BOSTON — The Celtics sat Jayson Tatum and still entered the fourth quarter with a 22-point edge on Sunday.
Kristaps Porziņģis also left the building, re-appearing on the injury report shortly before tip-off with an illness. That left Al Horford and Luke Kornet starting together again as Jaylen Brown inched closer to the 65-game All NBA threshold with his 62nd appearance.
The Celtics won easily, 124-90 , competing against some players their G-League affiliate Maine defeated last week week in their playoff win against the Capital City Go-Go. They flexed a 25-11 edge on the offensive boards that Brian Keefe called the difference in the game. Kornet tossing chasing the ball to the corner at one point and throwing it out-of-bounds off the Wizards, unveiled a first down motion in front of the Washington bench.
That’s where Marcus Smart sat and stood for most of the night. He did not play in the Wizards loss despite it marking his third homecoming since the Celtics traded Smart to the Grizzlies. Memphis dealt him to the Wizards in a salary dump earlier this year, which put his career in a precarious position. Washington kept him in the bench role that the Grizzlies transitioned him to, injuries continued and the Wizards have prioritized their youth. After he logged less than 40 games this season, he’ll enter the final year of his contract signed to Washington.
“Control what I can control,” he stressed after the game. “These last couple of years, you’ve seen things that you probably didn’t expect to see … it kind of brings things to the surface for you.”
Smart saw the changes happening in Memphis. He expected a trade after his demotion to the bench, but not before the deadline. Now, watching Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins’ firing from afar, he reflected that he had a feeling about that too, but did not expect it to happen mid-season. Smart’s not stressing any possibility in front of him now. Fatherhood helped. His six-month-old keeps things in perspective when he sits out or suffers injuries. It’s even calmed his on-court demeanor. Until someone crosses the line.
Aside from a spat between Smart and a fan behind the Wizards bench, the Garden crowd missed another chance to see the player who divided but mostly endeared himself to the fan base over nine seasons. Fans chanted we want Marcus late in the fourth quarter. He greeted Brown, Al Horford and Celtics staff on the floor before and after the game. After sharing a moment with Brown on the floor, he and Tatum sat on a trainer’s table chatting for nearly one half-hour before greeting nearly the entirety of the Celtics’ beat and the Wizards reporters in attendance. He tries to keep up with old teammates without being too overbearing during the busy season.
In reality, everyone wanted to catch up with Smart. That’s why he mostly laid low in his latest return.
“I kind of just try to hide, because it’s too much and overwhelming and I don’t want to disappoint anybody,” Smart said. “So I’d rather just stay away.”
Smart missed the first two Grizzlies-Celtics games following his June, 2023 trade to Memphis as part of the Porziņģis deal with separate ankle and finger injuries that derailed his first year away from Boston. Another finger ailment and illness more recently forced him to miss time, and the year began with his transition to the Grizzlies second unit following rookie Jaylen Wells’ ascension. Smart understood, but when he played his first game in Boston, he shot 1-of-11 through 19 minutes, sat late and quickly snuck out after the game.
He could’ve done that again on Sunday, given his understated role in the game. And instead faced questions with a smile on his face. Smart said he’s where he’s supposed to be in Washington, despite playing for the second-worst team in the league. He’s appreciating giving advice to eager young teammates, despite how odd it feels to get called unc. There’s still a desire to play regular minutes for a winning team, but in the meantime appreciates getting paid to play the sport he loves.
And he’s not the only one. Malcolm Brogdon underwent the same transition in Portland last year after winning Sixth Man of the Year. The only team he ever played for, the Bucks, traded Khris Middleton to Washington in the thick of their playoff push. Smart has appreciated getting stops on Middleton in practice after years of the former Bucks’ shots falling over him in big games.
“I’m one of the probably biggest competitors in this league,” Smart said. “As long as I’m able to be out there, I want to be out there and I’m gonna be out there. Where? When? How? That’s not in my control. All I can do is control my preparation and be prepared for whatever’s thrown at me. Obviously, I want to get back to that play of racking up those minutes and really getting after it with those guys, but like I said, control what I can control.”
“It is a little hard. When you’re so used to playing a lot, then you kind of get cut back a little with injuries, then you try to come back, think you’re back on track, then something happens again. It’s tough, but I think (fatherhood) kind of keeps me in perspective and keeps me understanding that everything’s gonna be ok.”
- Brown scored 15 points with two rebounds and five assists, shooting 5-for-9 and draining a pair of jump shots late in his 21-minute effort that stretched into the third quarter. By then, the Celtics had the game in hand and removed him well ahead of the 29-30 minute limit he’s play against over his last six games. He can now rest in one of the team’s final four games, and log only 15 minutes in two others, while remaining eligible for an All-NBA team.
- That milestone became difficult with Jalen Brunson’s return, who needs three games with four remaining to ensure his almost guaranteed appearance among the league’s 15 best. Several standout performances late in the schedule preserved some hope that breaks, like Kevin Durant’s impending elimination from the field, along with benefit of the doubt awarded to him as a former All-NBA player and part of one of the league’s best teams could vault him into the mix. But minutes limitations, Jalen Williams’ strong candidacy and less-than-stellar efficiency probably cut him short of making it for now.
- That sets up an interesting week ahead for Brown, with rest almost assuredly taking priority for the Celtics between Tuesday and Wednesday’s road back-to-back in New York and Orlando before a final weekend series against a Hornets team that’ll play almost none of its regular rotation players. Last year, Boston rested most of its rotation in those games. Doing the same this year would make Brown ineligible.
- Sam Hauser hit the three that broke another NBA single-season total three-point record for the league as part of a 7-for-12 showing off the bench where he successfully attacked Wizards closeouts. The Celtics neared the NBA single-game record (29) again with 21 threes through three quarters.
- Torrey Craig showed well in a first half stint playing ahead of Baylor Scheierman, hitting a transition three on the wing, blocking a pair of shots and finishing with eight boards and three blocks.
