Say what you will about Marcus Smart, but the scrappy Celtics guard has earned the respect of his fellow NBAers.
Derrick Rose had high praise for Smart in the first chapter of his new autobiography, "I'll Show You." The 2011 NBA MVP spoke of the longest-tenured Celtic in a way most C's fans can relate with. Sure, Smart won't often wow you when you look at the box score, but he's a "hooper."
Allow D-Rose to explain. . .
“I always said I’m a hooper, and hoopers can do anything, I feel,” Rose writes. “It don’t matter. Like, Marcus Smart is a hooper. Analytics, you would say no way you want him. But when you go out there and watch the game, you say, ‘Of course I want him on my team.’ Makes shots, period. That’s a guy I love playing with.”
Rose's love for Smart shouldn't come as a surprise to those who have watched the 25-year-old on a night-to-night basis. Since being drafted by the C's in 2014, Smart has been Boston's spark plug and as NBC Sports Boston's own A. Sherrod Blakely writes, deserves consideration for captainship honors. His efforts landed him on the NBA All-Defensive First Team last season.
Smart has been joined by Celtics teammates Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, and Jaylen Brown on Team USA at the 2019 FIBA World Cup this summer.
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