Marcus Smart has played in a lot of Game 7s. In fact, so have most of the Boston Celtics starting lineup. Of all active players in the NBA, Al Horford has the most Game 7 wins with seven, while Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart sit in a tie for second with LeBron James with six. Jayson Tatum has five.
Ahead of the Celtics latest do-or-die clash with the Miami Heat, Marcus Smart was asked which of the plethora of Game 7s in which he's been involved was his favorite. His answer made it very clear where his focus currently lies.
“This one. This one is tonight. Unfortunately we put ourselves in a bad situation but tonight we have an opportunity to right our wrongs.”
Marcus Smart has played in many great Game 7s already in his career, one of the most exciting of which came in this exact corresponding matchup last year. With the Heat and the Celtics once again locked at 3-3 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, that decider went down to the wire, with the Heat staging a late comeback and very nearly snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The Celtics staved them off that time around, with Smart playing a major role with 24 points (albeit on 8-22 shooting), nine boards and five assists. But clearly, he's not thinking about that game.
Smart has been unusually potent offensively over the past couple of games, averaging 22 points on nearly 52% shooting in the past two wins and going 8-19 on threes. If he can repeat that kind of performance, it will go a long way to solidifying this as the most significant Game 7 of Smart's career.
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