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With Isaiah Thomas slated to miss the remainder of the postseason due to a hip injury, the Boston Celtics have made a decision on who will start in his place.
Head coach Brad Stevens announced that he will insert Marcus Smart in the starting unit, per A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE, and is hopeful he can provide them with a spark on both ends of the floor. Their starting small forward, Jae Crowder, discussed Smart's play as well as what his team needs to do to give themselves a chance to win in Game 3 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Article Continues Below“Marcus Smart has done a great job of filling his void (Thomas’) when he’s absent. We have to make up for it by playing good team ball and playing the right way and getting whatever shot we want on the offensive end we want. And defensively, the matchups are a little better for us to slow them down a little bit. But at the same time, it’s a team effort at both ends of the court.”
Smart echoed his teammate's sentiments while adding what the impact of Thomas' absence means to them. He admitted that their task becomes even tougher, but at the same time, it gives everyone in their team a chance to step up and contribute more to their cause.
“Everybody has to step up once again. This is an opportunity for everybody to make a bigger impact on the game. It’s devastating not to have Isaiah. Not just because of his scoring ability, but just because he’s a big part of our team. He’s one of our brothers and he’s down. We understand it. We respect everything that he’s done. But now is the time for everybody else to step up.”
Smart understands that he has to play at an even higher level now, currently down 0-2 and playing without their franchise player. In 24 starts during the regular season, the 23-year-old Oklahoma State product averaged solid numbers of 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game.
