As the Boston Celtics continue to battle it out with the rival Philadelphia 76ers in the second round of the NBA playoffs, veteran point guard Marcus Smart won this season’s NBA Hustle Award.
As the Celtics prepare to head into Game 3 of their second-round series with the 76ers on Friday night, Smart shared his reaction to winning the regular-season award via Celtics on NBC Sports Boston.
"Every team needs a guy like me to do the dirty work so Jayson and Jaylen can come out and do what they do best."
Marcus Smart talks winning NBA Hustle Award 💪 pic.twitter.com/jjJDa2b39U
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) May 5, 2023
Last year, Smart won the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award for his solid play on that end of the basketball floor.
Although Smart took a step back this season in that category and arguably in his all-around game, the Celtics guard still proved that he could hustle with the best of them in the NBA and still gets that recognition from the media and his peers.
With Smart getting some much-needed recognition, he and the Celtics will now focus on getting three more wins against the 76ers in this second-round series to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals again.
Although the 76ers were able to steal one in Game 1 even without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who is dealing with a knee sprain, the Celtics were able to bounce back in Game 2 with a strong performance and will try to take the series lead tonight in Philadelphia.
Despite an impressive performance by the 76ers in Game 1, the Celtics have proven to be the best team in this series after a dominant performance in Game 2, which could carry over to Game 3 and the rest of the games in this second-round series.
NEXT: Stephen A. Smith Makes Strong Statement About Jaylen Brown
