Preseason: Celtics vs. Raptors or Marcus Smart vs. Kyle Lowry part 2
The learning curve is especially steep for rookies in this league and Marcus Smart in particular will be implementing all the lessons gained from going up against an All-Star caliber point guard for the first time in Kyle Lowry.
Boston fell to the Raptors 116-109 in Toronto on Friday night and the rookie struggled mightily on the defensive end when matched up with Lowry who scored 18 pts. and had six assists.
Lowry was also a menace on defene tallying five steals.
.@Celtics As my preview today talked about Kyle Lowry gave the #Celts fits and was +16. Meanwhile C's rookie Marcus Smart -10 @emilyausten_
— Clint Corey (@ClintCorey) October 11, 2014About going up against Lowry here's what Smart had to say post game as reported by Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald:
“I gave Lowry the respect he deserved instead of just going out and playing,” said the Celtics rookie. “It made me take a step back a little bit and not play the way I’m used to playing. Lesson learned.”
He learned it the hard way, too. After scoring only eight points over the first three quarters, Lowry blew the Celtics off the board with a 10-point, three-steal, two-assist fourth in the Celtics’ 116-109 loss to Toronto. Smart was on hand, and out of position, for many of those plays.
Now Smart understands how all of those Division 1 point guards felt over the last two years.
“It’s like guarding me,” Smart said, breaking into a smile. “He’s a bigger guard just like me who uses his body very well. He imposes his strength on other guards and that’s what he did tonight.”
What will Smart do differently tomorrow night? Celtics.com Emily Austen reports:
Two other guards to watch in this game are Boston's Avery Bradley and Toronto's high flying Demar DeRozan.
In the first matchup Avery torched the Raptors for 22 on 9-15 shooting including 4-5 from deep.
DeRozan finished with 18 in the game (2-3 from distance).
Follow Clint on Twitter @ClintCorey
