This Crunch-Time Play Perfectly Sums Up Marcus Smart Experience

“No! … Yes!”

That expression surely was used by Celtics fans countless times over the course of Marcus Smart’s nine-year tenure in Boston. Smart has a penchant for salvaging a play after starting a sequence with a head-scratching decision and/or self-inflicted misstep.

Well, Memphis supporters were treated to one of their first vintage Smart plays Sunday evening. With the Grizzlies leading the Clippers by one as the game clock dipped below one minute at Crypto.com Arena, Smart tried to dribble around Kawhi Leonard when he lost control of the basketball. Instead of giving up on the play, Smart dove for possession and managed to issue a right-handed touch pass to David Roddy.

The 2022 first-rounder did the rest, going up for a layup to give the visitors a three-point lead with 47 ticks to go. To put a bow on the perfectly Smart series of events, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year put his arms up out of frustration over the lack of a foul call.

Theatrics aside, it was a winning play by Smart, who helped the struggling Grizzlies pick up only their second win of the campaign. Memphis will try to tack on another Tuesday when it visits the Los Angeles Lakers for an in-season tournament contest.