Much of the discussion about Marcus Smart’s departure concerns topics other than his offense, understandably.
His toughness (no matter what), defensive prowess (when healthy), and leadership (excepting occasional overstepped bounds) are more satisfying discussion points for those of us still staggered by the three-way trade that sent the quintessential (for better and worse) recent Celtic to Memphis than talking about, oh, his shot selection.
But this must be acknowledged: Smart was the Celtics’ best passer. That’s somewhat faint praise and probably an indictment of some of his teammates — I think Malcolm Brogdon’s last drive-and-kick where he actually kicked was in early January — but I think it’s being overlooked how challenging that might be to replace, at least by those on the current roster.