Getty Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics
Heading into the NBA Finals you expect to see some wild takes, sometimes it’s a fan predicting a sweep, other times an analyst expecting a collapse, and with the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors getting ready to face off, the takes have begun to come in thick and fast.
During a recent episode of The Undisputed, Skip Bayless took things one step further and prophecized the match-up between Marcus Smart and Stephen Curry as being the ‘greatest individual match-up of All-Time.’
“I’m not exaggerating: this is the greatest individual matchup in the history of the Finals.”
— @RealSkipBayless on Steph Curry vs Marcus Smart
“Alright, so, I’m billing this, and I’m not exaggerating when I bill it this way. This is the greatest individual match-up in the history of the finals. As I told you earlier, we did have Magic vs Bird, but they weren’t guarding each other. They were both heroes and now we have the ultimate hero, the baby-faced-assassin, who’s in every other commercial, who gets more TV time in commercials than he does on the floor.
And he’s going against the Defensive Player of the Year, who did him in, who done him wrong in Steve Kerr’s eyes, at least dangerously, wiped him out for 12 games. And then went a compounded the issues by karate-kicking his running mate Klay (Thompson) in the face…The blood is bad,” Bayless said.
Smart has a fantastic track record against Stephen Curry, having won six of his ten games against the superstar guard, and will be hoping that winning streak holds out throughout their NBA Finals series.
Steve Kerr Expects Smart to Have an Impact
Kerr has worked with Smart before, having spent time with him during Team USA’s FIBA World Cup a few years ago, so he’s seen firsthand what Boston’s defensive lynchpin is capable of.
When speaking to the media on June 1, Kerr was again asked about his thought’s on Smart’s ability to be a key factor in the upcoming NBA Finals series, and the Warriors head coach noted the similarities between the Defensive Player of the Year and Draymond Green.
“I coached Marcus in the World Cup a few summers ago, along with Jayson and Jaylen and Kemba. At the time, we had four Celtics on the team. I’ve gotten to know these guys a little bit; Jayson last year during the Olympics. So it’s been fun to get to know them.
But Marcus, I described him yesterday as kind of the guard version of Draymond. He’s just all over the place defensively. Really, really smart. Anticipates plays. Understands angles. The versatility to guard 1 through 5. It’s all there. So there’s a reason he won Defensive Player of the Year. He’s a great, great defender and probably an underrated offensive player as well,” Kerr said.
It is worth noting that Kerr and Smart recently had words after Smart accidentally injured Curry during the Celtics’ March 16 contest against the Warriors.
Draymond Green Agress With Kerr
There aren’t many players who are more vocal or forthcoming than Draymond Green, and when asked about Kerr drawing comparisons between him and Smart, the Warriors veteran was quick to agree.
“I think he really thinks the game. You can see it in the way he plays, the way he’s teaching guys, the way he’s commanding attention in huddles and going through the X’s and O’s in the huddles. You see it all.
I think he does a great job of that. I’ve been speaking on this a lot. I think people tend to forget, Marcus Smart’s No. 1 attribute or positive on him coming out of the draft was his leadership and that he’s a winner and a true point guard. The qualities that he has, especially on that side of the ball, are those of a leader, are those – when you see him with the X’s and O’s teaching – of a point guard,” Green told the media.
Smart has been exceptional since taking the reins as the Celtics’ starting point guard and has vastly improved his decision-making on the floor. On offense, the Texas native has learned to be judicial with his shot selection while also improving his passing ability and understanding of how to dictate the tempo of a game, while on defense, Smart has become a leader, and can regularly be seen quarterbacking his teammates.
When the NBA Finals gets underway on June 2, Smart will have the unenviable task of guarding Curry, but if recent history has taught us anything, it’s that he will thrive under the pressure of the challenge.