BOSTON — You don’t have to be a Boston Celtics fan to realize Marcus Smart is one of the NBA’s premier defensive players.
So why, then, has the fifth-year guard yet to be named to the league’s All-Defensive Team?
Brad Stevens isn’t sure, but believes Smart is more than deserving of some hardware. Prior to Sunday’s game against the Houston Rockets at TD Garden, Stevens lobbied for his fiery guard to be recognized as one of the game’s elite defenders.
“I really hope Marcus finally gets recognized as an All-Defensive Team member,” the Celtics head coach said. “We’ve thought ever since he got here that he’s one of the best defenders in the league.
” … I’m sure if you took a poll of players around the league — even though they might be annoyed by him sometimes — they would all say that he is. Because he’s into people, he’s physical, he’s tough, he’s got a motor, he’s got great hands. He should be on that team.”
On stats alone, Smart deserves to be in the conversation for All-Defensive Team. He’s ranks fifth in steals (105) and sixth in steals per game (1.7). He also ranks first in steal percentage — an estimate of the percentage of opponent possessions that end with a steal by a given player — with 3.0 percent.
No, Smart doesn’t rank in the top 20 in either defensive rating or defensive win shares. But aside from a couple of exceptions (Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo) those lists largely are populated by forwards, centers and large wing players.
But those who watch Smart on a daily basis know his defense, which often is game-changing, is about much more than numbers. Capable (and more than willing) to guard the NBA’s best players, Smart has the uncanny ability to get inside a player’s head and make them feel uncomfortable.
Members of the NBA All-Defensive Team are voted on by the league’s 30 head coaches. And while it remains to be seen how the 29 other coaches feel about Smart, Stevens has made his position abundantly clear.
And, to be honest, it’s awfully difficult to argue with him.
