Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has improved exponentially as a player this season, and one area in which he has improved the most is his perimeter shooting.

Known primarily as a defensive stopper coming into this season, Smart has actually turned into a reliable 3-point shooter for the Celtics, entering Sunday's action shooting 36.4 percent from long range on the season.

Ahead of Boston's game against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday afternoon, Smart worked on a weird element of his game: backward 3-pointers.

Apparently, Smart has become so adept at hitting triples that backward 3s aren't even a problem for him anymore:

On the season overall, Smart is averaging 8.0 points, 4.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals over 26.7 minutes per game while also shooting 40.3 percent from the floor and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line.

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While his counting numbers certainly don't jump off the page, Smart's value is very difficult to measure in traditional stats, but his positive effect on the team is unquestionable.

As a matter of fact, since Brad Stevens inserted Smart into the starting lineup in late November, the Celtics have gone 23-9, which is in stark contrast to their middling 10-10 start at the beginning of the season.

The C's signed the 24-year-old to a four-year, $52 million contract over the summer, keeping the Oklahoma State product in Beantown for the long haul.

Smart was originally selected by the Celtics with the sixth overall pick of the 2014 NBA Draft.

He had only shot 30.0 percent from 3-point range once coming into this season.