Marcus Smart wants Celtics to get ‘down and dirty’ in Game 7
The Boston Celtics failed to close out LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 6, but Marcus Smart has a plan for Game 7 in the Garden.
LeBron James’ epic performance in Game 6 gives his Cleveland Cavaliers the opportunity to return to Boston in an effort to steal the series from the Celtics. Marcus Smart thinks he knows exactly what his team needs to do in order to prevail. Here’s a hint — the physical guard doesn’t expect Game 7 to be a polite affair.
Instead, Smart wants to see his team get “down and dirty.” Those words shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with the physical guard’s game. He isn’t what anyone would call a finesse player. Smart thrives on using his body and his competitive spirit to push his team past the opposition.
Those tactics are particularly effective at home. Boston has only managed to win one road game in the 2018 Playoffs, but it still finds itself one win away from the NBA Finals. In a sense, the Celtics have relied on their home crowd to make up for the losses of Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward due to injury. It’s safe to expect Game 7 to feature a raucous home crowd for the Celtics.
Despite that advantage, heading into a winner-take-all game with LeBron James is still going to be a massive challenge for Brad Stevens’ young team. In his career, James has the highest scoring average in elimination games for any player with over three such appearances in NBA history. The Akron native has gone 12-9 in such games, but is averaging an amazing 33.5 points, 10.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists in those contests.
Smart understands that slowing LeBron down is going to take more than a clever defensive scheme from his coaching staff. It’s going to take physical commitment from his entire team. He’s right when he says the Celtics need to be ready to “come out ready to fight.” Eliminating LeBron James from a playoff series isn’t for the faint of heart.
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Marcus Smart’s statistical contributions won’t be the difference in whether or not Boston is able to win Game 7 against the Cavaliers. His emotional lift might be. The Celtics are going to need every bit of Smart’s emotional spirit to end Cleveland’s season.