Marcus Smart puts on passing clinic as Celtics' offense crushes Hornets
BOSTON -- The Celtics offense is an absolute machine right now, as the team effortlessly dropped 140 points on the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night. It was the second night of a back-to-back, the Celtics were without Jaylen Brown and Al Horford, and Boston's offense still exploded for its highest scoring night of the season.
With the ball going in the hoop as much as it did Monday night, the Celtics racked up a nice assist total for the evening. Boston had 40 assists in the game, the first time the team has reached that mark in 14 seasons. Leading the charge in that department was Marcus Smart, who accounted for 15 of those helpers.
Remember all that talk of Smart not being a true point guard? It just seems so silly now. His 15 assists on Monday were a career-high, and the most by a Celtics player since Isaiah Thomas had 15 against the Jazz in January of 2017.
Eight of Smart's 15 assists came in the first quarter, as the Celtics scored an absurd 45 points in the frame to build a 26-point lead. While Jayson Tatum led the scoring barrage with 35 points, Smart wasn't far off, adding 22 points off 8-for-11 shooting, including 6-for-9 from three-point range.
Smart had everything going on Monday night, once again showing off his supernatural court vision for Boston. Or, as Smart called it after the 140-103 win, his "X-ray vision."
"Trying to get everybody the ball at the right time. Where they need it, want it, where they like it," he said. "Just trying to get us easy basket. When that happens, people's confidence goes up. We got a lot of great players, so for me to be able to just find them, that's what I'm trying to do."
Last season, Smart had five games of 10 or more assists. This season, he has five already, with 61 games to play. The Celtics have the NBA's best offense, which is off to a historic start, and Smart is a big part of it.
He's now close to averaging eight assists per night, to go with his 11.6 points per game. And despite having the ball in his hands so much and making so many passes, Smart is only averaging 2.1 turnovers per game.
The ball movement is contagious, and everyone is eager to make the extra pass to find the best possible look on the floor. The shooting numbers were downright silly on Monday, with the C's hitting 59 percent of their shots overall (55-for-93) and 46.2 percent from downtown (24-for-52).
The Celtics have scored at least 120 points in each of their four straight wins, with Monday night the fourth time the team has gone over the 130-point mark this season. It's an extremely entertaining brand of basketball to watch, and even more fun to play.
The Celtics didn't even have to try that hard on Monday night. Yet, despite being down two starters, they continued their dominance on the offensive end. As usual, Smart was the one driving the steamroller to get his teammates open and extremely makeable looks.