Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart was the main instigator for the post-Game 2 locker room blowup. This happened right after the Celtics suffered another disappointing loss to the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, and at that point, they had just gone down 2-0 in the series.
Smart spoke openly about the incident, and the Celtics guard admitted that the fact that the game fell right after the two-year anniversary of the death of his mom played on his emotions:
“So like I said, I don’t want to use it as an excuse but it definitely played a role to a certain extent,” Smart said, via Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It’s definitely an emotional day. You’re already on an emotional scale where you’re already tipping over, and then something like (that happens) where you should’ve won for the second time against a really good team that you allowed to come back and steal both games from you. It just pushed it over the edge.
“So yeah, we were all disappointed. And when you’ve got a bunch of brothers who are disappointed, emotions fly and sometimes you’ve got to yell just to get it out and move on. It was one of those nights (laughs).”
Smart is the type who wears his heart on his sleeve, which is actually one of his most endearing qualities. It has allowed him to be a great leader for the Celtics, and this is a role that he has played quite commendably.
When asked if he had any regrets about the incident, Smart was adamant about not having any:
“No, I don’t have any regrets,” he said. “And I don’t have any regrets with how my teammates handled it either. I think we handled it perfectly. If you can’t talk, if you can’t yell, if you can’t express how you truly feel with somebody who’s supposed to have your back, somebody who you’re supposed to trust, and vice versa, then are you really supposed to be trusting that person? That’s the type of team we are. We trust each other fully, so for us to be able to yell at each other and get yelled (at) back — and move on (is important). And that’s just what it is.”
If Boston's Game 3 performance is any indication of how this incident proved to be beneficial for the whole team, then they should indeed have no regrets about it. The Celtics were able to secure their first win of the series, 117-106. They now have an opportunity to even the series in Game 4 on Wednesday after a lengthy break.
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