It’s been a pretty competitive postseason thus far. Only two match-ups are turning out to be really lopsided – one of them being the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers series. The Celtics are continuing to be dominant against their Eastern Conference rival, and are now up in the best-of-seven affair, 3-0.

We can credit it to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown coming of age, Kemba Walker slowly but surely returning to his full form off an injury, the entire Celtics squad clicking really well, or the Sixers being a crappy team right now – granted they’re depleted.

All of that are correct assessments, but for Boston head coach Brad Stevens, the one guy on his crew he’s really hyped up, especially recently, is defensive guard Marcus Smart:

While it is due to team effort why the Sixers are getting outscored by 15 points per game and only shooting 38.6% in the series, there’s also no denying that Smart has played a huge part in ramping up the tenacity. After all, he’s the vocal and defensive leader of the group.

Smart just helped lead the shutdown of his defensive assignments on the guard position too – Josh Richardson, Shake Milton, Alec Burks, and Furkan Korkmaz. In Game 3, the four combined to go a putrid 14-for-49 from the floor.

Although offense is not his strong suit, Smart was able to contribute nicely on Saturday, which came right on time as Jayson Tatum had a rough night (15 pts, 6/19 FGs). The resident defender and hustle guy did more than usual as he chipped in 14 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe – all became vital as the game went back-and-forth in the final minutes.

It’s always great to see a good coach-player relationship, especially like the one where seeing from Brad Stevens and Marcus Smart. You can see a great trust and know that they’re making each other and the team better.

We may continue hearing about Stevens showering his defensive ace compliments. Just last month, he boldly said Smart is as important as any player on the team.

Also, the two are currently longest-tenured Celtics on the team, so there’s a definite, long-running chemistry in there. Stevens was hired prior to the 2013-14 campaign, and this first lottery pick was Marcus Smart, who came in the very next season.

Coming out of Oklahoma State University, Smart was recognized as this explosive, big-framed slasher despite being a pesky defender. Stevens basically converted him into a legit defensive presence and it has recently transpired into Smart earning a spot in the All-Defensive first team – possibly the first of many.

The offensive abilities aren’t completely lost, though. In fact, Smart is also fresh-off the best offensive season of his career. He just averaged 12.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 2.3 threes per game in the regular season, all of which are career-highs.