Marcus Smart Shined in Celtics Debut
STILLWATER -- Over the past few years, there haven't been too many former Oklahoma State basketball players making noise in the NBA quite like Marcus Smart. He's had his ups and downs, but Smart is quickly proving he's worth every penny of the $13 million a year the Celtics are paying him.
Even though the Celtics lost last night to the Milwaukee Bucks 119-112, Smart checked into the game halfway through the first quarter and made an almost immediate impact. In the first few minutes, Smart scored five points and recorded a steal.
On the night, Smart would lead the Celtics in scoring with 23 points. He also recorded four rebounds, one assist and one steal. On the season, Smart's 23 points is nearly 10 points more than his season averaged of 13.6 points per game, however he averages 4.8 assists per game, so that stat was below average.
There's quite a bit of season left down in the NBA bubble in Orlando, FL, but Smart is currently having the best season of his career as he's averaging more in nearly every single category.
He's averaging 32.5 MPG, up from his career average of 29 MPG. He's averaging 13.6 PPG, up from 9.9 PPG. While it's not drastic, he's averaging 38.4% from the field, compared to 37.4%. He's also shooting better from beyond the arc as he's averaging 35% from 3, compared to 31.9%.
His rebound average is up to 3.9 RPG from 3.6, he's averaging 4.8 APG up from 4.0 and his blocks per game are up to 0.5 from 0.4.
No doubt there's a lot of season left, so there's still a lot that could happen, but it's certainly a lot of fun to watch Smart playing his best basketball and rising through the ranks.
