During his first three seasons in the league, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart has made a name for himself mainly as a defensive specialist. However on Monday, he proved to be more of a scorer as he made six shots from beyond the arc, to the surprise of Stan Van Gundy and the Detroit Pistons.
Smart’s solid performance prompted the veteran head coach to compare him to the Cleveland Cavaliers' Kyle Korver, who is widely considered as one of the best shooters from downtown in NBA history, via Tom Westerholm of Mass Live.
“Marcus Smart was like Kyle Korver out there tonight,” Van Gundy said. “He banked the one in, and then he hit the one from about 30 feet. I mean, 6-for-9 from three — they make 16 threes, so it wasn't an off night for the Boston Celtics.”




The 23-year-old Oklahoma State product top-scored for the Celtics with 23 points, to go along with three rebounds and six assists. His efforts were not enough though to give his team the victory on the night, as the Pistons held on to a 118-108 win. If there’s any silver lining for Smart, his breakout game could have defenses focusing on him more, which could lead to his teammates having more room to operate on the court.
The Celtics will have two days off to prepare for their next game against the Philadelphia 76ers. It remains to be seen if he can follow up on his solid outing, but with his confidence at an all-time high right now, it won't come as a complete shock if he will perform similar to how he did against the Pistons.