Marcus Smart is ready to soak in the boos in Golden State: "I thrive off it"
BOSTON -- It was only less than three months ago when Marcus Smart went crashing into the knee of Stephen Curry, ending the superstar's regular season three weeks early and forcing the sharpshooter to start the playoffs as a bench player while working back toward full health.
Certainly, it was an incident that Warriors head coach Steve Kerr did not like one bit. And the same can be said for Warriors fans.
As a result, Smart is expecting to hear plenty of hatred being sent his way by the fans in San Francisco once the NBA Finals tips off this week. And -- Marcus Smart being Marcus Smart -- he's looking forward to it.
"I'm used to it. When am I not a target by fans, especially while going up against their favorite player? It's always been like that," Smart told Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes.
Based on Smart's words to Haynes, Smart seems to be embracing the idea of being the bad guy.
"I know I'm not the league's favorite, I know I'm not the fan favorite all the time and I know I'm not a lot of people's favorite player. My whole life has been like that. I've always been the underdog. I've always been the player that's easily targeted to root against because of the way I play," he said. "I'm not the most likable player and I thrive off it. So it's nothing new to me. I think I have a pretty good mental toughness about it. My team got my back, so I'm good."
