Marcus Smart has always been a pitbull of a basketball player. Even if his stat line doesn't show a ton of success, he is always playing good defense, trying to take charges, and diving on the floor for loose balls.
Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens said before the morning shootaround that what most people say as ugly, Smart actually sees as beautiful.
Brad Stevens on Marcus Smart wanting a physical game: “When Smart says ugly and physical, in his mind that’s beautiful.”
— Tom Westerholm (@Tom_NBA) May 27, 2018
That should make it no surprise that Smart is excited for Game 7, and he expects a real dogfight, and maybe for some blood to even be lost.
Article Continues Below“It's about just winning the game now,” Marcus Smart said via ESPN. “It's not going to be pretty. You got to be able to get down and get dirty. You can't go out and try to look pretty. You have to be ready for a dogfight.
“We got to be ready to come up with our nose bloodied. We got to be ready to come out with our mouth bloodied. We have to come out ready to fight.”
In Game 7, Brad Stevens and the Celtics are going to need Smart to do all “ugly” thinks that he loves to do on a nightly basis.
It's going to start on the defensive end for Smart and he needs to try and frustrate the Cleveland Cavaliers offense. With the role players struggling for the Cavaliers, if Smart can knock some of them off their game, it's going to bode well for the Celtics chances to win Game 7 and advance to the World Series.