You just knew that Marcus Smart would be in the middle of it.
After being inserted into the starting lineup for the injured Jaylen Brown, the Celtics are 3-0 and (gulp) have an offensive rating of 124.6. Smart is only averaging eight points and five assists during that winning streak, but his influence is noticeable. Boston has played with fire on defense and a joy on offense that wasn’t there earlier in the season.
The recent stretch was punctuated by Gordon Hayward’s breakout game in Minnesota. He was aggressive off the dribble and with his shot, tallying 30 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists.