Is it finally time for Marcus Smart to get his due?
The Boston Celtics guard has been an elite defender for much of his NBA career. But he's never won NBA Defensive Player of the Year, an award that's gone exclusively to forwards and big men for the past 25 years.
This year might be Smart's best shot, though. The Celtics boast the league's No. 1 defense, and as they've surged to just 1.5 games behind the Miami Heat for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, both Smart and big man Robert Williams have emerged as contenders for DPOY.
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SIGN UP HERE What are the odds that either Smart or Williams becomes the first Celtic to win DPOY since Kevin Garnett in 2008? PointsBet head of trading Jay Croucher joined our Chris Forsberg on a new Celtics Talk Podcast to share the sportsbook's view on Smart and Williams' candidacy.
Celtics Talk: Jayson Tatum for MVP? Marcus Smart for DPOY? Which C's deserve award consideration? | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
"I think the difficult thing with Robert Williams is that it's very rare that someone comes from nowhere to win this award," Croucher explained. "Usually you have to be an established defensive superstar. So, that's why I think a guy like Robert Williams or Jaren Jackson Jr., guys who weren't in this conversation before this year, it may make it difficult for them."
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Smart already has the defensive pedigree, though, earning First-Team All-Defense nods in 2019 and 2020. So, despite the fact that a guard hasn't won DPOY since Gary Payton in 1996, Croucher sees Smart as the stronger candidate.
"I think Marcus Smart probably has more upside there, just because he's known as the leader and the identity of the defense," Croucher said. "I think that without as many dominant big man candidates this year, there will be a bit of a push for a guard to win, and his stats are always excellent."
PointsBet currently has Miami Heat big man Bam Adebayo as the favorite to win the award, because he's the "cleanest fit" for a player who historically wins the award.
"He's on a top-five defense, on the No. 1 seed, elite advanced stats, his on/off metrics are fantastic -- they're the best defense in the league when he's on the floor and pretty average when he's off -- so there are a lot of things in Bam's favor," Croucher noted.
But if the Celtics can overtake Miami for the No. 1 seed over the final eight games, Croucher believes Smart very well could become the favorite.
Forsberg: How important is the No. 1 seed to the Celtics?
"The biggest thing is getting the No. 1 seed," Croucher said. "If they get the 1 seed and all of a sudden they have home court throughout the East playoffs in addition to being the best defense in the league and the hottest team in the league, then they're just going to have such a narrative surge of momentum behind both Smart and Williams."
To hear more from Croucher on Ime Udoka's Coach of the Year candidacy and whether Jayson Tatum has a realistic shot at MVP, subscribe to the Celtics Talk Podcast or watch on YouTube below.
