Jayson Tatum Believes Marcus Smart ‘Heart And Soul’ Of Celtics Team
Marcus Smart made an impact both on the court and on the bench in the Boston Celtics’ 122-100 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.
Smart not only locked down defensively for the Celtics, who were in dire need of a good defense performance, but encouraged teammates to do the same.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum was asked about Smart’s encouragement from the bench Friday night, and expressed a pretty telling answer about just how much the guard’s impact had on both the 22-year-old All-Star and rest of the team.
“Yeah, it’s no secret, Marcus is the heart and soul of the team,” Tatum said, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “He brings so much more to the team that doesn’t shows up in the stat book. So, just hearing his voice, and him talking on the court, off the court, it can only help us. When he’s doing that, we’re a better team.”
Tatum added the Celtics defensive performance, highlighted by outscoring the Raptors 26-11 in points off turnovers, was “a step in the right direction.” Notably, the Celtics allowed the Raptors to score just 14 first-quarter points.
Boston will look to do much of the same Sunday as the face the Orlando Magic.