Following Monday night's 111-102 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart spoke to members of the media with regards to guarding LeBron James — a task he asked to take on down the stretch, according to a report from Brian Robb of BostonSportsJournal.com.
“Our job was to make it as hard as possible for him,” Smart said during his post-game presser. “I felt like I could do that. You saw that he didn't want to bring the ball up against me, to save energy, which we expected.”
Marcus Smart said he asked to guard LeBron down the stretch: "Our job was to make it as hard as possible for him. I felt like I could do that. You saw that he didn't want to bring the ball up against me, to save energy, which we expected."
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) May 22, 2018
Guarding James is a tall order for any player, to be sure. However, Smart is a scrappy defender, and his request to D up on the King is admirable.
The Celtics — now tied at two games apiece with the Cavs in the Eastern Conference Finals — fell behind in the first quarter, 34-18. The C's hung around in the second half, pulling within seven points on a bucket from Smart with 4:29 remaining. It simply wasn't enough, though, as Cleveland went on to carry the day in front of their home crowd.
LeBron James played well on Monday night. In his 42 minutes of playing time, the Kid from Akron racked up 44 points on 17-28 shooting (1-4 from downtown), five rebounds, three assists and two steals. And just for the record, it was his sixth 40-point performance of this postseason.
Smart and the Celtics will need to do a better job of defending James, needless to say.
“He's the best in the game at evaluating the court and figuring out what he wants and where he wants it,” Celtics head coach Brad Stevens told ESPN during his post-game media availability. “The thing about it is that you just have to battle. You just have to make it as hard as possible, because he's going to find a matchup that he ultimately wants.”
Wednesday's Game 5 matchup is set to tip inside TD Garden at 8:30 p.m. EST. Will a bit of home cooking get the Celtics back on track?
Marcus Smart on Game 5: "Back to the crib. We play well at the crib. We know it. We just have to come play."
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) May 22, 2018
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