It’s no secret Marcus Smart is an offensive liability for the Boston Celtics.
But what truly hurt the Celtics in their 105-102 loss to San Antonio Spurs Friday was his absence on the court after fouling out with 2:52 to go in the fourth quarter.
And in a weird way, it was that absence that does nothing but validates Smart’s importance to the Celtics.
Though Manu Ginobili’s game-winning 3-pointer with five seconds to play was the real nail in the coffin for the Celtics, he never should have had the opportunity to even take the shot. Following a missed 3-pointer from Rudy Gay, Ginobili grabbed the offensive rebound that enabled him to have that shooting opportunity in the waning moments.
If Smart is on the floor, the chance of Ginobili stealing that board is far less likely to happen.
Granted, the Spurs winning thanks to an offensive rebound moments prior was emblematic of the Celtics’ struggles Friday as a whole. They were out-rebounded 46-39, conceding 14 offensive rebounds in the process.
And throughout the season — and most of his career, for that matter — Smart’s underwhelming offensive performances have been negated by the fact that the Celtics usually are far better off defensively when he is on the floor, and his plus-minus numbers usually support that.
But that was not the case Friday. Smart’s minus-nine was third worst on the team, while he put up just four points on 2-for-6 shooting (and, of course, 0-for-2 from 3-point territory).
But in a moment the like the final seconds of the Celtics’ loss Friday, numbers don’t particularly matter, as things are a lot more secure with Smart on the floor. And Friday was case in point of why he needs to be cognizant of that, even when he’s not playing well.
Here are some other notes from Celtics-Spurs:
— Aron Baynes left the game after taking a knee to the stomach.
— Kyrie Irving registered his first dunk of the season, finishing a breakaway with a slam in the second quarter.
— Friday marked the first time the Celtics lost with Kyrie Irving scoring 25-plus points. Up until Friday, they were 9-0 in those situations.
