How moving Marcus Smart to point guard made Celtics title contenders
By Yaron Weitzman
FOX Sports NBA Writer
A large smile stretched across Marcus Smart’s face as he walked through the door. It was the summer of 2021, and he was coming home from a meeting with new Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka, who had just told Smart that he’d be entering the upcoming season as the team’s starting point guard.
“And there was just this confidence and relief in his body language,” recalled Kenny Boren, Smart’s high school coach, who greeted him that day.
Nearly nine months later, the Celtics are just two victories away from making their first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. There’s a list of reasons why this year’s team has had so much success. But the decision to shift Smart over to the point is chief among them.
“I think everybody in the organization — in the world — has seen what I can do at that point guard position,” Smart told reporters after leading the Celtics with 24 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in their 127-102 thumping of the Miami Heat in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
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