Marcus Smart of the Boston Celtics just won the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year award and has been an All-Defensive player three times in his career.
He is also a member of the 2014-15 All-Rookie team and has been a vital part of his team since joining 8 years ago.
But even with all those highlights, he is still focused on one of the lowest points of his career.
It’s been nearly three months since Marcus Smart and the Celtics lost the NBA Finals.
But time can only heal so many wounds.
Smart sits down with @JaredWeissNBA to discuss: https://t.co/9qdYzNMXyi pic.twitter.com/n3ONn4o31S
— The Athletic NBA (@TheAthleticNBA) September 14, 2022
Smart admits that he is having a lot of trouble getting over his team’s loss in the 2022 NBA Finals.
The Celtics fell to the Golden State Warriors, 4-2, which was a heartbreaking defeat for Boston after such a stunning regular season.
It all plays over and over again in Smart’s head, according to his conversation with The Athletic:
“There’s some days that I can’t sleep and I’m on YouTube watching everything [from the NBA Finals],” Smart said.
He continued: “My girlfriend’s like, ‘Get off, it’s over, let it go.’ I can’t. That’s the beauty of us competitors.”
No one can blame Smart for looking back but he should really be looking forward.
Marcus Mourning
Smart averaged 15.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5 assists during the Finals.
Those are good numbers – and he wasn’t alone.
Multiple other plays on the team, including Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Al Horford, stepped up and tried their best during the championship.
It just wasn’t enough but that’s what happens when a team is faced with a dominant cadre like the Golden State Warriors.
The good news for Smart is that the Celtics are looking very good moving into the new season.
The squad is mostly intact and they are betting favorites to make it far, possibly to the Finals again.
A chance at redemption is very likely as long as everyone on the team continues to believe in themselves.
NEXT: NBA Analyst Has A Bold Celtics Prediction