Marcus Smart can get restless at night ever since the Boston Celtics lost in six games in the NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors nearly two weeks ago.
Smart can’t help his mind from pondering what could have been, with the Celtics letting a 2-1 series lead slip away, and having to watch the Warriors celebrate their fourth title in eight years on the parquet floor at TD Garden.
“I have moments where it’s late at night and I can’t sleep, and all of a sudden I’m thinking about those games and what we could’ve done differently,” Smart, who was conducting his youth basketball camp in Westford, Mass. on Tuesday, told The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach.
Getting over what is arguably the biggest loss of Smart’s career, and the careers of all his teammates, obviously isn’t an easy assignment. Smart thinks back to notable points during the playoffs and the regular season, and how things could have been different if Robert Williams was at 100 percent health or if Smart didn’t sprain his ankle in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Miami Heat.
Those weren’t the only things Smart replayed about Boston’s grueling playoff run, in which they played 24 games.
“And, I wish we didn’t run out of gas,” Smart said, per Himmelsbach. “Obviously, those series we went through to get to the Finals were so brutal. But, I wouldn’t change a thing about it. You hate to find your lessons in defeat, but sometimes you have to see rain before a rainbow.”
This missed opportunity on the NBA’s biggest stage might sit with Smart and the rest of the Celtics for a long time, and the sting of that defeat can only be lessened with Boston getting back to the Finals and coming out on top.
