on the court with those guys. I’ve put the work in with those guys, so I know what they sacrificed, and I’m proud to see those guys finally getting what they deserved and the hard work that they put in.”
Smart echoed those same sentiments shortly before tipoff, saying he’s proud of what he accomplished during his time in Boston and was happy to see his friends win it all.
“I think my legacy is going to speak for itself,” he said. “I don’t know what the end of my legacy will be, what story will be told, but I know I’ve done my part, and I think I’ve made a great enough impact that it should be a good one.
“And yeah, I was very happy for those guys to win it. I went and said what’s up to everybody, told them congratulations and stuff. Obviously, you want to be a part of it. (Expletive) happens, excuse my French. You’ve just got to move on, and there’s no hard feelings.”
Smart appeared in just 20 games during his first season with the Grizzlies, and he’s taken on a new reserve role this year, coming off the bench in eight of his 13 appearances.
The 30-year-old injured his ankle Thursday in a win over Sacramento but returned to the game and turned in one of his best performances of the season, finishing with 18 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 26 minutes.
“His unselfishness has been unbelievable the last couple of weeks coming off the bench,” Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins said. “I think he’s embraced it. He’s really fueled that bench mob. … I think he’s displayed a lot of leadership in that role. I think he’s played with a lot of confidence. He’s had some really good games the last couple of weeks, defensive intensity. And then he knows he’s going to be in position to finish games, too.
“Even if he’s coming off the bench, he’s the ultimate competitor, the ultimate winner. Whatever it takes to win. There’s no true, better definition of sacrifice when you’re making that sacrifice for your team.”
Though Smart was not part of the group that hoisted an 18th championship banner to the Garden rafters, head coach Joe Mazzulla said he’ll always be an important part of Celtics history.
“Even before I got here, he just put his mark on the city, really,” Mazzulla said. “The way that the fans respond to him, the way that his teammates care about him and just how hard he plays every night. So to me, it’s a chance to thank him for that and the people that have come before us.”
Off the rim
After sitting Kristaps Porzingis and playing Al Horford against Milwaukee on Friday, the Celtics flipped their bigs on Saturday, with Porzingis suiting up against Memphis while Horford rested. Expect to see that arrangement in most of Boston’s back-to-backs this season. … Smart’s wasn’t the only reunion Saturday night. It also was Celtics forward Xavier Tillman’s first time facing his former team since his deadline trade to Boston last February. “He’s one of the most unbelievable players I’ve ever been around,” Jenkins gushed. “A guy that’s ultimate team-oriented, all about winning, all about sacrifice. Obviously, when the (trade) news broke, it was definitely tough, but I wished him all the best, and he couldn’t be in a better situation. And obviously, he got a championship out of it.”
Originally Published: December 7, 2024 at 7:35 PM EST