As the Boston Celtics continue to surge in the Eastern Conference standings, the individuals most responsible have been coming more into focus.
While Jayson Tatum's ascension into the league's elite players has created some late MVP buzz, Marcus Smart has taken it upon himself to make a push into the Defensive Player of the Year conversation.
After Boston's 114-103 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, its fifth straight and 22nd in its last 28 contests, Smart made the case that for too long, guards have been overlooked in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation in the league -- adding that teammate Robert Williams III deserves more love as well.
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"I don't see why it's so hard for a guard to win it," said, Smart, who has twice been First Team All-Defense. "We talk about what bigs do, and I'm not taking anything way from bigs, but you've gotta get by us guards first. Most of the time, we're making it so tough that by the time you get to them that all you gotta do is send it back the other way. We're doing the majority of the hard work. For us to not even be talked about in the discussion, let alone win it, I think that's some BS."
Not since Gary Payton won the award for the Seattle SuperSonics in 1996 has a guard been named the Defensive Player of the Year.
"It does suck for us guards who grind, you sacrifice your body, diving on the majority of the loose balls, you're the one taking the charges, the bumps and the bruises, sending it to the big man and making sure individually you do everything you can before he gets to that back line of defense," Smart said.
Boston Celtics
Smart's case for someone on the Celtics to win the award definitely has some merit in how well the team has been playing defensively all season long. Through Friday, Boston led the league in defensive rating (105.6) and was holding opponents to the lowest field goal percentage (43.1) in the NBA. The Celtics were third in points per game allowed (104) and second in opponents 3-point field goal percentage (33.6).
For his part, Smart is tied for third in the league in steals with 1.8 per game and is 10th in net rating.
"I think my game speaks for itself, you put me out there in front of anybody, I promise it's gone be a battle and I promise they don't want to see me in front of them," Smart said.
But plenty of other members of the Celtics have some metrics in their favor as well along with Smart, telling the story of the complete defensive juggernaut Boston has become as a team. The Timelord is tied for the league lead in blocks per game (2.2) while Al Horford (102.2) and Jaylen Brown (102.7) are seventh and ninth, respectively, in defensive rating.
Smart added that he's "not too stressed" about who wins Defensive Player of the Year and that he doesn't play the game for individual accolades.
"I play to win games, that's my job," Smart said. "Whatever comes with it, I'm blessed to have."
Should Smart, Timelord or another member of the Celtics win Defensive Player of the Year, they'd become the first to do so since Kevin Garnett won the franchise's only honor in 2007-08.