Marcus Smart straight up abused Nick Young last night


There are very few things I enjoy more than the Celtics beating up on the Lakers, but when there's a particular clown in purple and gold that get's completely emasculated by a Celtics player - even better. LA's Nick Young, or 'Swaggy-P' if you're an idiot, thought it would be a good idea to start dancing around the parquet floor in Boston after making a few three pointers in the 1st quarter Friday night:


Unfortunately for him Marcus Smart doesn't take to kindly to opponents dancing around on his home floor in the 1st quarter. All Smart needed to see was a little early showboating to get charged up on the Celtics sideline. Via Jay King of MassLive:

"They hit a couple shots, were dancing and mocking us and things like that -- like it's just gonna be easy for them," Smart said after his team's 113-107 win. "That really persuaded me to go out there and do my best to shut that down."

Smart was the catalyst to swinging the game to the Celtics favor with his effort on the defensive end, and he made it a point to make an example out of Young:


I loved the stare down by Smart after he dunked and Young had to imbound the ball. I don't think there's anything worse in basketball than just getting the ball ripped out of your hands like that. Maybe getting posterized on a dunk shows up more in the highlights, but Swaggy-poo got the ball straight ripped out of his hands right there. Not a good look.

Jae Crowder said after the game that Smart will purposely try to make his opponents look silly, "He really tries to punk a guy."

Smarts efforts on D aren't lost on the Celtics leading scorer. Isaiah Thomas knows just how much impact Marcus' energy can have on a game:

"He was the key to everything. For us turning that game around, he was the key. He had the most energy out of all of us. He got defensive stops. He made the right play on offense. And we just fed off him. We came in here at halftime, we knew that he was the guy that changed the game. And everybody else had to follow. And we did that."

Marcus is type of player that can influence a game even on a night he's not shooting particularly well. He's a playmaker, and although last night he had 5 steals and 7 assists, his contributions don't always show up as clearly in the stat sheet. Marcus Smart makes game-winning plays, and he definitely keeps his opponents in check.


Photo Credit - Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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