The Boston Celtics are down 3-2 against the Golden State Warriors leading into Game 6 of the NBA Finals. However, they will have home court advantage for this win or go home affair. Although Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown tend to steal the majority of Celtics headlines, Marcus Smart is one of the most all-around balanced players on the roster. Additionally, he is the backbone of their defensive effort.

Smart shared an honest admission ahead of the Celtics Game 6 matchup with the Warriors.

“For us, we've been doing it all season,” Smart said. “We've been really on that backend of catching up with everybody else. So we've kinda been forced to play with our backs against the wall. We got real used to it, it's kind of part of us, in our nature now. It's nothing new to us. It's another game, another tough game. We're in our house.”

The Celtics battled to Game 7's against both the Bucks and Heat so far during the postseason. Their performance in win or game home games has been impressive to say the least. But this is the NBA Finals. All eyes are on this series.

The Warriors have been in this position before. They understand how to deal with the emotions of the Finals. For the Celtics, they will need to keep their emotions in check.

Marcus Smart will aim to step up as a leader and anchor Boston on defense while contributing on offense. The Celtics have what it takes to force Game 7, but it won't be an easy task.