Marcus Smart Surprised By Selection To Rising Stars Game
BOSTON (CBS) – Marcus Smart has only played in 25 games this season, but that hasn't stopped folks from around the league from noticing his impact. The second-year guard was elected to the Rising Stars Challenge on Thursday as part of the United States roster made up of NBA rookie and sophomores.
The selection by assistant coaches from around the league did catch the 21-year-old a little bit off-guard when he talked about receiving the honor on Wednesday night.
"Actually, I was surprised," Smart said. "I thought I missed just as many games this year as I did last year. I didn't get chosen last year, so I figured the same thing was going to happen this year. But it's a blessing. It's something you accept and I thank God for giving me the ability to do it. I'm happy and my teammates have been happy for me. They have been congratulating me and everything."
Smart and nine other players will face off with the International squad of youngsters on February 12 in Toronto. Smart is the only player on the roster who plays for a winning team, a distinction he spoke with pride about when discussing his selection.
"It just shows the things that I bring to the table to help my team, and what this team does. It speaks volumes for not only me, but this team in general," Smart said.
The hybrid guard is averaging a relatively pedestrian 9.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and has struggled with his shot (34.9 percent shooting) this year, making Brad Stevens eager to see the growth he can achieve in the months to come.
"I think he can play a lot better. He's getting better as the weeks go on and everything else," Stevens said. "But he was the only rookie that I think, maybe there were two, maybe Capela did toward the end, but he was the only rookie that started in the playoffs last year, or one of very few.
"Certainly there weren't very many in the last eight teams playing that were still playing at all. So it's hard to impact the league as a young player. And if you have any impact at all, then that's probably a positive sign. There's a lot of young players that haven't gotten their opportunity yet that are really going to have great careers. And we're all just going to kind of what and see. But to have an impact early is pretty impressive."
The key for Smart now must be to find his groove after missing 17 games with a knee injury over the past two months. That's begun to happen this week with a pair of double-digit scoring performances for Smart against Philadelphia and Washington, but the Celtics need that trend to continue if they hope to rise in the Eastern Conference standings during the second half of the season.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.