Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart took the saying “A-for-effort” and upped the ante in a big way on Monday evening against the New Orleans Pelicans. With less than one second remaining on the shot clock, Smart did what he could as there was a jump ball at half-court.

There was only one issue, though. It was the opposing Pelicans that had less than a second remaining to find the rim, not Smart and the Celtics.

This is no doubt one of the more boneheaded plays in recent memory and will surely make its rounds throughout both social media and television come Tuesday morning. In Smart's defense, though, seeing a huge red clock in front of him might have jumbled his brain just a bit as he was assessing the situation. On the other hand, an NBA player of this caliber absolutely must be aware of the scenario at hand.

With time winding down in the third quarter, Smart and the Celtics were trailing the Pelicans by just four points at home in Boston. Granted there was quite a bit of time left in the game at the time of Smart's blunder, it was actually a pivotal possession that was lost for the Celtics considering the score in a tight game.

Entering Monday evening's affair against the Pelicans, the under-performing Celtics were sporting an even 23-23 record on the season. The Celtics also entered the early-week clash against the always dangerous Pelicans in seventh place in the competitive Eastern Conference.

The Celtics wound up dropping the game to the Pelicans by a score of 115-109.